The Sugarhill Gang

In 1979 the Sugarhill Gang introduced recorded hip-hop through their single "Rapper's Delight," a multi-platinum seller that received heavy radio play. The group had nevertheless been assembled purely to profit from what many viewed as a temporary novelty. Sylvia Robinson, a music-industry producer and label owner, had observed the large-scale hip-hop block parties spreading through the New York area in the late 1970s and therefore recruited three local rappers—Master Gee, Wonder Mike, and Big Bank Hank—to cut a track. "Rapper's Delight" proved immediately infectious, lifted its central break from Chic's "Good Times," and went on to sell more than eight million copies worldwide. Although most insiders dismissed rap as a short-lived trend, the Sugarhill Gang did little to sustain its momentum; after a handful of modest successes that included "8th Wonder" and "Apache," the trio quickly disappeared and remained inactive until the 1999 release of Jump on It, a children's rap album.