Pour les fans de Hip-hop, Electro, et Funk & Soul.
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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.
There are rap legends, and then there’s the Sugarhill Gang. With the old-school classic ‘Rapper’s Delight’ in 1979, the New Jersey outfit basically came to define what hip hop was for future generations, and also displayed a canny bit of forward-thinking in interpolating the Chic track ‘Good Times’ into the song, apparently predicting their recent renaissance decades in advance. ‘Rapper’s Delight’, in 2011, was preserved into the National Recording Registry, telling you all you need to know about its cultural significance. They had a slew of hits since - ‘Apache’ included - but never again quite recaptured the magic that made their biggest hit so genre-defining. Later on, they’d eventually disband in 2007, eight years after releasing their last album, Jump on It!, and continuing to play live sporadically in the interim. They reformed, though, shortly afterwards, and still tour today; they’re on the road in the UK and Europe as I type this, with a recent club show in Manchester meeting with superb reviews - as well as running through their own back catalogue, the group offered their own takes on Run-D.M.C.’s ‘Walk This Way’ and House of Pain’s ‘Jump Around’, making the evening a genuine old-school extravaganza.
Known as the ‘Human Beat Boxer’ Harlem’s Doug E Fresh started out as a solo artist signed to Enjoy Records, it wasn’t until he joined forces with a group of DJ’s called the Get Fresh Crew along with Slick Rick in 1984 that they reached unprecedented success. The following year they released their hit singles ‘The Show’ and ‘La-Di-Da-Di’ unleashing their talent outside of the Americas. With Slick Rick leaving to pursue solo endeavours, the group continued and went on to release two albums before talking a four year hiatus. Returning with a brief stint on MC Hammer’s label Bust It Records and releasing one album, Doug E Fresh found a new home at Island Records in the shape of Gee Street. In 2010, he regained popularity through hip-hop group Cali Swag District who revived his signature dancehall moves in their hit ‘Teach Me How To Dougie’. Back on form with a new lease of life, Doug energises audiences wherever he goes with his charismatic nature as he interacts with the crowd between tracks evoking raucous cheers. As he grooves across the stage playing all the old school classics with his signature dance moves, the crowd go wild throwing their arms back and forth. Breaking up the set with his incredible beat-boxing ability the audience just stare in awe. All round entertainer, Doug E Fresh is guaranteed to make you laugh, dance and party hard.