{"id":1445,"date":"2010-01-07T00:24:50","date_gmt":"2010-01-07T00:24:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.oldschoolhiphop.com\/?p=1445"},"modified":"2014-04-21T21:44:53","modified_gmt":"2014-04-22T02:44:53","slug":"sugarhillgang","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.oldschoolhiphop.com\/artists\/emcees\/sugarhillgang.htm","title":{"rendered":"Sugarhill Gang"},"content":{"rendered":"

Members<\/span><\/span><\/strong>
\nWonder Mike (Mike Wright)
\nBig Bank Hank (Henry Jackson)
\nMaster Gee (Guy O’Brien)
\nKory O<\/strong><\/p>\n

The story of the Sugarhill Gang is perhaps one of the most controversial among old school hip hop and hip hop on a whole for that matter.<\/p>\n

A woman named Sylvia Robinson, who herself was involved in the music industry, heard this new underground sound called rap and felt that there was market there for the taking.\u00a0 She began to put together a group to record a rap record.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Henry Jackson was a bouncer in club and also a part time hip hop manager.\u00a0 Henry used to listen to mix tapes of various crews of the time and rap along with the lyrics.\u00a0 One night Sylvia overheard Henry repeating some rhymes of Grandmaster Caz<\/a> of the Cold Crush Brothers<\/a>.\u00a0 She asked Henry if he was interested in joining a group.<\/p>\n

Here’s where the controversy begins.<\/p>\n

Instead of revealing the true author of the rhymes, Henry agreed.\u00a0 He later went to visit Caz who agreed to let Henry use his rhymes.\u00a0 Caz figured if Henry got hooked up, he was later help Caz and Cold Crush do the same.\u00a0 Obviously, he never did.<\/p>\n

Henry Jackson, now renamed Big Bank Hank, joined Wonder Mike, and Master Gee and formed the Sugarhill Gang.\u00a0 They went on to record “Rapper’s Delight<\/a>.”\u00a0 The song eventually went on to sell over 2 million copies, hit #4 on the R&B chart, and became the highest selling 12 inch single ever.<\/p>\n

When the true hip hop crews heard the song on the radio they were stunned. Grandmaster Flash<\/a> recalls thinking, “Sugarhill who?”\u00a0 No one knew who this group was, but nevertheless, they broke the sound from the underground and blew it up worldwide.<\/p>\n

In an ironic tint to the whole story, check out one of Hank’s rhymes:<\/p>\n

“But whatever you do, in your lifetime\/
\nYou never let an MC steal your rhymes”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And how about this one:
\n“I’m the C-A-S-A-N-O-V-A….”\u00a0 Hank was spelling Caz’s named before he shortened it to just Caz.<\/p>\n

The group did record several other singles, none of which approached the success of the original, however, some were successful.\u00a0 “8th Wonder” reached #15 on the R&B chart.\u00a0 “Apache” peaked at #13.<\/p>\n

Kory O eventually replaced Master Gee.<\/p>\n

They released a new album in 1999 entitled “Jump On It.”\u00a0 But instead of breaking down musical doors, they are doing this one for the children.\u00a0 The tracks will be aimed at the youth listeners and will include a new version of “Rapper’s Delight” called “It’s Like a Dream Sometimes.<\/p>\n

Grandmaster Melle Mel will lend his vocal talents to the project as well.<\/p>\n

They will be donating a portion of any money raised to The Boys & Girls Club of America.<\/p>\n

The group still tours fairly regularly and can be seen from time to time on various TV specials.<\/p>\n

Watch the Video for “Rapper’s Delight”<\/h2>\n