They're credited as the first hip hop group to achieve a top forty rap hit, and while I was familiar with the fifteen minute opus, I had no idea what I was in for.
Wonder Mike (Michael Wright), Big Bank Hank (Henry Jackson), and Master Gee (Guy O'Brien) formed Sugarhill Gang released their single, Rapper's Delight, in 1979. While it would push sales for their self titled debut album in 1980, it would also be their only hit throughout the entirety of their career.
I fired up the album today, expecting to be treated to a plethora of early 80's gem, and was shocked by the soulful ballad which kicked everything off. Here I Am, was a decent track, but definitely unexpected based on the expectation set by Rapper's Delight.
Rapper's Reprise, or track two, brought the sound I was anticipating, and serves as a solid entry into hip hop. I have to admit that it's this early era of rap that I find myself enjoying. Older rap has a sense of good times, a party, if you will. Wholesome music about bringing people together to enjoy the moment.
Things rotate back and fourth throughout the six tracks from soul to rap, and while I definitely found myself more so favoring the latter style, the soul songs weren't terrible by any means. They had that orchestrated Motown Sound of funk, and that's a genre I can get behind.
While there are only six tracks, there's definitely meat on the bone of each one. The shortest song clocks in at five minutes three seconds, with the longest coming in just shy of ten. Here's where the problem comes into play.
Rapper's Delight is a song that is just shy of a fifteen minute runtime. However, you won't get this "long" version on the album. Instead, it's the condensed single mix. This was both disappointing and annoying to discover (at first). Mind you, this wasn't some form of bait and switch for the 2007 CD pressing. Rather, even back in 1980, when released on vinyl, the album contained the shorter version. To get the long version, one would have to purchase the twelve inch vinyl single.
There is a work around for this "problem" for CD buyers. Whereas the 2007 pressing of the album is a one to one reflection of the original vinyl, there was a 30th anniversary release in 2010 that contains both versions. While it initially annoyed me that the long version wasn't on the CD I own, when I discovered that this was actually the preserved vinyl as originally released, I got over it fast.
Overall, I was pleased with the debut record. It didn't necessarily make me want to check out for from Sugarhill Gang, but I also wouldn't be opposed to it if I saw 8th Wonder (1981), Rappin' Down Town (1983) or Livin' In The Fast Lane (1984) in the wild.
Sugarhill Gang disappeared after 1984, but made a brief comeback in 1999 with the album, Jump On It! While their days of album sales has since passed, the surviving, along with new members, continue to tour.
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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
March 3, 1984
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