Michael Anthony Wright, known professionally as Wonder Mike, is an American rapper and member of the Sugarhill Gang. The group was part of the hip hop movement in the 1970s and 1980s.
The Sugarhill Gang is an American hip hop group, formed in 1979 in Englewood, New Jersey. Their hit "Rapper's Delight", released the same year they were formed, was the first rap single to become a top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100; reaching a peak position of number 36 on January 12, 1980. This was the trio's only U.S. hit, though they did have further success in Europe until the mid-1980s. The trio reformed in 1994 and did a world tour in 2016.
"Rapper's Delight" is a 1979 hip hop track by the Sugarhill Gang, produced by Sylvia Robinson. Although it was shortly preceded by the Fatback Band's "King Tim III ", "Rapper's Delight" is credited for introducing hip hop music to a wide audience, reaching the top 40 in the United States, as well as the top three in the United Kingdom and number one in Canada. It was a prototype for various types of rap music. The track interpolates Chic's "Good Times", resulting in Chic's Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards threatening to sue Sugar Hill Records for copyright infringement; a settlement was reached that gave the two songwriting credits. The track was recorded in a single take. There are five mixes of the song.
Tackhead is an industrial hip-hop group that was most active during the 1980s and early 1990s, and briefly reformed in 2004 for a tour. Their music occupies the territory where funk, dub, industrial music and electronica intersect. The core members are Doug Wimbish (bass), Keith Leblanc (percussion) and Skip McDonald (guitar) and producer Adrian Sherwood. Despite being short-lived as a band proper, the legacy and output of these groups of musicians has been prodigious.
Douglas Arthur Wimbish is an American bass player, primarily known for being a member of rock band Living Colour and funk/dub/hip hop collective Tackhead, and as a session musician with artists such as Sugarhill Gang, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, The Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger, Depeche Mode, James Brown, Annie Lennox, Tarja Turunen, and Barrington Levy.
Henry Lee Jackson, known by his stage name Big Bank Hank, was an American old school rapper and manager. Also known as Imp the Dimp, he was a member of the trio The Sugarhill Gang, the first hip hop act to have a hit, with the cross-over single "Rapper's Delight" in the pop charts in 1979. He contributed to many documentaries based on the rap music industry. Lyrics to his verse from "Rapper's Delight" were allegedly plagiarized from rhymes written by Grandmaster Caz.
The Treacherous Three was a pioneering American hip hop group that was formed in 1978 and consisted of DJ Easy Lee, Kool Moe Dee, L.A. Sunshine, Special K and Spoonie Gee, with occasional contributions from DJ Dano B, DJ Reggie Reg and DJ Crazy Eddie. They first appeared on record in 1980 on the B-side of Spoonie Gee's single, "Love Rap".
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were an American hip hop group formed in the South Bronx of New York City in 1978. The group's members were Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel, Kidd Creole, Keef Cowboy, Scorpio, and Rahiem. The group's use of turntablism, breakbeat DJing, and conscious lyricism were significant in the early development of hip hop music.
Funky 4 + 1 was an American hip hop group from The Bronx, New York, composed of Jazzy Jeff, Sha-Rock, D.J. Breakout, Guy Williams, Keith Keith, The Voice of K.K. and Rodney Stone. The latter two members also performed together as the duo Double Trouble, notably in the film Wild Style. They were the first hip hop group to receive a record deal, as well as the first to perform live on national television. The group was also notable for being the first to have a woman MC, Sha-Rock.
"The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel" is a single released by American disc jockey Grandmaster Flash in 1981. It is a live DJ mix recording of Flash scratching and mixing records from various groups using three turntables. The musician employed several DJ techniques in the recording, including crossfading, cutting, rubbing and backspins.
The Third Unheard: Connecticut Hip Hop 1979–1983 is a compilation of old school hip hop music from Connecticut, a place not generally known for its rap music scene.
Skip McDonald is an American musician who also performs under the stage name Little Axe.
Guy Anthony O'Brien is an American rapper known by the stage name Master Gee. He is a founding member of the hip hop group The Sugarhill Gang. On the band's signature song, "Rapper's Delight", he raps, "I said M-A-S, T-E-R, a G with a double E, I said I go by the unforgettable name of the man they call the Master Gee". He was 17 at the time of recording the song, alluded to by the lyric, "I guess by now you can take a hunch, and find that I am the baby of the bunch".
Sugarhill Gang is the self-titled debut album by influential rap group the Sugarhill Gang. It is considered to be the first hip hop studio album, leading to more studio albums by other rappers.
8th Wonder is the second album by the American rap group the Sugarhill Gang. The album was released in 1981 for Sugar Hill Records and was again produced by Sylvia Robinson and James Cullimore. Though not as successful as the group's previous album, the album did feature the minor hits "8th Wonder" and "Apache" and featured an appearance by another Sugar Hill Records rap group, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five on "Showdown".
Jump On It! is a 1999 studio album by American hip hop group The Sugarhill Gang made of children's music and was the first hip hop album made by rap artists for children. The album was the only one recorded after the trio of Big Bank Hank, Master Gee, and Wonder Mike reunited in the 1990s and was promoted by a jump rope contest for children in coordination with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, who received a portion of the proceeds from album sales. The album was devised by Rhino Records executive Richard Foos and was intended to be paired with a line of children's clothing, educational videos, and television programming.
"Apache" is a song written by Jerry Lordan and first recorded by Bert Weedon. Lordan played the song on ukulele to the Shadows while on tour, and liking the song, the group released their own version which topped the UK Singles Chart for five weeks in mid-1960. The Shadows' guitarist Hank Marvin developed the song's distinctive echo and vibrato sound. After hearing the Shadows' version, Danish guitarist Jørgen Ingmann released a cover of the song in November 1960 which peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US.
This article summarizes the events, album releases, and album release dates in hip hop music for the year 1979.
The following is a list of albums released by now-defunct hip-hop record label Sugar Hill Records.
The Sugar Hill Records Story is a 1997 compilation album compiling singles released by the Sugar Hill Records label. It was released by Rhino Records who had purchased the North American rights to the labels catalogue in 1995. On its release, it received positive reviews from Vibe, Spin and AllMusic.
