The Sugarhill Gang

Sugarhill Gang's biggest hits are collected on this single-disc compilation. In addition to "Rapper's Delight" -- the first rap single to reach the pop Top Ten -- the group's seven other R&B hits are included on the disc, plus three other singles that never made the charts. All of the songs are presented in their original 12" versions. Not all of the material is first-rate -- in retrospective, the group's old-school groove tended to be a little simplistic, monotonous, and too polished, while their rhymes were frequently stilted and sometimes just outright silly -- but this music, especially "Rapper's Delight," is important historically. Most casual fans of old-school hip-hop will be content with purchasing "Rapper's Delight" on a various-artists collection, but for those wanting to dig deeper into the trio's history, The Best of Sugarhill Gang is a definitive retrospective. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide