Clarence Henry Reid

Clarence Henry Reid was a cult songwriter and R&B musician who released many albums throughout the '70s and '80s under the name "Blowfly." Born in Georgia during the latter days of the Great Depression, Reid had very little formal education and spent the majority of his childhood working to support his family. His one escape, however, was music, and throughout grade school he would write and perform parodies of hit songs to entertain his friends and neighbors. In the 1960s Reid moved to Florida, in hopes of turning his passion for music into an actual career. Initially, Reid took a series of odd jobs to support himself but eventually started to write and produce songs for such big name acts as Sam and Dave and KC & the Sunshine Band. Then in 1964 Reid decided to self-release a song called "Blowfly's Rapp," which has since been deemed the first rap song ever recorded. The positive attention he received from "Blowfly's Rapp" eventually instilled in Reid the confidence he needed to create his alter ego, Blowfly. Donning a mask and bodysuit, Reid debuted his Blowfly persona on the 1971 album, The Weird World of Blowfly. The album contained a number of potty-mouthed parodies of hit songs, and soon became a cult party record. Capitalizing on the initial record's success, Reid released several more Blowfly albums throughout the 70s and 80s, all of which became popular among the party circuit. Although Reid's musical output began to slow in the 90s, his status as an early progenitor of rap began to take shape during the Clinton Era, with hip hop artists like Eazy-E, Wu Tang Clan and Jurassic 5 using samples of his music in their songs. A documentary on Reid's life, "The Weird World of Blowfly," was also released in 2010, thus introducing his music to a whole new generation of fans. Despite releasing several popular songs throughout his decades long career, Reid never received royalties for most of his records due to stipulations in his contract. As a result, by the mid-2010s he came into some serious financial trouble and faced foreclosure on his Florida house. In 2014 he had to ask his fans for money through a crowdfunding website in order to ensure that he could keep his home. The crowdfunding campaign was ultimately successful. With his body failing, in January 2016 it was revealed that Reid had terminal liver cancer. He was quickly transferred to a hospice in Florida, where he died peacefully on January 17, 2016. He was 76.