Sugarhill Gang

“Anyone who wants to understand the true nature of Hip Hop’s perennial concern with “keeping it real” has only to go back to the music’s formative moment.”

– The Guardian, 2015

As the age of Disco drew to a close, music fans the world over were ready for an injection of freshness. The year was 1979 and a new urban sound had found its feet on the East Coast of America. In Englewood, New Jersey a three-piece called SugarHill Gang were soon to become the forefathers of Hip Hop, as the success of their hit single ‘Rapper’s Delight’ was released, eventually selling 8 million copies, taking them global.

Meanwhile, in the projects of South Bronx, legendary turntablist Grandmaster Flash had assembled with The Furious Five, who were simultaneously spreading ‘The Message’ and liberating dance floors around the world with a new ‘Freedom’. Following Flash’s departure from the group The Furious Five would go on to achieve UK Top 10’s with historic numbers such as ‘White Lines’, ‘Step Off’ and ‘Beat Street’.

After years signed to the same label ‘SugarHill’, both acts are reunited for one of Hip Hop’s finest moments of the year. Fans are in store for the biggest old school showdown of the year, as SugarHill Gang’s Hen Dog, Master Gee and Wonder Mike combine forces with Furious Five’s Melle Mel and Scorpio to deliver a double billing, which will have the UK shufflin’ ‘the freak’ all night long. Any heavy lifting following the gigs is probably not advisable – we’re talking about pioneers of the phrase “‘Get your hands in the air” here.