On VH1's top 100 greatest hip hop artists of all time, Grandmaster Flash comes in at No. 8, breaking the top 10 with the likes of Run-DMC, Tupac, Dr. Dre and Jay-Z.

He was one of the few that was there at the very beginning of hip hop. And not only is he still around, he is still relevant.

“It's not often we get an artist with Grandmaster Flash's resume swinging through the Vail Valley,” said promoter Crawford Byers.

So how is it that Grandmaster Flash is performing Saturday night at Agave in Avon?

“He was only available because he's on the way to the Grammy's in L.A. on Sunday, and wanted to make a stop along the way,” Byers said. “He has not played in the Vail clubs previously — this is a rare chance to see one of the greatest legends in hip-hop history in our small mountain town.”

In an interview this week with the Vail Daily, Grandmaster Flash said “Fans can expect positive pandemonium,” from Saturday's show. “That is my objective.” he said.

In a 1996 interview, Grandmaster Flash used a tree as a metaphor for hip hop, describing his work, and others from the late '70s, as the roots, and hip hop branching out from there. So what does the master think now, 16 years later?

“I do still think that hip hop is a tree that branched out,” Grandmaster Flash said. “I feel the trunk represents the music and the leaves represent the different subject matters. The tree continues to grow. It is continuing to become a global phenomenon and it gives me great music to choose from in America as well as overseas.”

Flash hosts Friday Night Fire, a radio show on Sirius/XM Radio. Hosting the show has given Flash “a chance to show that I am not limited to playing vintage music,” he said. “It broke the stereotypical mode of DJs of my status only playing vintage music. It allowed people to see that I can play an array of music. I can play for age 18 years old and up.”