What’s up, y’all. I’m gonna start doing something a little different. When I first started this blog I was a lot more willing to cover older, more classic material. However, as the blog matured I decided that it made more sense to write about contemporary artists and releases so that I could stay up to date with the culture and modern discussions. I had no intention of doing anything differently until I started a course at my current university called Topics in Hip Hop. One of the requirements of the class is to listen to certain songs, so I thought it would be cool to write about my thoughts on them. Anyway, this single came out in 1979. Obviously I was already familiar with Rapper’s Delight prior to taking the aforementioned course. However, I don’t think I’d ever fully listened to the long version of this track. It’s 14 minutes long. Hahahahahaha. Gotdamn. That’s crazy.

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The fact that this thing is 14 minutes is kinda wild. Obviously it should go without saying that this shit feels way too long. I guess this version was meant to be played at live events and clubs and shit like that. Even the regular 6 minute version feels too long though. By the time I got past four and a half minutes of the song, I literally said the word “bruh” out loud. The song’s not bad at all though. I like it. Is it something that I’m gonna be listening to consistently in my free time? No. That would be funny, but I’m not gonna cap for y’all. This shit gets old fast. The beat is fire though. That bassline is legendary. I heard the beat as a child before I even heard the official version of the song. I think they used the instrumental in a Tim & Eric’s Awesome Show, Great Job! sketch. That’s the earliest memory I have of this song. I was in elementary school. I’ve always loved that bassline. It’s just too iconic. I guess the hook is kind of iconic as well, but these days it comes off pretty goddamn corny. Well, the whole song in general is iconic. Actually that’s not true. The first minute or so is iconic. Everybody knows the opening words to Wonder Mike’s verse. I think the first quatrain is pretty good. One thing I value in rap is an artist’s ability to communicate exactly what’s on their mind while rhyming. Wonder Mike was successful with this quatrain in his attempt to introduce the concept of rapping to a new audience.

Now, what you hear is not a test, I'm rapping to the beat
And me, the groove, and my friends are gonna try to move your feet
You see, I am Wonder Mike and I'd like to say hello
To the black, to the white, the red and the brown, the purple and yellow

The last line is apparently supposed to be him welcoming all races to Hip Hop. Is it kind of problematic to refer to people as red, purple, or yellow? Probably. However, I’m not gonna pretend to have an issue with its usage here. I imagine this wasn’t controversial at all when it came out in 1979. The hook and certain lines in Wonder Mike’s verse almost have the same effect as scatting in my opinion.

But first, I gotta bang-bang the boogie to the boogie
Say up jump the boogie to the bang-bang boogie

Again, it’s pretty cheesy. The most interesting verses come from a member of the group named Big Bank Hank. Apparently his rhymes were written by Grandmaster Caz, and he just stole the verses.

Check it out, I'm the C-A-S-AN, the O-V-A and the rest is F-L-Y
You see, I go by the code of the doctor of the mix and these reasons I'll tell you why

Bruh. CASANOVA FLY IS GRANDMASTER CAZ. How did he get away with such an obvious incident of biting? I guess back then when the genre was so young norms hadn’t been established yet. Then again, Desiigner got away with biting Future, so I guess shit hasn’t changed. Maybe it’s less taboo when it happens on a mainstream level. I don’t know. Anyway, the second verse from Big Bank Hank actually starts off really good. It’s still obviously written by Caz, but the verse itself is dope for the most part.

I'm the grandmaster with the three MCs
That shock the house for the young ladies
And when you come inside, into the front
You do the freak, spank, and do the bump
And when the sucker MCs try to prove a point
We're treacherous trio with a serious joint
From sun to sun and from day to day
I sit down and write a brand new rhyme
Because they say that miracles never cease
I've created a devastating masterpiece
I'm gonna rock the mic 'til you can't resist
Everybody, I say it goes like this
Well, I was coming home late one dark afternoon
Reporter stopped me for a interview
She said she's heard stories and she's heard fables
That I'm vicious on the mic and the turntables

It kinda devolves into trash territory towards the end honestly. The part where he’s talking about spreading his “super sperm” and saying “DO IT, DO IT, DO IT” over and over again is very cringe-inducing. It’s strange to me that he got away with such vulgar lyricism in 1979. I would’ve assumed that he’d get heat for the lack of subtlety. I don’t know. Oh, I feel like I should mention the fact that I was born in 1998, so that should help explain my perspective a little bit. As far as the rest of the song goes, I’m gonna admit that I kinda tune out the rappers after a certain point. The bars just aren’t that entertaining, and their flows, while not bad, aren’t anything flashy. Not that I’d expect them to be. I don’t even mind the cheesy intonation of the MCs’ voices. I just find the lyricism to be really shallow and uninteresting. The song’s cool though. I enjoy it while it’s on. Well, I enjoy the first few minutes of it. I don’t know how you guys feel about this song, so I’m interested in hearing your thoughts in the comments below. Do the Sugarhill Gang need to fuck outta here with this commercialized pop bullshit, or is this a timeless classic? Let me know. Personally, I prefer the Def Squad version. Check that out if you haven’t heard it yet.