Sylvia Robinson

Sylvia Robinson (1935–2011) was an American singer, record producer, and record executive who co-founded Sugar Hill Records and helped bring hip-hop recordings to a wider audience.

Sugar Hill Records: An American record label founded in 1979 that released influential early hip-hop records. Robinson co-founded and led the label that issued her best-known hip-hop productions.
Rapper’s Delight: A 1979 Sugarhill Gang single widely credited with introducing recorded rap to a mass audience. Robinson produced the release that made Sugar Hill Records a national force.
Mickey & Sylvia: An American R&B duo formed by Mickey Baker and Sylvia Robinson, known for the 1956 hit “Love Is Strange.” Robinson first gained national recognition as one half of this singing and songwriting duo.
Rap music: A vocal form of music built around rhythmic speech, rhyme, and often a produced instrumental backing. Sugar Hill Records helped move rap from local performance scenes into national record markets.
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five: A Bronx hip-hop group whose records helped establish rap as a recorded popular-music form. Robinson signed the group and produced its landmark single “The Message.”
The Message: A 1982 Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five song portraying urban hardship through socially conscious rap. Robinson produced this landmark single, which expanded rap’s lyrical subject matter.
Love Is Strange: A 1956 hit single by Mickey & Sylvia, later inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. The record established Robinson’s early success as a performer and songwriter.
Old-school hip-hop: The early period of hip-hop music, especially the late 1970s and 1980s. Robinson’s releases became defining commercial records of hip-hop’s early recorded era.
The Sugarhill Gang: An American hip-hop group best known for the 1979 hit “Rapper’s Delight.” Robinson assembled the group for Sugar Hill Records’ breakthrough rap release.
Chic: An American disco band whose song “Good Times” supplied the bass-line inspiration for “Rapper’s Delight.” Robinson’s production used a live band to reproduce Chic’s groove for the rap single.

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Women in hip-hopRelated: Her production and label helped bring early rap records, including women’s performances, to a wider audience.