WASHINGTON — "Rapper’s Delight" by the Sugarhill Gang was the first rap single to become a top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and to go platinum twice.
The record-breaking song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014.
"Everybody wants to make their mark in the world," Guy O’Brien, also known as Master Gee from The Sugarhill Gang, said. "You want to be known for something. For me to be known as the first commercially successful hip-hop artist in the world, and to have recorded the first platinum selling record is a crazy thing."
The song was released more than 40 years ago in 1979 and helped introduce hip-hop music to the world.
"That’s our signature song," Master Gee said. "Sometimes people say, 'Do you get tired of doing it?' No. That’s the song that took us around the world. That’s the song that introduced this music to the world."
Master Gee said the song broke barriers.
The Sugarhill Gang was creating music at a time when the African-American community was dealing with tough issues and struggles.
The group was performing during the crack epidemic, a spike in gang violence across America, and in the years following Martin Luther King Jr.'s death.
"We came out in 1979," Master Gee said. "So, it was a very conscious time for us. Coming through that, it was very important that we represented ourselves a certain way."
Master Gee told WUSA9 he and his fellow group members went above and beyond to ensure they were representing themselves and the black community in a positive light.
"We made sure that we talked properly," he said. "We had some power in what it is that we said and things that we did because we felt like we were responsible. We had to represent our people."
Master Gee said the Sugarhill Gang influenced people of color by giving the community an opportunity to see people like themselves doing something on a positive level that was not sports or acting.
The music icon described the group’s impact as presenting people with another avenue toward success.
"One of the biggest things that I feel good about is that we gave people another view at it, another dimension at being successful," Master Gee said. "Especially, most importantly our people."
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