"Rapper's Delight" is credited for introducing hip hop music to a wide audience, reaching the top 40 in the United States, as well as the top three in the United Kingdom and number-one in Canada.
@Penderyn so you need a half decent attention span and vocabulary and that's a ''problem''? I'll take it over 3 minutes of mumbling, sexist homophobic nonsense about how gay people are bad and women are property but guns and drugs are something to aspire to any day of the week.
This is when rap was fun, and in my personal opinion the best.There's a video of them performing this on SOUL TRAIN. Btw, the music is originally from the song GOOD TIMES by CHIC.
Chic got inspiration for Good Times from the song "Hollywood Swinging" by Kool & The Gang. The Clash's song "The Magnificent Seven" also drew inspiration from Chic's good times.
Yep, from back when they could use an entire musical track, add their own vocals and call it brand new lol Im not sure if they got the go from Chic or not but anyway … a lot of rap back then was like this. Such fun and groovy music!
The first hip hop / rap song I ever heard. Was a teen at my buddy’s house when we put that 12inch on the turntable in late ‘78. Fun facts: Deborah Harry of Blondie introduced Chic to these guys at NY underground parties playing “new music” of the times. Sugar Hill Gang had to pull this song off the air because the copyright infringed one of Chic’s songs. They later re released it in 1979 crediting Chic on the record with a new label. That original pressing should be worth something now….
It wasn't sampled from "Good Times" by Chic, Nile Rogers and Bernard Edwards wouldn't let them, so a 17 year old Chip Shearin played on Rapper's Delight.
I still crack up seeing and hearing the scene in "The wedding singer" movie, when the old lady (late actress Ellen Albertini Dow) got on the mic and did her version of "Rapper's delight" by Sugarhill Gang 🤣👍
For the younger ones who don't know this song. No mater if you like it or not it's a very Important song historically. First hip hop song to reach the Billboard top 40.
Every skating rink across the country rocked this tune over & over back when this tune broke out in 79'! It was cool watching people dancing and grooving to this while roller skating?
@@jacqueline4514 wow, that's very cool! I grew up in Philly & the several rinks we went to were so much fun back in the day. I wish my kids could experience all the fun things we did, which we all took for granted not realizing how lucky we were to grow up then?
@@patches6309 You are so right, RJ; I'm consciously thankful of when and where I grew up all the time. Unfortunately, the kids today don't have many healthy outlets and are bombarded with media and technology; it's sad.
80s kids TRY to claim this song for the 80s All the time, But its in the record book For the 70s , I danced to this song in the summer and fall of 1979 , With Many millions of other people ALL OVER THE WORLD In 1979 ,,,
What makes me smile is seeing how this tune still holds to this day. Watching you guys smiling and bobbing your heads reminds me how timeless this tune is.
This song originated the word "hip hop". The line, "hip hop hibby to the ...." Nobody called music hip hop before them even though this was the first rap song out there. What's wierd is those of us who were around when this song came out, still know ALL the words!! My husband hates when I pull this sing out because he gets an earworm for days from it. Great song!!! Brings back great memories.
That is not correct, the term origin is credited to Kieth Cowboy from Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five. This song was the first song to go main stream with radio play but far from the first rap song. Most people in the Hip Hop community hated this song when it came out.
A lot of the bars from Big Bank Hank were taken from Granmaster Caz of the Cold Crush Brothers & the scat Hip Hop Hibbbity was taken from Luv Bug Starski. People thought the Sugar Hull Gang didn’t put in the work & were fake.
@@RenR70 True, because Rap started in New York, and Sugar Hill are from New Jersey. Flash and the 5 make a reference to this in either the Message, or New York, New York. I'm from Chicago so it really doesn't matter to me. I love the Old School, and I'm glad to have been a part of it.
You guys gotta listen to the long version, you didn’t get to hear the verse about the visit to a friends house to eat 😂🤣😂 This song in its entirety is STILL the best rap song to have ever been thought of!! 👏👏👏😂♥️
The beat they are rapping over is from the group Chic’s monster hit “Good Times”! They did not get permission to use the music and got sued by Chic! However, that did not stop this from becoming one of the first mega rap hits!!❤️❤️
That wasn't all they stole they stole lyrics from Grandmaster Caz sadly many people don't know all of this but Grandmaster Caz does an interview where he even talks about how Hank used his lyrics and didn't change even bother to change the lyrics to hide they stole the lyrics from him.
You were a Kid in 1979 To lol This came out in Aug of 1979 RELEASED as a single, Im A 70s Brat thats why i know this lol The world was at a stand still LOL Then The Dance floors were packed BIG TIME In the summer and fall of 1979
This was the first Rap song to Chart! The 14 Min Version was played at School Dances and Parties. This version you heard did not include the Lyrics about the Terrible Food. Even if you don't react to the 14 Min version look at the Live version of Rappers delight that is about 7 Mins. Everyone memorized the words to this song. I graduated High School in 1982.
I remember the day my little brother came home with the 12" single of this track. It was revolutionary. We loved it. To this day, I can recite a lot of it by heart.
You kind of helped me reconsider a stereotype of mind. The fact that you appreciate Lex and her beautiful smile makes me ashamed to think that I believed any “Southern patriot” would hate Black people. It does my heart good to know that I can’t generalize that way.
This is supposed to be the first rap/hip hop single ever, so that makes it awesome. You gotta love 'em for bringing us such a great new genre of music. I can't remember if you've reacted to Blondie's "Rapture" but it's also one of the first rap singles. They were the first one that didn't use sampling, whereas Sugarhill Gang uses clips from other songs for some of its beats.
How many of us who were kids when this came out still know most of the lyrics?! This starts playing and the words just start flowing out of my mind effortlessly.
The birth of hip hop, at least in the public consciousness. It was already happening...but it was almost inaccessible and unknown...until the Sugarhill Gang made it blow up planetwide. Mad props. This IS one of those rare songs that changed the world...it opened doors and made things possible that no one would have guessed. The hip hop acts I loved in the 90s would never have happened without this breakthrough moment.
Was lucky enough to see Chic a few years ago - the final song for the show was Good Times, which then turned into Rapper's Delight, and back to Good Times again! An amazing show, and a most insane final 15 minutes :D
I don't think I have ever heard this particular version...I really missed the verse about going over to a friend's house to eat...but there were a couple of new verses to make up for it
This song was ground zero for getting the suburban white kids into hip hop, we all knew ever single word, it went together with roller skating on Friday nights.
This was the short version of that song. This song was the first rap song to be put to vinyl in the U.S. at the time. I was 13 years old and me and my friends knew every word to the extended version which is like 15 min long. Good to see it being reacted to all these years later.
This is not just iconic this is one of the pillars that Rap is built on. I have a Sugarhill label box set and I'm sure the full length of this tune on there is about 14 minutes long, could be wrong though. I distinctly remember this rocking the dancefloors here in the UK.
This was one of my favorites! The skating rink would fill up when this song was played, we all just jammed to it! At 62, still love this and is still on my play list! I love it! 🤣
The Message was my first ... Sugarhill Gang, Melle Mel, Scorpio... oh yeah old school please... and since they Blondies Rapture... lets do that next or Malcolm McLarens Buffalo Gals, Double Dutch
When I use to perform with different bands in clubs etc, people would go crazy when we played this song. Didn't matter if it was a rock, jazz or country venue. We could drag it out for 30 minutes and they'd dance the whole time.
In my opinion this was the very beginning of Rap music, I was in High School when this was released and it was eye opening because this was a whole different style of music,huge props to Sugar hill for being at the very beginning of Rap.
This came out during the disco era. I'm sure you can notice the dance music they are rapping to. I was a skinny white boy barely in my teens, walking through the suburbs with a giant radio on my shoulder, listening to this song. I thought I was the coolest, my neighbors thought I was nuts. Best years with all kinds of different music breaking out.
Can STILL sing this song! 😊. This song is based on "Chic's" "Good Times" ; you guys should react to some disco! When this song first came out, the Sugar Hill Gang performed this at my Roller Rink in Brooklyn to promote the song; 40 years plus and it STILL sounds good!
You HAVE to give a listen to the full 14+ minute version! Even if you don't do a video in it, you need to at least listen to it to hear what was missed in this version.
The FIRST mainstream shot in the RAP REVOLUTION!!! I was in junior high. It was popular to memorize the song and rap it walking down the hallways between classes. LOL.
@@chrisnorman1902 of course modern day rap doesn't sound like this today, it's called progression. This is the first rap song and was the source of inspiration for many OG Rappers who rapped about life not hoes, drugs, alcohol, cars and money. The switch to modern rap was rappers like Sir Mix Alot, Easy E, and just to name a couple. 2 Pac and Biggie tried to save the industry and they killed them for it. Now we are stuck with bubble gum rap.
@@noshobalosa3437 I know rap has progressed since then. This wouldn't be the first rap song - there were songs like Here Come The Judge by Pigmeat Markham back in 1968 for example. I wouldn't say Sir Mix A Lot or Eazy E really had a modern sound to their hip hop either, they still rapped very much in an 80s style, especially to start with. Around 1994 with Illmatic by Nas is when you start really hearing the start of modern rap, with the style of hip hop and flow that would then take over and become the norm pretty much until now. Ready To Die by Biggie was the same sort of time. You can hear how the rap before that sounds and feels a lot different and less modern.
Yes there are examples of rap samples in history, Rappers Delight was however the world premiere of rap to the masses. Obviously in some areas rap was being performed but Rappers Delight exposed millions outside that bubble. Maybe I'm reading to much into it, and yes Eazy E and Sir rapped in an 80's style because that's when they started rapping and both said Rappers Delight was something among many that influenced them. For most of that was alive and heard it one the radio, or the skating rink t was new and fresh something we had never heard before. Then again all I have is an opinion, much respect for your response and the information you shared.
I was a teenager in High School in Germany when this song came out in 1979. During those days, we would walk around carrying a "boombox" with our friends playing the latest big hit. I remember walking with my friends playing Rapper's Delight and passing some other guys walking past us in the opposite direction, who were also carrying a boombox and they were playing the same song - that had never happened before, but this song was so popular for such a long time we could not get enough of it. It was played at every school dance for years. Many people think that this was the first rap song, but a few months prior this release, Fatback release King Tim III, which was also very popular at the time and was played at our school dances. The memories at Hanau High School were some of the best times in my life and this song will forever be part of those memories. Thanks for your reaction. Peace
If you're not dancing at the club or a house party, you are definitely at the roller rink, skating to this. I know I did when this came out in 1980. Keep rocking it yall no matter what age.🛼✊🏾👍🏾✌🏾
Came out in the Summer of 1979 To many people know this and were dancing to it in the fall and the start of winter in 1979 It was released as a single, The Lp Rappers delight came out in 1980,, But it was all ready a huge hit before the 80s even started
This song will never get old to me I was in junior high school a matter fact my last year and this was the song that got played in the cafeteria on a daily base
It didn't matter what your ethnicity was or your color. When this came on you were dancing or rollier skating. This makes your body move. Widely considered the first widely accepted hip hop song in the mainstream. Released in 1979
The backing session band on this track later went on to form an industrial/dub/hip-hop band called Tack>>Head (produced by Adrian Sherwood) who made some absolutely FIRE tracks in the 80s and 90s. They are super obscure but absolutely worth a listen - I recommend the track from their 1989 album "Friendly as a Hand Grenade" called "Tell me the Hurt" ...and then maybe "Ska Trek"
This was the first time I heard rap. I lived in Germany and we memorized this. This was also a short version. You need to hear the longer version, really funny stuff. We believed in having fun no matter who you were or what your background was! 😀
When I was much younger, I remember this one on the radio it was coupled with the good times song (by chic) which is the background music. This is one of those long versions I never heard.
The history behind this song is pretty fascinating, at least what I learned on Drunk History. There was a whole issue with them using Chic's "Good Times" without permission. Regardless, I was in 8th grade when this came out and had the 12" vinyl and listened on repeat until I learned the entire rap in one evening. I'm guessing my parents probably wanted to put me out of the house before the night was over! LOL
I had this vinyl 33 album which this one song was the ENTIRE album! I was about 10 years old and played it so much- So many MC’s and verses.. but I could sing every bit of it- the song is long, but there are MANY chopped, shortened versions out there- I’ve been put on the spot MANY times at party’s, etc. to rap it- and I did- I would type it and have before, but not today.. the hip hop hippity to the hippity hip hip hoopa , you don’t stop rockin to the bang bang boogie say up jump the boogie to the rthym of the boogity beat- that was the easiest part coming from my mouth.. the rest was just listening to it so damn much I had it auto memorized ! Anyway, obviously a top favorite of mine of ALL rime! 💯💖💙 PS yeah it was a shortened version, believe it or not- last verse starts with “you even went over to a friends house to eat and the food just ain’t no good...?” But anyway, y’all got the jest and beat- great reaction!💖💙✌️
Another rap came out the same year that didn't get the same recognition but was still way funky: King Tim III by Fatback. I encourage all fans of 70s and 80s funk to give it a listen!
As pointed out in some posts...this song is credited with introducing the world to Hip Hop. This song was so popular...but a lot of people (especially Whites) didn't know the title. They'd call up stations to request the song "Can you play that 'hip hop" song?" BINGO! The birth of hip hop music.
DAMN YOU, LEX! Do you have any idea how hard it just was to not bust out laughing with my wife asleep right behind me and you talking about how "This song smells like a lotta cologne" LMAO!!!
I grew up in SC and was in 4th grade when this song came out. I was at a carnival after school and I was out near the back of the school. I heard someone yelling “White Boy!” “White Boy!” These older black guys were standing around a “jam box” listening to something. I was a little nervous but I walked over there and one guy was saying “White boy you need to hear this!” He rewound the cassette and played Rappers Delight from the beginning. Blew my mind. And he was right, I did need to hear it bc I became a lifelong fan.
That song, is also a foundational element for rap to also be about the plight and struggle of the inner city, which would later become 'gangsta rap' - instead of glorifying partying and women and dancing and music and fashion .... It told the other side of life (then, in NYC) and the concrete jungle. Both instrumental in shaping hip hop / rap music. Along w/ Big Daddy Kane, Crazy B - very old school.... Then, along came Run DMC, Curtis Blow, Beastie Boys, Public Enemy.... & the rest is history ✌️
I remember the single, 'cause it got serious airplay when it originally came out -- but I'd NEVER heard this full length version before. Thanks, you two.
I was 9 years old when this song came out…such an awesome song😎 Master Gee was all of 17 years old when he & the rest of The Sugar Hill Gang recorded this.
