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Sylvia Robinson, Sugarhill Records & the Roots of Hip-Hop

Sylvia Robinson

In the leafy suburb of Englewood, New Jersey stands a large wooden building on the corner of West Street. But while local residents go about their daily business, behind its closed doors the most controversial, blistering dance music is being created. Welcome to the home of Sugarhill Records, which moved out here from the area of Harlem from which it takes its name. It's become the most energetic and forceful label of the 80s. Where under the wing of its creator Sylvia Robinson, rappers, singers, scratchers, musicians, and engineers come from the Bronx, from Harlem, from places you thought only existed in films to make THEIR voices heard. This is Sugarhill Records, the only true independent label where everything happens under one roof. Artists sign their contracts there, they record there, they mix with other musicians, exchange ideas and come out with a music that kicks so hard you've got to dance. Sugarhill is delivering the sound of New York right into your home. It's delivering the streets, the grime, the clubs, the good times and the hard times direct to your head and your feet. And don't let anyone tell you it all sounds the same.

-- Simon Mills, "Record Mirror"

In the summer of 1979 rap began to break through the mainstream barrier when Michael "Wonder Mike" Wright, Guy "Master Gee" O'Brien, and Henry "Big Hank" Jackson, better known as the Sugarhill Gang, unleashed "Rapper's Delight" on an unsuspecting public. Until then rap was primarily an art form of the streets and discos, rather than one of the recording studio...

As rapping moved center stage, rappers and DJs began to form neighborhood crews who hosted block parties, school dances, and social clubs. Like breakdance crew competitions, rappers and DJs battled for local supremacy in intense verbal and musical duels. These early duels were not merely a matter of encouraging crowd reaction with simple ditties such as "Yell, ho!" and "Somebody scream." These parties and competitions lasted for several hours and required that the performers had a well-stocked arsenal of rhymes and stories, physical stamina, and expertise. Local independent record producers realized that these battles began to draw consistently huge crowds and approached the rappers and DJs about producing records. While a number of small releases were under way, Sylvia Robinson of Sugarhill Records created the Sugar Hill Gang whose 1979 debut single "Rapper's Delight" brought rap into the commercial spotlight.

By early 1980, "Rapper's Delight" had sold several million copies and rose to the top of the pop charts. "Rapper's Delight" changed everything; most important, it solidified rap's commercial status. DJs had been charging fees for parties and relying on records and equipment for performance, but the commercial potential at which "Rapper's Delight" only hinted significantly raised the economic stakes.

"Rapper's Delight" has also been cited by rappers from all over the country as their first encounter with hip hop's sound and style. In fact, the commercial success of "Rapper's Delight" had the contradictory effect of sustaining and spawning new facets of rap in New York and elsewhere and at the same time reorienting rap toward more elaborate and restraining commercial needs and expectations.

-- Tricia Rose, Black Noise

Sugar Hill Records

While "Rapper's Delight" was not the first rap record -- it was actually preceded by Fatback's "King Tim III"  -- it was the first to expose the mainstream public to the art form. Many detractors, however, thought it was nothing more than a novelty record. Were they ever wrong! This track introduced the planet to a brand new cultural movement emerging from the streets of New York.

Released and promoted by Sugar Hill Records, a label owned by soul singer Sylvia Robinson and her husband Joe, "Rapper's Delight" went on to sell more than two million copies worldwide. It also charted at #4 R&B and #36 pop in the U.S., #1 in Canada, and it went Top 5 in Europe, Israel, and South Africa. But because the label was independent, the sales were never certified. According to a number of rappers and DJs from this period, the Sugarhill Gang did not originate in the Bronx (the borough most closely associated with the early days of hip-hop) but New Jersey, which at the time did not have a local rap scene. Legend has it that Sylvia Robinson had a vision during a birthday party at Harlem World (a club on 116th Street and Lennox Avenue) where "Love Bug" Starski was rocking the house. Supposedly once she heard the crowd's response, she decided to form a rap group.

After Ms. Robinson suggested the idea to her son, Joey Robinson Jr., he set out to make it happen. He first went to Hank who, in addition to spending his nights as a bouncer in the New York club Disco Fever, was working at a local pizzeria. Joey heard Hank rapping some of Grandmaster Caz's rhymes and asked him if he wanted to be in a rap group. Guy and Mike were passing by and decided to audition as well.

While "Rapper's Delight" was a phenomenal record, the industry didn't know how to categorize it. Was it pop? Crossover? Black? Fortunately the inability to categorize the single didn't affect sales any.

Thus began the reign of Sugar Hill Records, which had the rap market cornered until the rise of Kurtis Blow and Russell Simmons. Sugar Hill Records boasted a roster that included the Sugarhill Gang, Grand Master Flash & The Furious 5, The Treacherous Three, Kool Moe Dee, Spoonie Gee, Funky 4 + 1, Crash Crew, West Street Mob, and The Sequence (the first all-female rap group).

from Kurtis Blow Presents: The History Of Rap, Vol. 2: The Birth Of The Rap Record
 

Sugarhill Gang

Sugar Hill Gang

Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five

Grandmaster Flash

Born Joseph Saddler, 1 January 1958, Barbados, West Indies, but raised in the Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. This pivotal force in early rap music grew up in the South Bronx, studying at Samuel Gompers Vocational Technical High School, spending his leisure time attending DJ parties thrown by early movers such as Grandmaster/DJ Flowers, MaBoya and DJ Pete Jones. The latter took him under his wing, and Flash intended to combine Jones' timing on the decks with the sort of records that Kool Herc was spinning. Hence in the early 70s Saddler set about discovering the way to segue records smoothly together, highlighting the "break" - the point in a record where the drum rhythm is isolated or accentuated - and repeating it. With admirable fortitude, Saddler spent upwards of a year in his apartment on 167th Street experimenting. The basis of his technique was to adapt Herc's approach, using two turntables each spinning the same record. He would then interrupt the flow of the disc offering the basic rhythm by overlaying the "break", repeating the process by switching channels on the mixer, as necessary. The complexity and speed of the operation (the second desk would have to be rotated backwards to the beginning of the "break" section) earned him the nickname Flash when he brought the style to his public, owing to the rapid hand movements.

However, attention grabbing though this was, the style had not yet quite gelled into what Flash required. He decided, instead, to invite a vocalist to share the stage with him. He worked in this respect with first Lovebug Starski, then Keith Wiggins. Wiggins would eventually come to be known as Cowboy within Grandmaster Flash's Furious Five, in the process becoming one of the first "MCs", delivering rhymes to accompany Flash's turntable wizardry. Flash continued in the block/park party vein for a considerable time, often illegally by hooking up his sound system to an intercepted mains cable until the police arrived. One person, at least, saw some commercial potential in his abilities, however. Ray Chandler stepped up and invited Flash to allow him to promote him, and charge an entrance fee (previous hip-hop events had always been free). Initially incredulous at the thought that anyone would actually pay to see them, Flash nevertheless accepted.

Flash put together a strong line-up of local talent to support him: Grandmaster Melle Mel (b. Melvin Glover, New York City, New York, USA) and his brother Kid Creole (b. Nathaniel Glover) joining Cowboy, this line-up initially titled Grandmaster Flash And The 3MCs. Two further rappers, Duke Bootee (b. Ed Fletcher) and Kurtis Blow subsequently joined, but were eventually replaced by Rahiem (b. Guy Todd Williams; ex-Funky Four) and Scorpio (b. Eddie Morris, aka Mr Ness). The Zulu Tribe was also inaugurated, with the express purpose of acting as security at live events: with Flash popularising the rap format, rival MCs sprang up to take their mentor and each other on. These head to heads often had the result of garnering the participants equipment as prize money. A crew who were not popular could expect to see their turntables and sound system rehabilitated for their troubles. Just as Jamaican sound system owners like Duke Reid and Coxsone Dodd had done in the 60s, Flash, Kool Herc and Afrika Bambaataa would hide their records from prying eyes to stop their "sound" being pirated. Similarly, record labels were removed to avoid identifying marks.

The Furious Five, meanwhile, made their debut proper on 2 September 1976. Shortly afterwards they released their first record, "Super Rappin'", for Enjoy Records. Although hugely popular within the hip-hop fraternity, it failed to make commercial inroads, and Flash tried again with "We Rap Mellow" (as the Younger Generation on Brass). However, it would be Joe Robinson Jr. of Sugarhill Records who finally bought out their Enjoy contract.

He had seen the Grandmaster in action at Disco Fever, "hip-hop's first home", which had opened in the Bronx in 1978. His wife, Sylvia, wrote and produced their subsequent record, a relationship which kicked off with "Freedom". On the back of a major tour, certainly the first in rap's embryonic history, the single sold well, going on to earn a gold disc. The follow-up "Birthday Party" was totally eclipsed by "The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel", the first rap record to use samples, and a musical tour de force, dramatically showcasing the Flash quick mixing and scratching skills. Memorable enough, it too was overshadowed when Sugarhill brought the band in to record one of Robinson's most memorable compositions (written in tandem with Bootee): "The Message". The single, with its daunting, apocalyptic rumblings, significantly expanded not just rap but black music's boundaries, though the Furious Five had been less convinced of its worth when it was first offered to them in demo form. In just over a month the record achieved platinum sales. In the wake of the record's success Flash enquired of his Sugarhill bosses why no money was forthcoming. When he did not receive satisfactory explanation, he elected to split, taking Kid Creole and Rahiem with him, signing to Elektra Records.

The others, headed by Melle Mel, would continue as Melle Mel And The Furious 5, scoring nearly instantly with another classic, "White Lines (Don't Do It)". Bearing in mind the subject matter of Mel's flush of success, it was deeply ironic that Flash had now become a freebase cocaine addict. In the 80s Flash's name largely retreated into the mists of rap folklore until he was reunited with his Furious Five in 1987 for a Paul Simon hosted charity concert in New York, and talk of a reunion in 1994 eventually led to the real thing. Back with the Furious Five he hosted New York's WQHT Hot 97 show, "Mic Checka", spinning discs while prospective rappers rang up to try to pitch their freestyle rhymes down the telephone. Unfortunately, the reunion would not include Cowboy, who died on 8 September 1989 after a slow descent into crack addiction. Flash also helped out on Terminator X's Super Bad set, which brought together many of the old school legends. In January 2002, he released an acclaimed mix album recreating the sounds of his legendary mid-70s block parties.

from BBC Artist Profiles: Grandmaster Flash

Kool Moe Dee

Kool Moe Dee

Kool Moe Dee was born on August 8, 1963 as Mohandes Dewese. His early career began with his work with The Treacherous Three. After leaving the group he attended college in NY and received a degree in communications. He was also involved in one of the most infamous battles in history against Busy Bee. Kool Moe Dee kick started his solo career while he was still signed to Sugar Hill with T3, releasing the single "Turn It Up" and lending his writing talents the Sugar Hill Gang's single "The Down Beat" (he also recorded his own version). Both singles were released in 1985. Once he decided to reenter the hip hop scene full time on his own he enlisted the help of an unknown producer named Teddy Riley. The first single was "Go See the Doctor" and it made them both famous. By 1986 he had signed to Jive and released his first solo album. In 1987, with the release of his next album "How Ya Like Me Now" and the single of the same name, Moe Dee moved into one of the most highlighted portions of his career. He took on LL Cool J in a war of words. LL fired back with "Jack the Ripper." Moe Dee returned with "Let's Go." LL countered with "To The Break of Dawn." And Moe Dee finished up with "Death Blow". He became the first rapper to ever perform on the Grammy Awards. He also participated in The Stop The Violence Movement single "Self Destruction." In addition, he was part of the Quincy Jones project, "Back on the Block". He has continued to release albums into the 90's without much success with the exception of his greatest hits collections.

from Discogs: Kool Moe Dee

Spoonie Gee

Spoonie Gee

Spoonie Gee was the nephew of veteran R&B producer Bobby Robinson and one of the earliest rap artists. He was known as the "love rapper," an image that was established by his first record, "Love Rap", released on his uncle's Enjoy label as the flip side of the Treacherous Three's "The New Rap Language". The bulk of early rap records reproduced an MC's party routine with a loose sequence of narrative, boasting, and call and response. Spoonie's initial outing, however, organized a hip-hop styled record around a romantic theme, coming closer to the lyrical norms of pop music. The intimate "Love Rap" was accompanied only by drum set and congas, and Spoonie's next record continued in a similarly minimalist vein. The voice-over on 1979's "Spoonin' Rap" stuck to more conventional old-school boasting but looks forward to the gangsta attitude in its jailhouse references. "Spoonin' Rap" was also prophetic in its use of flexatone and heavily echoed voice, suggesting the Jamaican connection that was denied in early interviews by some of the rap originators. In 1980, Spoonie collaborated with Sequence on a classic single, "Monster Jam", probably the last word on the series of "Good Times" / "Another One Bites the Dust" variations, and a classic in the Sugar Hill vein, complete with a bone-crushing bass line and ecstatic crowd noises.

from Discogs: Spoonie Gee

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