A forthcoming documentary, helmed by film producer Roger Paradiso, is intended to finally tell the full story of the first Hip Hop act known to the world, the Sugarhill Gang (Wonder Mike, Master Gee and Big Bank Hank).  But to inform anyone of any age who is unaware as to who Sugarhill Gang is, all one really has to do is begin rhyming, “I said a Hip Hop, the hippie, the hippie to the Hip Hip hoppin’ you don’t stop the rockin’ / To the bang bang boogie, say up jump the boogie, to the rhythm of the boogedie beat.”


Wonder Mike’s well-known opening bars from “Rapper’s Delight” marked the first time most of the world heard “rapping.”  Boasting the bass-heavy backdrop from R&B/Disco band Chic’s summer ‘79 single “Good Times,” Sugarhill’s introduction to rhyming dropped later that year and ushered in the three decades of recorded Hip Hop music we’ve all enjoyed since.



“We have gone and come, and learned and lived Hip Hop from the minute we first went into the studio in the late ‘70s ‘til the time that we are now living in as we speak, and we’re just humbled and fortunate to be considered as individuals who helped usher in this mega situation that has become a worldwide phenom,” said Master Gee regarding the monumental 30th anniversary of “Rapper’s Delight.”  “So, for me I’m kinda actually humbled by the whole experience of being involved in anything this long-lasting.  Most groups, they don’t get a chance to say that they’ve been making music, and still have current music, for as long as we have.  So, it's pretty humbling, it’s a pretty deep thing.”


Performances to celebrate the anniversary are planned for the coming months, highlighted by a show at The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in early spring 2010.  Billed as “The Past, Present, And Future Of Hip-Hop Tribute Concert,” the show is tentatively slated to include performances from Naughty By Nature, Paul Wall, Kid Rock, and many others in addition to Sugarhill.  That performance will be followed by an international Sugarhill Gang tour to continue the celebration of the group’s three decades in the game.


In addition to that aforementioned anniversary, the Gang is also celebrating their current overseas success via the “LaLa Song” (which boasts over four million YouTube views for the songs video, and which per Hen reached #4 on the global Dance chart and is still being spun routinely in Italy, Amsterdam, Germany and other parts of Europe).  The new Sugarhill cut came courtesy of famed French producer Bob Sinclair and was featured on Sinclair’s Born in 69 album released in July.


Utilizing that renewed buzz for Sugarhill, the group is now pivoting from their international success and turning to prep a new album from the Gang that will appeal stateside as well as worldwide.  Boasting beats from well-known U.S.-based producers, including Young Jeezy go-to-guy Shawty Redd as well as The Inkredibles (whose ’09 credits include tracks for Jay-Z, Jadakiss and Rick Ross), and tentative guest appearances from an array of notable names including Dizzee Rascal, Kid Rock, Melle Mel and Pitbull.


“It’s going to be an eclectic album,” Mike revealed of the currently untitled forthcoming effort.  “We’re using influences that we grew up with and that we liked.  It’s gonna be some Rock on there, some old school Hip Hop, some new style stuff.”


The Original Sugarhill Gang’s currently untitled new album is due in stores and online Spring 2010 from GoodThyme Click/MaxaMusic Group.