Rapper's Delight (Long Version)

The long version was recorded at Sugar Hill Studios in Englewood, New Jersey, on August 2, 1979. Sylvia Robinson assembled the Sugarhill Gang for the session and produced the release with Billy Jones and Nate Edmonds. The track became the first rap single to break into the Billboard Hot 100 top 40 and the first commercially successful hip-hop record. It helped push rap from New York party culture into the mainstream pop market. The song is preserved in the Library of Congress National Recording Registry and remains one of the most influential early hip-hop records. Its bass-line interpolation, structure, and pop crossover success made it a template for later rap crossover singles and a frequent source of samples and references.