“Mike & Dave Organization Present NYC’s Great M.C. Showdown”

Queens, New York, 1982. 6 x 8 ½ inch flyer. Fine.. Flyer for the “Great M.C. Showdown” at Martin Van Buren High School in Queens, New York, hosted by Mr. Sweety-G. According to his personal website, Mr. Sweety-G—aka Glenn Toby—was working with some of the biggest hip hop artists of the late 1970s and early 1980s, including Grandmaster Flash, Doug E. Fresh, Biz Markie, and more, thanks in part to Harlem-based promoters Mike & Dave Productions. The flyer is uncredited but looks to have been designed by Buddy Esquire (Lemoin Thompson), an artist from the Bronx who designed over 300 flyers for hip hop events around this time and described his style, based on old Art Deco movie posters, as “neo-deco”.[1]

[1] Amanda Lalonde, “Buddy Esquire and the Early Hip Hop Flyer”, Popular Music 33, no. I (2014): 19–38.