ChrysoulaPosted: 20 Mar 2004, 12:15amrecovered
Friday 2nd April @ Heaven, 9pm
Sugar Hill Gang supported by Terrafirma, Defenders, Fatface and Kim Dezen
The legendary Sugar Hill Gang, hailing from Englewood, New Jersey, whose "Rapper's Delight" was hip-hop's breakthrough single and paved the way for the mainstream success of rap music in the 80s. They gave the music an identity and a calling card in the first line of the song: "A hip-hop, The hi-be, To the hi-be, The hip-hip-hop, You don't stop rockin". It remains the only record after which, no matter who you were or what you did in hip hop, everything was different. It changed the rules of the game. Its wide release made hip hop instantly international. Its commercial success renegotiated the scope of what was imaginable, possible, probable, doable.
Master G (b. Guy O'Brien, 1963), Wonder Mike (b. Michael Wright, 1958) and Big Bank Hank (b. Henry Jackson, 1958) saw massive international success in 1979 and through to the early 80’s with "8th Wonder", "Kick it Live From 9-5" and "Rapper's Delight", which was based on the subsequently widely borrowed rhythm track from Chic's "Good Times", over which the trio offered a series of sly boasts which were chatted rather than sung.
Sylvia and Joe Robinson had recruited the three rappers on an ad hoc basis. Hank was a former bouncer and pizza waiter, and brought fresh rhymes from his friend Grandmaster Caz, although the pair subsequently fell out over compensation for the use of Caz's lyrics. The backing was offered by Positive Force, a group from Pennsylvania who enjoyed their own hit with "We Got The Funk", but became part of the Sugarhill phenomenon when "Rapper's Delight" struck.
Their second single, “8th Wonder” which rivaled the success of ‘Rapper’s Delight’, cemented their names in the hip hop world, as the lyrics, bass line and catchy saxophone hook were sampled ad nauseum throughout hip hop over the next decade and beyond.
Smaller hits followed with "The Love In You" (1981) and "Kick It Live From 9 To 5" (1982) before the group embarked on a number of collaborations with Hip Hop legends Grandmaster Flash and Grandmaster Melle Mel, including the seminal ‘Grandmaster Flash vs The Sugar Hill Gang’ (Snapper Music) and ‘The Sugar Hill Gang meets The Furious Five’
‘The Showdown: The Sugarhill Gang Vs Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five’ which featured Ice T and Chuck D along with Grandmaster Melle Mel, and hit record store shelves in 1999 to prove that Sugar Hill Records international popularity had not waned, as massive sales followed the records release.
The Sugar Hill Gang have been universally responsible for producing some of the most widely played and eternally loved hip hop in history, their place as legends within the world of hip hop has been eternally assured.
Tickets Available for $45+ bf from 618 Records, Bass, Da Clinic, Venue Tix, Street Core, CIB Outlets and Heaven
for more details log onto Heaven
Sugar Hill Gang supported by Terrafirma, Defenders, Fatface and Kim Dezen
The legendary Sugar Hill Gang, hailing from Englewood, New Jersey, whose "Rapper's Delight" was hip-hop's breakthrough single and paved the way for the mainstream success of rap music in the 80s. They gave the music an identity and a calling card in the first line of the song: "A hip-hop, The hi-be, To the hi-be, The hip-hip-hop, You don't stop rockin". It remains the only record after which, no matter who you were or what you did in hip hop, everything was different. It changed the rules of the game. Its wide release made hip hop instantly international. Its commercial success renegotiated the scope of what was imaginable, possible, probable, doable.
Master G (b. Guy O'Brien, 1963), Wonder Mike (b. Michael Wright, 1958) and Big Bank Hank (b. Henry Jackson, 1958) saw massive international success in 1979 and through to the early 80’s with "8th Wonder", "Kick it Live From 9-5" and "Rapper's Delight", which was based on the subsequently widely borrowed rhythm track from Chic's "Good Times", over which the trio offered a series of sly boasts which were chatted rather than sung.
Sylvia and Joe Robinson had recruited the three rappers on an ad hoc basis. Hank was a former bouncer and pizza waiter, and brought fresh rhymes from his friend Grandmaster Caz, although the pair subsequently fell out over compensation for the use of Caz's lyrics. The backing was offered by Positive Force, a group from Pennsylvania who enjoyed their own hit with "We Got The Funk", but became part of the Sugarhill phenomenon when "Rapper's Delight" struck.
Their second single, “8th Wonder” which rivaled the success of ‘Rapper’s Delight’, cemented their names in the hip hop world, as the lyrics, bass line and catchy saxophone hook were sampled ad nauseum throughout hip hop over the next decade and beyond.
Smaller hits followed with "The Love In You" (1981) and "Kick It Live From 9 To 5" (1982) before the group embarked on a number of collaborations with Hip Hop legends Grandmaster Flash and Grandmaster Melle Mel, including the seminal ‘Grandmaster Flash vs The Sugar Hill Gang’ (Snapper Music) and ‘The Sugar Hill Gang meets The Furious Five’
‘The Showdown: The Sugarhill Gang Vs Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five’ which featured Ice T and Chuck D along with Grandmaster Melle Mel, and hit record store shelves in 1999 to prove that Sugar Hill Records international popularity had not waned, as massive sales followed the records release.
The Sugar Hill Gang have been universally responsible for producing some of the most widely played and eternally loved hip hop in history, their place as legends within the world of hip hop has been eternally assured.
Tickets Available for $45+ bf from 618 Records, Bass, Da Clinic, Venue Tix, Street Core, CIB Outlets and Heaven
for more details log onto Heaven