Title:Best Of Sugar Hill Records By: Various Artists Released by: Hot Productions/Sugar Hill Records Released on: 6/4/97 Rating (out of 10): 8 Date: 01/17/2002
Sugar Hill Records: More Than Just Breakdance Soundtracks
Before there was a gangsta rap, there were sillier, funkier styles of rap such as the music found on the Sugar Hill Records labels. Oftentimes, these early rap songs on Sugar Hill incorporated elements of other dance music genres such as disco or electro to form hybrid hip hop sounds that had never been heard before Sugar Hill Records came into existence and that haven’t been heard since their untimely demise. Luckily, there are still compilations such as Best of Sugar Hill Records to remind us of the importance and ongoing musical influence of rap’s first great label.
Best of Sugar Hill Records does a phenomenal job of collecting the best moments from Sugar Hill Records, no easy task as there were many great moments. Not surprisingly, the collection leads off with "Rapper's Delight" from Sugar Hill Gang, the label’s flagship song by its flagship act and a major hit single on both sides of the Atlantic. "Rapper's Delight" steals the bassline and much of its music from Chic's 1979 disco classic "Good Times", adding lyrics that are silly, funny, and irresistibly catchy. "Rapper's Delight" was the first rap song to reach the U.S. top 40, almost entirely on the strength of huge sales in New York City. Also included from Sugar Hill Gang is the very dance-oriented rap song "8th Wonder".
Possibly the most influential musical act to emerge from Sugar Hill Records was Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five. They were an act whose oft-angry lyrics about issues such as racism, unemployment, and other social injustices helped pave the way for much angrier acts such as Public Enemy and Boogie Down Productions in the mid-to-late '80s, which in turn paved the way for Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre. and modern gangsta rap. "The Message" from Grandmaster Flash was a massive hit on R&B/soul radio stations and probably did as much to create airplay opportunities for rap artists as any other song. The equally cynical "New York New York" is also included. Not all Grandmaster Flash songs were politically serious, and "It's Nasty" (from The Message) is a classic example of that. Borrowing the music from Tom Tom Club's "Genius of Love", the lyrics to this song are fun, boastful nonsense. "Wheels of Steel", a.k.a. "Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel", is an innovative sample-heavy proto-house track that seems to steal samples from just about everything imaginable, including Queen’s “We Are the Champions” and various Grandmaster Flash tracks. Flash was a longtime NYC DJ known for cut-ups and sampling and this song is a great example of his methods and madness.
"White Lines" by Grandmaster Melle Mel and the Furious Five is the most immediately recognizable track on this CD. This is a fast-paced dance/rap song about cocaine addiction that proved to be a massive pop hit in the UK. An awful cover of this song by Duran Duran many years later nonetheless turned out to be a huge hit single. “Message II (Survival)”, also by Melle Mel, seems like a weak answer to the original "Message" and one of the least useful songs from the label.
Despite its obviously cheesy title, "Breakdance (Electric Boogie)" from West Street Mob is a breakdance style rap song that was truly mindblowing by the standards of the breakdance song genre (which admittedly isn’t saying much). Not surprisingingly, much of the lesser known stuff on this compilation has not stood the test of time particularly well. "Drop the Bomb" from Trouble Funk has some historical importance as the biggest hit of the short-lived "go-go" genre of rap, but it sounds outrageously outdated today. "Feel the Heartbeat" from Treacherous Three is too weak and openly commercial to stand up to the other great tracks on the compilation, and "Spoonin' Rap" from Spoonie Gee is equally weak and outdated and actually sounds similar to some of the weak novelty rap of today.
Best of Sugar Hill Records is an outstanding introduction to a label that helped invent rap music. Most of this is not serious, thought-provoking rap, so if that’s what you’re looking for, you won’t find this CD to be fulfilling. But if you appreciate the good old days before rap became all about hate, violence, players, and player-chasing, the sound of Sugar Hill Records may appeal to you.
