“Rappers Delight” – A Gang of Firsts

“I said a hip, hop, the hippie the hippie to the hip hop, a you don’t stop a rockin‘ to the bang bang boogie, say up jumped the boogie to the rhythm of the boogie, the beat.”

Before 1979, rap music wasn’t on wax.

There were DJs. There was graffiti. There were B-Boys. There were even Emcees.

But there weren’t any recorded rap songs.

Then came The Sugar Hill Gang, and things would never be the same.

In 1979, producer Sylvia Robinson of Sugar Hill Records pulled together three guys from Englewood, New Jersey to form the pioneering rap group, The Sugar Hill Gang.

Over a sample from the popular disco song, “Good Times” by Chic, Sylvia asked local rappers Wonder Mike and Master Gee, and (Cold Crush Brother’s manager) Big Bank Hank to record a rap song.

That song would become known as “Rappers Delight”, unleashing a gang of “Firsts” for Hip Hop:

The first recorded Hip Hop song

The first disputed “first recorded Hip Hop song”: a debate still rages today between “Rappers Delight” and King Tim III’s “Personality Jock” as to which song is truly the first rap song. Both songs debuted in 1979 (supreme skeptics credit Pigmeat Markham’s 1963 song “Here Comes The Judge” as the original rap song).

The first rap song to be RIAA certified gold and certified platinum (“Rappers Delight” has sold over 8 million records).

The first rap song to debut on the US Top 40 charts (debuting at #36 on US pop charts, and #4 on R&B charts).

The first sampled rap song (the song features a sample from the Chic hit, “Good Times”).

The first rap song performed by a Hip Hop boy band (Sylvia Robinson assembled the group. They were not a group before joining Sugar Hill Records).

The first rap song to be performed on popular TV show American Bandstand.

The first rap song to feature a ghost written verse (Big Bank Hank used a verse written by Grandmaster Caz of the Cold Crush Brothers (whom Hank managed) in exchange for his help in getting a record deal. The deal never developed. Caz never received a dime).

The first rap song to receive a copyright infringement lawsuit. Chic’s Nile Rodgers filed suit since “Rappers Delight” used a sample from “Good Times”. The case settled out of court, leaving Rodgers with a significant piece of all future royalties.

and most importantly….

The first rap song to feature the words “Ho-Tel / Mo-Tel / Holiday Inn!”