Old School rap artist Master Gee returned to The Sugarhill Gang several years ago and joins the group for a performance at the State Fair of Virginia. (Photo by Jose Acha)
In September of 1979, a 15-minute “talking record” that contained an interpolation of Chic’s “Good Times” became one of the biggest selling singles ever. “Rapper's Delight,” recorded by The Sugarhill Gang, became the first commercially successful rap recording, on the first independent rap record label, Sylvia and Joseph Robinson’s Sugar Hill Records. There was no accurate way to account for record sales at the time, but the track is estimated to have sold more than 5 million records upon its initial release.
Since then, The Sugarhill Gang, which consisted of Wonder Mike, Master Gee and the late Big Bank Hank, has endured lawsuits with its record label, personnel changes and the theft of individual identities within the group. (See the 2011 documentary “I Want My Name Back.”) Now, the remaining original members have reunited, added new member Hen Dogg and reclaimed their name in time for the 40th anniversary of their debut.
Richmond magazine: The group has gone through a few name changes over the years. Tell me about how the group got its name back.
Master Gee: I left the group in 1984 to start my own business in the magazine industry. [Big Bank] Hank and Wonder Mike started touring in the ‘90s with Sylvia Robinson’s son Joey Jr. Joey started telling the world that he was the original Master Gee. I returned to the music industry in the early 2000s and reunited with Wonder Mike, and we went by the name MG Squad and Rappers Delight because Sugar Hill Records owned the name Sugarhill Gang and they would not allow us to use it. Within a short time span Sylvia, Joe, Rondo and Joey Robinson Jr. all passed, and their remaining son, Leland, granted us the rights to use Sugarhill Gang.
RM: You guys toured Richmond quite a bit in the late '70s and early '80s. Do you have any specific memories of Richmond?
Gee: Yes! I remember the Richmond Coliseum, and I remember Kings Dominion. It rained really hard that day, and we didn’t get a chance to perform, but that was the Sugar Hill Revue with us, The Mean Machine, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious 5, and Sequence.
RM: What do you think of current popular rap music?
Gee: I have an issue with some of the content, but at the same time adults didn’t like rap when it first arrived on the scene, and with us we had fun records like“Rappers Delight,” “8th Wonder,” “Apache” and “The Lover In You,” so along with Kurtis Blow we grabbed some of that adult audience. But rap has always been a music genre for the young people, and they enjoy it.
RM: What are you guys up to currently?
Gee: Touring. We are currently finishing up in Europe, where we’ve been for the last 2 months with The Furious 5. We also recently released a song with The Furious 5, “Someone Like You,” that has charted in Europe.
The Sugarhill Gang performs at the State Fair of Virginia Friday, Sept. 27, at 7 p.m. $10 for blue-ribbon seating; regular seating is included in fair admission.
