Rapper's Delight

About Rapper's Delight

"Rapper's Delight" is a 1979 hip hop track by the Sugarhill Gang and produced by Sylvia Robinson. While it was not the first single to include rapping, "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 3 in the UK and number-one in Canada. It was a prototype for various types of rap music, incorporating themes such as boasting, dance, honesty and sex, with the charisma and enthusiasm of James Brown. The track interpolates Chic's "Good Times", resulting in Chic's Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards suing Sugar Hill Records for copyright infringement; a settlement was reached that gave the two songwriter credits. "Rapper's Delight" is number 251 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and number 2 on VH1's 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs. It is also included on NPR's list of the 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century. It was preserved in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress in 2011. Songs on the National Recording Registry are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The song was recorded in a single take. There are three versions of the original version of the song: 14:35 (12" long version), 6:30 (12" short version), and 3:55 (7" shortened single version). more »