Reminiscing About Sugar Hill Gang's Rappers Delight (Part II - Comments)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part II of a three part series about the 1979 record "Rappers Delight".

Part II provides selected comments from the viewer comment thread of Example #2 of the videos/sound files that are showcased in Part I. These featured comments focus on bloggers' reminiscences of the "Rappers Delight" record.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/02/reminiscing-about-sugar-hill-gangs.html for Part I of this series.

Part I provides information about Sugar Hill Gang and their now classic record "Rappers Delight". A link to that record's lyrics (long version) is also provided in this post. Part I also showcases two sound files and videos of Sugar Hill Gang's performances of "Rappers Delight" as well as a bonus video of Sugar Hill Gang performing with the Disco group Chic. The bass line for Chic's 1979 record "Good Times" was recreated for "Rappers Delight" (and for many other records from multiple music genres.)

The content of this post is presented for sociological and cultural reasons.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the Sugar Hill Gang and to Chic for their musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.

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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKTUAESacQM "The Sugar Hill Gang - Rapper's Delight ( HQ, Full Version )" [This is found as Example #2 in Part I of this series.]

With a few exceptions, these comments from that YouTube sound file are reminiscinces of Sugar Hill Gang's record "Rappers Delight". There were total number of published comments as of February 19, 2015 (9 pm EST). However, this isn't a comprehensive listing of all the comments from that post in that category because I didn't include a few comments which repeated what other bloggers had written about how old they were when they first heard this song, about how this song was used for skating, about how they learned the words to this song by repeatedly listening to the record.

These comments are presented in chronological order with the oldest dated comments given first (with the exceptions of replies). These comments aren't necessarily in consecutive order.

I've assigned numbers to these comments for referencing purposes only. I've also included my explanations of certain words or phrases for some of these comments.

2012
1. penelopepitstopd1
"Thanks for posting this dutchmanmm. This takes me back to good times at the club. It's great!"
-snip-
This sound file publisher's name was changed from dutchmanmn to Kevni when YouTube requested that content publishers & commenters use their real names instead of stage names.

"club" = "nightclub"

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2013
2. btinsley1 reply to Bulletproof Wallets
"what were the clubs like back then?...early 80's clubs ran the gamut. Lots of mirrors, brass, sofas, some dancefloors were glass with lights underneath. Dancefloors sometimes were bordered with steps. Cocktails served in glasses. Huge aquariums & always a sexy ladies night. Guys rocked a sophisticated look, blazer, slacks, italian kicks. Ladies - silky dresses & perms. That was a looong time ago. Now its saaggin jeans, tees & tennis. poptarts, you all need a makeover with a quickness LOL"

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3. Marcos Javier
"I was a 10 years old kid living in Puerto Rico, a close friend had just returned from living in NYC and he brought the LP. The moment I heard the song, I was hooked on the music. Today, I am 46 and still love this song. I can remember the exact place where I was at when I first heard the song. This is one of those songs that changes lives and music tastes."
-snip-
"LP"= long playing record (a full album), https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070724083411AAPv1Gq

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4. RonnieDaddy Sweat
"Well I at least know that when this song came on everybody @ the clud or house party got up an danced. HuH :)"
-snip-
“clud”= typo for “club”[nightclub]

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5. ML Louttit
"what was the original song from the '70's? Reminds me of the days of roller skating rink romance!! Wheelies!"

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6. Laura Milliman
"I met my now husband at a roller rink. This was our favorite song to skate to. As we got to know each other we discovered we both had a copy of the album. They are sitting side by side with all of the other albums we both owned from that special time in our lives. I never thought of this as a black or white song, or any of the other things. I thought of it as a fun song that made us move. Thank You for uploading this, it brought back a LOT of great memories!!"

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7. Jeff Lawrence
"I was a college cheerleader at KANSAS STATE, when this came out. Yep, we made a cheer out of this....more than that, my first intro to rap and the joy it brings....Love this.

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8. Mark Macleod
"lets all hail the start of it all every white kid that heard this in the suburbs said wow this is the most innovative music with intelligent funny lyrics a party pleaser that will go down in history. lace up those roller skates"

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9. btinsley1
"music doesn't BELONG to any race. Man, I'm 52 years old & bought this when it first came out. Blacks loved it back then, whites loved it too. How do I know? Because I was at the clubs & EVERYONE went nuts...i saw it. 30 years later, I'm hearing fools who weren't even born at that time on this post trying to "racially claim" this genre of music. Ignorance is strong here.... To the bros here stuck in this mindset, from one black guy to another....knock it off fool! Uncle Tinsley"

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10. Denesia Barbecho1
"I dedicate this song to my sister Shelia, who introduced me to this 'style' of music in the mid 70's.. even though it was 'taboo' in my family... and still is.. I still know all the words.. and my grown kids love this old skool music too... ~R.I.P~ Sista.... missing you..."
-snip-
"R.I.P." = rest in peace

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11. HelpSaveTheBCBears DMc
"I remember me and my best friend (both about 13-15) replaying this record (YES, RECORD!!! GOOGLE IT)!! Over and over and over while dancing and trying to learn the lyrics - 40 years later - I *still* know all the words and it's *still* one of my faves!!"

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12. david rivera
"PLAY THIS IN ANY CLUB TODAY AND BE GUARANTEED IT WILL STILL GET GREAT RESPONSE A TRUE HIP HOP CLASSIC"

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13. Curtis jones
"wow-i remember being downtown in Central Park near Columbus Circle in New York City when this song was out and watching all the beautiful ladies roller skating wearing the "walk-man" headsets while they were listening to radio station WBLS or WKTU good old days"

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14. Ricardo Valentine, DDS
"The best song --- moving my bootie --my sophomore year -- In Honduras, Central America was a hit!!! Learning the English language, in a bilingual school, we worked hard to learn the lyrics!!!"

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15. jam2music
"hah....Do i remember this one! Skating rink making the moves on the floor"...

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16. x8o8tripz
"Awesome post!! I come from Hawaii and man, we were Jamming to this song when it came out!! I think it was THE very first rap song. What memories!! We thought we were the BOMB memorizing all the words to this rap!! LOL!"
-snip-
The bomb (also written "da bomb") = the greatest ("The bomb" has the same slang meaning as "really hot", "dynomite", "smoking")

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17. gre68
"I am rapping along like the old days...I still know the entire rap...like cycling here in Holland. Once you leaned you never forget"

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2014
18. busythinker
"This was the first Rap record played on the radio.......1979 but Hip Hop was already being played in the Street Park Jams,Community Centers, and mixed tapes already in the BX."
-snip-
BX= the Bronx, a borough of New York City, New York

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19. darius brown
"i remember when i was in summer school back when i was a middle schooler we did some lesson i cant remember what it is lesson was about i think poetry but we listened to the song summer time by fresh prince and this song and did a rapping contest to this song i ended up winning it and i got gushers they were not nasty they were okay"

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20. Scott Fowler
"Takes me back to 79-80. Mom and Dad hanging with all our Army friends. No Color, No Prejudice, NO HATE!!! Just great Memories!!!"

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21. BrideofPFunk
"When this came out I bought it on 12ins vinyl... I still have it. I hope I'm not the only English, white granny who knows all the words.."

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22. Candylynn Marie Denson
"I remember this song when i was in high school, it was apart of the high school dances....."

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23. Elizabeth Guier
"MY AUNT HAD A FOREIGN EXCHANGE STUDENT FROM IRELAND THIS SUMMER AND HE WOULD RAP THIS SONG ALL THE TIME"

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24. Brian Thomas
"all man,., bring back the good times when I was young........... hearing this at a place called the boogie shack........"
-snip-
"boogie" = dance

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25. Desiree Tineo
"This was my Dads favorite Jams play it loud in heaven dad just for u"
-snip-
Jam = song, record (same as "track")

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26. Colin Button
"this was popular over here in the UK - still a classic"

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27. TD Production Channel 2
"RIP Big Hank. He was one of the early pioneers of rap.. I can remember when I first heard this jam while in the military stationed in Arizona. Back in day when the extended jams went well over 10 mins. We would be on the floor jamming the whole time. It amazing that this song is 35 years old and it still can get people moving on the dance floor. What's up with that?"
-snip-
-snip-
Henry "Big Bank Hank" Jackson (born 1957), a MC (rapper) with Sugar Hill Gang, died November 11, 2014.

"jamming" = dancing

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28. Joe Grande
"I spent hours listening to this song over and over in my youth."

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29. Lyndell Jones
"When I was in the 6th grade I knew all the words to this song and wrote it down on about 4 pieces of paper and passed it around during class. My teacher got hold of it and read it and saw the "super sperm" part and was FURIOUS. She asked me what did it mean and I stood there looking confused and she said angrily, "You're writing about things you don't even know!!" I was punished. I'll never forget that. I was crazy about this record. Still am. (smile...) "

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30. Gina Greenlee
"Old Schoooooooooool! Yeah! I loved it THEN, love it NOW."

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31. KLJN Radio
"Forgot that this song is 15 minutes long.....Now I remember dancing to this until my feet hurt.:

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32. willows cateracts
"I knew this record was big when I heard two white girls tryin to sing it back in the day. They were at the Hotel,Motel, Holiday Inn part. They seem to be really into it too."

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33. McKenna Schwegler
"I'm 11, and my dad let me listen to this song 5 or 6 years ago, and man, do I like this song. I absolutley love it. I used to call it Hotel Motel Holiday in Say What lol"

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34. winter ramos
"How many of ya'll actually sang along???

I DID.

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Reply
35. BrideofPFunk
"After all these years, I still know all the words...:)

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Reply
36. gary bush
"it's only fitting that you sing along"

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37. funkyinmn
"I'm 64 yrs young...and I rock out to this the same way as I did in 1979......RIP Hank you died waaaaay too young....kids today...smh all day long"

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38. Adhurim Mujaj
"I remembered when i went through my dad's audio tapes and listened to this when i was little"

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39. DilligafOxford1
"Used to spin this, and follow it up with the full length version of Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five - The Message (Extended) back in the 80's, kept the dancefloor full for half an hour with minimal effort :) This is the tune that kicked off mainstream Hip-Hop, House, Rap etc. so many people owe their fortune to these guys :)"
-snip-
"spin this" = play the record on a turntable (record player)

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40. M'Liss A
"We had the 12" vinyl as teenagers, and played it over and over while mommy was at work so we could rap along with the entire thing LOL I still can..I vaguely remember them getting in trouble for sampling Chic's "Good Times" to make this song yeeeeah"

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41. roylikesitlikethat
"Rip. My teenage kids loves this song played in the car.
I told them this was too radical when first released back then. I think it was one of the first rap songs."

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42. Bo Monkey
"im 12 when i was 11 this was my jam and my music teacher let us play it cause he loves sugar hill gang"

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2015
43. the Xian RA Experience
"Revolutionary new music in 1979.

I remember the preachers swearing in their Sunday sermons that rap music was some sort of a phase, and would disappear in a few years. Although it is a dead artform to me at the moment, it still has more vibrancy and power than any other music form and is still revolutionary today."

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44. Barb Bare
"one thing, ya could understand it, we white folk could sing along and party and dance and no one cared. it was good times, nothin as fun as a black dance club. Good Times. and gotta admit we played this till we literally had to HIDE THE RECORD so the kids would stop playin it, I swear we heard this at least 10 times a day. it was a requirement before bed. and before school each day."

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45. akadibdib
"this was out when I was about 12.just played it and knew almost every word..my kids jaws dropped to the floor.."

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46. Debbie J
"Lol I once won $100.00 singing this all the way through without any music... Just everyone clapping the beat... It was a contest to see who could do it without messing up."

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47. Raaider
"I memorized this as a kid.... now I come back and I can barely sing along."

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48.Ray Harness
"in the days when I was first on the floor ( and still am ) and I am talking 35 years ago, the original rap and to my mind the best am just going to get on my feet
-snip-
"first on the floor" = first on the dance floor (the space set aside for dancing in night clubs or house parties)

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49. Leonard Clay
"Oh yeah the one that started it all when rap went national back in '79. I was only 13years when this out. I remember watching this spin on 33 vinyl in Jr. Highschool, it was the last day of school for Christmas vacation."

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50. John O'Connor
"What to do when you basement is torn up, you have pumps pushing water out, a 25' x 2' wide trench and it is downright ugly? Well, all you can do is pull up the original Rapper's Delight (long version of course), get down and boogie. And that, my friends, is what myself, Liam, and Quinn are doing. Sucka MC's get outta da way!!!!!!"
-snip-
"Sucka MCs = sucker MC (rappers who aren't good; They have no skills in composing raps and delivering those raps)

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51. Lacy Swallows
"Great point soul2. It is divided today. Gangsta rap sucks as do gangstas. I lived 8 mile. This is where music was fun. (I was an FM jock but I never knew there was an extended version. This is cool! Wish I were back o the air! I'd spin it!)"
-snip-
"where" may be a typo for "when".

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52. 0prahTV
"This song was playing in the next room over when I was getting my first abortion.
It always brings back uneasy memories."

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53. cameron posey
"Was this the first rap song?"

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54. Reply
africkinamerican
"Nope, just the first commercially successful one.
There were all kinds of rap records before this, but it was an underground thing in NYC.
MCing, DJing and breaking started at block parties, then later moved into the clubs, years before this record was made.
-snip-
MC= master of ceremony; DJ = disc [record] jockey.; 3 of the 4 pillars of Hip Hop culture" MC= rappers, DJ (selectors of the music, playing the music), breakers (b-boys) - break dancing. Another element of Hip Hop culture is graffiti art. A fifth element of Hip Hop culture is sometimes given as "knowledge". http://www.reddit.com/r/hiphopheads/comments/1twz87/the_five_pillars_of_hiphop/.

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55. MyEpicCookiex
"I swear when this song comes on the radio my mom thinks she is so cool rapping all these lyrics and I am just like well go on head then momma lol"
-snip-
"go head" = "go ahead"

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56. Daniel Daniel
"I think this came out in '78. I couldn't believe it, I never heard anything like it. Liked it right away. Was on the way to my sister's house in Bolton Conn. Good music!"

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57. johnpaavo
"The first time I heard this song was at the Canada Tavern in Windsor Ontario in 1980. My best friend Derrick and I were 18 and wearing our 3 piece suits and high heeled shoes. We were so [profanity deleted] cool. Good times!!"

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58. ZJhontu1
"I was like... 10 yrs old and had an old 1950's era AM/FM/SW1/SW2
vac-tube radio when this hit the big time. Used to set my watch to catch THE FULL LONG VERSION on the BIG DM 101.3 ... or was it 101.5? Either way... they were the foxx before there was a foxy99. Beaver Gee used to make tapes... pure gold, man!!!! Lifetimes ago...."

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This completes Part II of this series.

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