Hip Hop has lost another member of its foundational generation.
Keith Caesar, better known as Keith Keith of the legendary Bronx collective Funky 4 + 1, passed away Friday, Aug. 21, at the age of 64. According to his family, Caesar died from medical complications. He remained a lifelong Bronx resident and was living in the Frederick Douglass Houses in Morris Heights at the time of his passing.
For younger Hip Hop fans who may not immediately recognize Keith Keith’s name, understanding Funky 4 + 1’s place in the culture puts his contribution into perspective.
Before rap albums went platinum, before music videos, major endorsement deals and stadium tours, Funky 4 + 1 was helping establish what a Hip Hop group could even look and sound like.
The pioneering crew included Keith Keith alongside Sha-Rock, K.K. Rockwell, Jazzy Jeff, Lil’ Rodney C, DJ Breakout and DJ Baron, with Rahiem also part of the group’s earlier lineup before joining Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. The group emerged from the Bronx during Hip Hop’s formative years and became one of the first crews to take the music from parks and neighborhood parties onto commercially released records.
Keith Keith was there for one of the culture’s most important early recordings, “Rappin’ and Rocking the House,”released through Enjoy Records in 1979. The group later moved to Sylvia Robinson’s Sugar Hill Records and released its signature record, “That’s the Joint,” in 1980. Keith Caesar is among the credited writers on the song.
But Funky 4 + 1’s biggest historical moment arrived on Valentine’s Day 1981.
On Feb. 14, the group appeared on Saturday Night Live at the invitation of Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry, becoming the first Hip Hop group to perform on national television. With much of America still unfamiliar with rap music, Keith Keith and the crew performed “That’s the Joint” on one of television’s biggest stages.
Think about what that meant at the time.
Hip Hop wasn’t yet a billion-dollar industry. There was no Yo! MTV Raps, BET’s Rap City or internet capable of taking a Bronx freestyle around the world overnight. When Funky 4 + 1 stepped onto that SNL stage, they were introducing millions of Americans to a culture that was still largely being built block by block in New York City.
The group’s importance also extended to Sha-Rock, whose presence as one of Hip Hop’s earliest female MCs helped establish from the beginning that women weren’t visitors to this culture—they were among its architects.
“That’s the Joint” would continue traveling long after the group separated, eventually being sampled by artists including the Beastie Boys and De La Soul. In 2008, VH1 ranked the record among its 100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs.
Born Feb. 15, 1962, Caesar grew up with four siblings and is survived by his brother Kevin Caesar, known as Caesar the Poet.
As Hip Hop’s pioneering generation continues to age, preserving these names becomes even more important. Keith Keith and Funky 4 + 1 were doing this before anybody knew how far Hip Hop could go.
They didn’t inherit the culture.
They helped build it.
The Source sends its condolences to the Caesar family, the Funky 4 + 1 family and everyone who knew and loved one of the Bronx’s original microphone pioneers.
Rest In Peace Keith “Keith Keith” Caesar.