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The Sugarhill Gang

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

The Sugarhill Gang brought rap to a large audience for the first time. The trio was put together in 1979 in Englewood, New Jersey, by Sylvia Robinson. With her husband Joe Robinson she had founded the label Sugar Hill Records. The rappers were Michael 'Wonder Mike' Wright, Guy 'Master Gee' O'Brien and Henry 'Big Bank Hank' Jackson. They did not come from the scene in The Bronx where hip hop had originated.

Music and breakthrough

Rapper's Delight was released in September 1979. The long 12-inch version lasts almost a quarter of an hour. Nothing was sampled: a studio band replayed the groove of Good Times by Chic. Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of Chic threatened legal action and, in a settlement, received a credit as composers. The lyrics, too, were not entirely original. Big Bank Hank borrowed many of his verses from the notebook of Grandmaster Caz. In America the song reached number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100, the first rap single in the top 40 there.

Influence

European hits such as Apache and 8th Wonder followed, but in 1985 the trio broke up. Big Bank Hank died in 2014. Rapper's Delight showed that rap could sell on record, and that gave Sugar Hill Records the room for more serious work. In 1982 the label released The Message by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five. The recipe, an existing groove with rap over it, later became the basis of hip hop with the sampler. In 2011 Rapper's Delight was inducted into the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress.

Listening

Listening tip. In Rapper's Delight, listen to the bass line: that is not the Chic record, but a studio band replaying Good Times. Notice how the three rappers take turns working through long verses, while that groove runs on for almost a quarter of an hour.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

See also

Sources

  1. Wikipedia (en): The Sugarhill Gang
  2. Wikipedia (en): Rapper's Delight
  3. Wikipedia (en): The Message (Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five song
Categories: ArtistsEarly hip hop