Rap pioneer Sylvia Robinson dies
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Rap pioneer Sylvia Robinson, who was a driving force behind the first-ever mainstream rap hit, Rapper's Delight, has died at the age of 76 from congestive heart failure, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Robinson, sometimes called "the mother of hip-hop," was the co-owner with her husband Joe of Sugar Hill Records, which released the hit song by the Sugarhill Gang in 1979. The song was the first to introduce many of the basic elements of rap to a mainstream audience and reached number 36 on the US charts.
Robinson was one of the first producers to recognize the potential of the spoken street music that was emerging from New York's street scene in the late 1970s.
"She saw where a DJ was talking and the crowd was responding to wha the was saying, and this was the first time she ever saw this before," her son Joey said in a 2000 interview. "And she said, 'Joey, wouldn't this be a great idea to make a rap record?'"
