The Sugarhill Gang and Doug E. Fresh

In 1973 New Jersey residents Michael “Wonder Mike” Wright, Henry “Big Bank Hank” Jackson, and Guy “Master Gee” O’Brien were assembled by producer Sylvia Robinson and formed The Sugarhill Gang. Sylvia Robinson and record mogul husband Joe Robinson were also founders of the label Sugar Hill Records named after the Sugar Hill, Harlem, New York neighbourhood.

Sylvia Robinson, aware of the popularity of hip-hop block parties tried to cash in and produce an infectious and catchy hit. The Sugarhill Gang released the single “Rapper’s Delight” in 1979 and became an instant worldwide hit with its notoriously groovy and danceable bass line of Bernard Edwards from Chic’s “Good Times”. “Rapper’s Delight” has gone on to sell over eight million copies worldwide, peaked at No. 3 in the UK singles chart and has been considered the first song to popularise rap in the U.S. and around the world.

Despite their early success, The Sugarhill Gang were unable to capitalise on their popularity with all of their albums failing to perform well commercially and critically. The band released an eponymously-titled debut album in 1980, and a sophomore album titled “8th Wonder” in 1982. After “Rapper’s Delight” the band had a number of moderate hit singles including “8th Wonder”, “Apache” and “Showdown”, although for the most part faded out of public consciousness by the mid-1980s.

The group returned in April 1999 to release the children’s rap album “Jump on It!” through Rhino Entertainment. The album was relatively well-received, featured a child friendly version of “Rapper’s Delight” and maintained the band’s old school hip-hop vibe. In 2014 Big Bank Hank died at the age of 58 after a long battle with lung cancer.

There's an argument to be made that Douglas E Davis is responsible for the term beatboxer becoming an expression at all. It was he who coined the nickname “The Original Human Beatbox” while he was making a name for himself as a rapper and performer around Harlem, and while others might have enjoyed more commercial success than him with their skills, they still own one hell of a debt to Doug E. Fresh. His first recorded appearance was on the Spoonie Gee and DJ Spivey single “Pass The Buddha”, and after that, his most notable early performance was with The Treacherous Three for their track “Beat Street”. This exposure meant that Fresh began building up some hype around himself, and began to release solo singles with the labels Enjoy and Vinetertainment.

By the end of 1985, Fresh was one of the biggest names in hip-hop with his group The Get Fresh Crew (which featured a young Slick Rick in its line up). He was having hits on both sides of the Atlantic with his single “The Show” hurtling into the top ten of the UK singles chart at number 7. By 1988, he had gone some way of earning the title he gave himself on his second solo album “The World's Greatest Entertainer”, which is a title he keeps to this very day. Remaining an influence even today, it was even Fresh's dance moves that inspired the Cali Swag District to record the smash hit single “Teach Me How To Dougie” in 2010, a good couple of decades after Fresh's last charting hit. Some talents never truly die, and as long as true hip-hop is still a cultural force, Doug E. Fresh will still be one of the men to thank for that. Highly recommended.