Legendary rapper and producer Duke Bootee has died at the age of 69. The New York Times yesterday confirmed that Bootee – born Edward Fletcher – had passed away following heart failure at his home in ...

Forty-four years ago today, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five accomplished exactly that with the release of “The Message,” a groundbreaking single that forever changed the direction of Hip Hop.

1982's "The Message" was written by Bootee and Melle Mel to depict the dilapidated state of New York City at the time and respond to the transit strike.

Duke Bootee, a name who OG Hip-Hop heads will recognize as one of the writer’s and rappers on Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five’s classic “The Message,” has passed away. He was 69. Rolling Stone ...

Rap legend Duke Bootee has died. The pioneer is best known as the co-writer of “The Message,” a song by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. He was 69. Bootee, nee Edward Fletcher, died of heart ...

Duke Bootee, the pioneering rapper who co-wrote and appeared on Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s classic “The Message” — Number One on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of ...

Hip-hop pioneer Edward “Duke Bootee” Fletcher has died according to published reports. The former MC and poet was responsible for bringing consciousness, politics and social commentary into hip-hop as ...