Rapper Kidd Creole faces murder charge in homeless man’s slaying, NYPD says

A rapper who gained fame in the 1980s as The Kidd Creole is facing a murder charge in the stabbing of a homeless man in Midtown Manhattan, the NYPD said Wednesday.

Nathaniel Glover, 57, of the Bronx, a founding member of the pioneering rap group Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, was charged with second-degree murder after the victim, 55, was found with several torso wounds about 11:50 p.m. Tuesday at East 44th Street and Third Avenue, police said.

Glover and the victim had argued, but what sparked the dispute was not immediately clear, according to police.

Surveillance video and other evidence led detectives to Glover, the NYPD said.

The victim was pronounced dead early Wednesday at Bellevue Hospital Center. He has been identified as 55-year-old John Jolly.

Jolly was convicted of rape in 1997, state correction records show. He also served time for criminal possession of a weapon in 2008, according to the records.

Glover’s family could not be reached Wednesday night.

Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007 in the performers category for showing how hip-hop could tackle serious issues, especially with the gritty 1982 single “The Message,” about life in the inner city.

The Bronx-born group is credited helping to shape early hip-hop in the 1970s and 1980s with their turntable prowess, sound effects and other mix moves.

“The combination of Grandmaster Flash’s turntable mastery and the Furious Five’s raps, which ranged from socially conscious to frivolously fun, made for a series of 12-inch records that forever altered the musical landscape,” according to the Hall of Fame website.

Kidd Creole was one of the Five.

The group split up in 1984 over business disagreements, after a string of hits including “New York, New York” and “Scorpio.” Kidd Creole stuck with DJ Grandmaster Flash to record under his name, but their momentum was lost.

With Glenn Gamboa and Nicole Brown