HIP HOP

THE SUGARHILL GANG
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 Bank 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 moment in which DJs and MCs became ghetto celebrities by selling homemade mix tapes and bootleg blend tapes of live shows. While "Rapper's Delight" was not the first recorded rap record-it was actually preceded by Fatback's "King Tim III (Personality Jock)"-many people credit the single with being their first exposure to the art form. However, many detractors thought it nothing more than a novelty record. Not only was it much more than a fad, but it introduced the planet to the newest cultural movement to emerge from the streets of New York. Hip Hop. Rap would not break through to mainstream for several years more, but the Sugarhill Gang brought it out into the light for the first time.
The Rhino Works

GRANDMASTER FLASH & THE FURIOUS FIVE
Born in 1958, Joseph Saddler was raised in the Bronx. One of the pioneers of rap, Flash was signed to Sugarhill records in 1980. One of the first commerically successful entertainers in Hip Hop, he and his crew..the Furious Five (Kid Creole, Rahiem, Cowboy, Scorpio and Melle Mel) were responsible for one of the most socially concious recordings in pop music history. "The Message", which came out in 1982, was a rap of the evils and desperation of ghetto life. The single is seen as a major factor in Rap becoming a social voice speaking on black life, racism and politics. The Furious Five broke up in 1984, but Flash continued his solo career.
The Rhino Works

KURTIS BLOW
Born in 1959, Kurt Walker was raised in New York City right where Hip Hop was born. One of the very first rappers to take his show on the road, Kurtis was not afraid to MC to a 2500 seat arena with only 60 people in it. Heavily influenced by rapping great Grandmaster Flash, Blow had the opportunity to work with the Furious Five in 1978. The group was known briefly as Grandmaster Flash and the Furious 7 (The seventh was Kool Kyle). One of the first rappers to be commercially successful, Kurtis had a million-selling single "The Breaks" in 1980. A pioneer in his own right, Kurtis Blow's first five albums helped launch the international rap craze that changed the music industry. His creation of the sample loop revolutionized the way rap records are made today. Kurtis now hosts a weekly old-school hip hop radio show in Los Angeles. (KPWR).
The Rhino Works

RUN DMC
Although rap had been flourishing in black communities, it had not crossed over into the mainstream since the seminal release of "Rapper's Delight" all the way back in 1979. Run DMC changed that. The trio consisting of Joseph Simmons (Run), Darryl McDaniels (DMC), and Jason Mizell (Jam Master Jay), was the first to break that barrier. One of the hottest commercial acts of the 80s, Run DMC was also the first rap act to earn a gold record, the first to earn a platinum record, the first to have a video played on MTV, the first to be on the cover of Rolling Stone, the first to appear on "American Bandstand" and the first non-athlete to receive an endorsement contract from Adidas sportswear. Their first album, "Raising Hell" merged rock and rap in such a way that it was accessible to both genres. It was ground-breakingly significant for rap and it opened the floodgates for the popularity of the art form.
The Rhino Works

PUBLIC ENEMY
n 1988 Chuck D (Carlton Ridenhour), Flavor-Flav (William Drayton), and deejay Terminator X (Norman Rogers) brought politics into rap in a way that had only been seen before with "The Message" and Kurtis Blow's "8 Million Stories". Public Enemy's stated mission is to champion the cause of the underclass, which they did with hard-hitting lyrics that dwelt on political and social ills. Chuck D is now a public speaker on political issues.
The Rhino Works