He became the first rap artist ever to win a Grammy award for "Record of the Year" after performing a memorable rap on Chaka Khan's smash hit song "I Feel for You" which introduced hip-hop to the mainstream R&B audience.
Mel then gained higher success appearing in the movie Beat Street, with a song based on the movie's title. The record was falsely credited to Grandmaster + Melle Mel by Sugarhill Records in order to fool the public into thinking Grandmaster Flash had participated on the record. The group went on to produce the anti-drug song "White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)" (the unofficial music video starred up-and-coming actor Laurence Fishburne and was directed by then unknown film student Spike Lee). Mel became known as "Grandmaster Melle Mel" and the leader of the Furious Five. When Flash filed a lawsuit against Sugar Hill Records, their label, the factions of The Furious Five parted. Grandmaster Flash split from the group after contract disputes between Mele Mel and their promoter Sylvia Robinson in regard to royalties for "The Message". Mel would also go on to write songs about struggling life in New York City ("New York, New York"), and making it through life in general ("Survival (The Message 2)").
It was the first hip-hop record ever to be added to the United States National Archive of Historic Recordings. "The Message" went platinum in less than a month and went on to become arguably the greatest record in hip-hop history. Bootee also contributed vocals (Rahiem was to later lip-sync Bootee's parts in the music video). Other than Melle Mel, no members of the Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five actually appear on the record. Some of Mel's lyrics on "The Message" were taken directly from "Supperrappin'", a song he had recorded three years earlier. Mel recorded a rap over session musician Duke Bootee's instrumental track "The Jungle". A song entitled "The Message" became an instant classic and one of the first glimmers of conscientious hip-hop. In 1982 Melle Mel began to turn to more socially aware subject matter, in particular the Reagan administration's economic (Reaganomics) and drug policies, and their effect on the black community. They released numerous singles, gaining a gold disc for "Freedom," and also toured. They later moved on to Sugarhill Records and were popular on the R&B charts with party songs and the like. Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five began recording for Enjoy Records and released "Superrappin'" in 1979. While a member of the group, Cowboy created the term "hip-hop" while teasing a friend who had just joined the US Army, by scat singing the words "hip/hop/hip/hop" in a way that mimicked the rhythmic cadence of marching soldiers. Other Furious Five members included his brother The Kidd Creole (Nathaniel Glover), Scorpio (Eddie Morris), Rahiem (Guy Todd Williams) & Cowboy Keith Wiggins. Melvin Glover was the first rapper ever to call himself "MC" (Master of Ceremony).