Robinson, Sylvia
1935-2011 · Contribution: 1979
Record Producer & Label Founder
Produced "Rapper's Delight" (1979), the first commercially successful rap single -- the first to reach the Billboard Hot 100 and to sell a million copies -- and "The Message" (1982); founded Sugar Hill Records and is known as the "Mother of Hip-Hop"
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Quick facts
- Born
- 1935
- Active since
- 1968
- Category
- Arts, Music & Entertainment Tech
- Best known for
- Produced "Rapper's Delight"Founded Sugar Hill Records"Mother of hip-hop"
Impact on the world
Robinson recognized rap's commercial potential before anyone else and pressed the record that took hip-hop from Bronx parties to the pop charts. She built the industry's first hit-making rap label.
An alternative history
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Sources
- Source lookupFind
BIN (Celebrating Black Music Month: 17 Black Producers)
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Related visionaries
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DJ turntablism techniques (scratching, breakbeat manipulation)
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Jay-Z (Shawn Corey Carter)
1969-present
Became one of the most commercially successful and influential rappers in history, with 14 number-one albums on the Billboard 200 and 25 Grammy Awards, the first rapper inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2017 and the first living solo hip-hop artist inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021, while building a business empire that made him hip-hop's first billionaire
La Rock, Coke
1955-
Widely regarded as hip-hop's first MC; the vocalist who rhymed and shouted over DJ Kool Herc's breakbeats at the 1973 Bronx party now considered hip-hop's birthplace, establishing the role of the rapping master of ceremonies.