The Sugar Hill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” was the first rap song I ever heard. I was nine-years-old at the time and that song blew my mind. I became a hip-hop head right then and there. I don’t know what clicked or why but some part of me knew I would probably love rap music and hip-hop culture for the rest of my life…
Now anyone who knows anything about hip-hop will tell you that biting someone else’s rap is a no-no. When you think about it, it’s sort of funny since a lot of early raps were done over stolen beats... Like “Rapper’s Delight” over Chic’s “Good Times”… And just imagine how much James Brown’s estate would have really been worth if he’d gotten what he was owed from all those samples. Not to mention the fact that over half of the rhymes in “Rapper’s Delight” were stolen from other rappers... Big Bank Hank stole all of his lyrics from Casanova Cas… Still, for most hip-hop heads biting is frowned on. So for me the very idea that someone would remake a rap song just seems sacrilegious. It’s just not done. And yet Snoop Dogg remade Doug E Fresh and Slick Rick’s “Ladi Dadi” and the Def Squad (Eric Sermon, Redman and Keith Murray) remade “Rapper’s Delight.” The original will still always have a special place in might heart, theft or not. It’s the longest song in the history of songs. But, I still know all the words and can do a mean karaoke performance all by myself. So, enjoy Chic's "Good Times" for the melody and beat. Check out The Sugar Hill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" for some nostalgia. And then take a listen to the Def Squad remake… Enjoy…
Chic "Good Times"
Sugar Hill Gang "Rapper's Delight"
Def Squad Eric Sermon, Redman and Keith Murray "Rapper's Delight"
Thursday, December 06, 2007
This Is How We Do The Old To The New...Thursdays
Posted by Gwyneth Bolton at 1:16 AM
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12 comments:
Hey, Gwyneth: I was a little past nine years of age (lol) and I still have the 12 inch vinyl of Rapper's Delight. It was the song of songs for that year of my life.
Niambi
Too cool, I remember being a young mom in frigid Germany and listening to Rapper's Delight over and over...I love these Thursday Delights...
blessings,
angelia
I was grown when Rapper's Delight came out, but it remains one of my favorite rap songs (of which I don't have many).
I remember how James Brown used to complain how his music had been stolen by the rappers, but it never quite rang true for me, and I thought it was just an act to put him in the public eye. James wasn't an educated man, but he was no dummy when it came to business. Surely a man who flew in his own plane during his heyday would have known he needed to go to the copyright office . . . ?
On the other hand, I always believed that the true author of Hound Dog was Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton . . . who didn't register it and therefore didn't get a dime when Elvis Presley recorded a version of it that sold millions.
Bettye
Gwyneth,
I don't agree with sampling most things, but Redman's, Eric's, and Keith's version of "Rapper's Delight" was okay because it wasn't the expected sexualized perverse thing that most rap has become today.
I have heard and am sure of the fact that "Executives" at these record labels don't want to contribute anything positive to the African-American Diaspora. What happened to the "Brenda's Got a Baby," "Self Destruction," Me, Myself, and I," etc? It's not the positive thing it once was. Of course, there are some MC's trying to make a difference, but they aren't getting the airplay they deserve. What do you think, Gwyneth? By the way, I was a toddler when RD came out...lol! ;*)
Niambi ~ Hey! Thanks for stopping by! I used to have the 12 inch vinyl of "Rapper's Delight" and a bunch of other Sugar Hill Records albums. I can still see the sky blue cover with the rainbow. I wish I still had all those albums.
Angelia ~ That song takes me back! I remember playing it on my little record player over and over aond over again!
Bettye ~ That's a good point about James Brown. He used to make such a public fuss with is open pleas to the rapper's to stop stealing his music, that I bought it hook line and sinker. It never occured to me that he might have been running game for publicity... hmm...
Tyhitia ~ Well, when I think of it that way, I suppose having remakes of older rap songs is cool. It just goes against the hip-hop creed not to write or make up your own rhymes... :-) And if you were a toddler then I get to do my old head taunt: What you know 'bout that young head? You don't know nothing about that there... That was music right there! LOL. :-)
Gwyneth
Girl, you took me way back with this one. It was one of my first LPs that I got.
Is it just me or is Redman just very, very, very delicious?
Shelia ~ I know right! It amazes me how long ago that was and that it really is "old-school..."
Emma ~ No, Redman is a cutie... ;-)
Gwyneth
Sugar Hill Gang and Rapper's Delight was the high school years. I remember when it came out it was old news because growing up on LI, the NY rappers used to perform live at parties all the time. That's why I always get the 1979 release date confused.
Gwyneth, can't believe you didn't point out the Soul Makossa (Manu DiBango) type drums at the beginning of the new Rapper's Delight.
Patricia ~ Yeah, for those of us outside of NYC 1979 is the year we remember. You guys were getting all of this live and direct. The rest of us had to wait for mass-marketing to take effect. Thanks for pointing out the Soul Makossa... I must be slipping. :-)
Gwyneth
Rapper's Delight and Lodi Dodi are two hip hop songs that should NEVER be remade. It's each songs natural essence that ends up being lost in the shuffle.
Oh, the song which made me fall in love w/ hip hop? Roxanne Roxanne by UTFO. Before, I only liked it until I heard Kangol Kid, Educated Rapper, Doctor Ice spit these famous words:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5e376h_OY4I
Don ~ I need to do a post on the hip-hop songs that cemented my place as an eternal hip-hop head. "Roxanne, Roxanne" would be on the list. I loved that song. You can't go wrong with "Big Beat" as the break beat... I even had my own "Roxanne" answer rap where I dissed all the other Roxanne songs in one song. I performed it in my 9th grade talent show wearing sky-blue Lee Jeans, a white hoodie with "Gwenny Dee" and a playboy bunny on the front, and ADIDAS with sky-blue laces... Oh, you're taking me back... :-)
Gwyneth
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