In 1979 the rap group Sugarhill Gang was formed, and in that same year, they became one of the most talked about groups in the genre of hip-hop. Their hit song “Rapper’s Delight” was released that year as well, and it became the first rap single to become a top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
Sugarhill Records CEO Leland Robinson along with the group members; Master Gee, Wonder Mike, Henry Williams and DJ T Dynasty spoke with rolling out about their impact on hip-hop over the years.
What are your thoughts on 50 years of hip-hop and the impact the Sugarhill Gang has had on the music?
Leland Robinson: Sugarhill Gang is definitely the first to put out rap music commercially throughout the world, and they are the pioneers of the rap game. A lot of people get confused when Fat Back Band said that they were the first to put out a rap record, but they weren’t a rap group. I want it to be known that Sugarhill Gang was the first to put out a rap record in 1979 with “Rapper’s Delight.”
Wonder Mike: I first heard of hip-hop, in May of 1979. I was signed in August of 1979, and the country first heard of hip-hop in September. It’s crazy how fast this genre just took off. When I first heard it, my cousin walked up to me with the biggest boombox and said, “Check this out.” A lot was going on, and I asked him, “What is that?” I was listening to all kinds of jazz [then]. But when I went to the function that they had, I heard my cousin rap something, and I said, “Whoa, wait a minute. That’s kind of fire.”
DJ T Dynasty: From its inception, up to now it’s been the voice of the people. I think it’s never going to change and stop being the voice of the people. It’s impacted everything to the fact that every motion picture or classic movie, they played hip-hop in their movie. It’s impacted life as we know it. It’s not going to stop, and it’s going to just keep evolving.
Henry Williams: I look at it as one more thing that our people have created. No one thought that it was going to be what it is today. They thought it was a fad, where it’s a here today and gone tomorrow type of thing. Now, it’s world culture and is the biggest genre in the world. Now we’re here just to stamp that we’re celebrating 50 years of hip-hop, and it’s the biggest celebration that’s going on right now.
Master Gee: At the end of the day, we were the first people that brought it to the world. We’re the ambassadors of the music, and we’ll always be that. What it has become is a direct result of the effect that it’s had on the people who get it. It’s an organic situation, and it continues to evolve into different interpretations, perspectives, forms of life, and life experiences.
