Melle Mel, of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, who rhymed it with “like white on rice / I … ” during a December 23, 1978 show at Washington Height’s Audubon Ballroom. That is, according to the New York Times Magazine’s random, but appreciated investigation into the matter from this weekend that uncovered a bootleg live tape from the Audubon Ballroom show and proved conclusively that Big Bank Hank — who was previously thought to be first with “rock the mic” when he used the phrase on “Rapper’s Delight” — is not quite the pioneer he was thought to be. Sorry, Big Bank Hank! [NYT Magazine]
