31/03/2023
Sylvia Robinson made music history in 1979 when she assembled a rap group in the studio to record what would become the first commercially successful rap record. Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" was a huge radio hit, crossing over to the R&B Hot 100 charts and selling over 1 million copies. She demonstrated with one record that the nascent genre could have as much commercial success as any contemporary musical genres. Her label, Sugarhill Records, was a major creative force in those early years and she produced seminal records, such as "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, and pioneering acts like The Funky 4 + 1.
Robinson was hardly new to the music industry when she formed Sugarhill Records with her husband, Joe Robinson. She was a successful singer, songwriter, and producer even if she wasn't always credited for her work. Hip hop cemented Robinson's place in music history while her pioneering work elevated the genre and helping to kick off hip hop's global rise.
