Legendary Sugar Hill Gang and the Furious Five added to World Famous Hip-Hop Family Day Festival lineup
March 21, 2019
Love, Peace & Hip-Hop is proud to announce two major additions to its festival lineup for the seventh Annual World Famous Hip-Hop Family Day on Saturday, April 13. The legendary and historic Sugar Hill Gang and the Furious Five will both grace the stage as part of the 40th anniversary celebration of the 1979 hit “Rapper’s Delight.”
Along with headliner Big Daddy Kane already in place, adding The Sugar Hill Gang and Grandmaster’s Furious Five featuring Melle Mel to the lineup allows World Famous Hip-Hop Family Day to pay homage to the earliest groundbreaking days of hip-hop.
“With ‘Rapper’s Delight,’ the Sugar Hill Gang took hip-hop music from the streets to the airwaves. Subsequently, the Furious Five’s ‘The Message’ used the airwaves to tell the full story,” said Love, Peace & Hip-Hop founder and executive director FatRat Da Czar.
Released on the iconic Sugarhill Records label, “Rapper’s Delight” was the first rap single to become a Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. The song became an international hit and sold over eight million copies. The Sugar Hill Gang went on to release hits such as “Apache,” “8th Wonder,” and “Living in the Fast Lane.”
The Sugarhill Gang was originally comprised of Wonder Mike (Michael Wright), Master Gee (Guy O’Brien), and Henry Jackson (Big Bank Hank – d. 2014). Wonder Mike and Master Gee later teamed up with Henry Williams (Hendogg) and DJ T. Dynasty, who have both performed with the group for over 20 years.
“We are very excited to celebrate the 40th anniversary of ‘Rapper’s Delight.’ As an iconic and global success, it stands as a true testament of the power of hip hop music,” said Hendogg. “To see the crowds of people, generation after generation, sing this song and to be able to perform it all over the world is a blessing.”
Through the use of turntablism, break-beat deejaying, and conscious lyricism, the Furious Five was significant in the early development of hip hop music. With their platinum-selling classic, “The Message,” the group was catapulted to international recognition and eventual induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
“This is history in the making,” said Scorpio. “We’ve seen the evolution of hip-hop and rap go from a place where there was a lot of naysayers to it being a full-blown respected genre taking over pop culture. It’s a blessing to be successful doing what we love and now joining together to continue to make history.”
Recognized by Family Circle Magazine as the Top Family Friendly Festival in South Carolina and among the Top 50 in the nation, World Famous Hip-Hop Family Day is an annual free event held Saturday, April 13 on Columbia’s Main Street. Past headliners have included MC Lyte, Kid N Play, KRS-One, Bigg Gipp, Slick Rick, Kool Moe Dee, Monie Love, and Nice & Smooth.
A multi-day celebration (April 10-13) highlighted by a free, family-friendly festival that brings over 16,000 attendees to Columbia’s Main Street, this year’s programming for Love, Peace & Hip-Hop will include community partners like Columbia Museum of Art, Richland Library, and Tapp’s Arts Center for innovative and exciting events that celebrate hip-hop culture.
Founded in 2013, the goal of Love, Peace & Hip-Hop is to ensure that hip-hop, represented properly, can be a medium through which the community can come together, all ages and races, for a day of peace, love, and unity, and having fun. This is accomplished by combining some of the best and brightest live performers, DJs, B-Boy dance crews, hip-hop visual artists, and craft and fashion vendors to create South Carolina’s most unique and entertaining community experience. World Famous Hip-Hop Family Day is held on the corner of Main and Laurel in downtown Columbia, SC.
About Love Peace & Hip-Hop
The goal of World Famous Hip-Hop Family Day is to ensure that hip-hop, represented properly, can be a medium through which the community can come together, all ages and races, for a day of peace, love, and unity, and having fun. This is accomplished by combining some of the best and brightest live performers, DJs, B-Boy dance crews, hip-hop visual artists, and craft and fashion vendors to create South Carolina’s most unique and entertaining community experience.
