Rapper's Delight, 30 (English/Português)

Original


Brazilian edition - green vinyl


Listen to parts 1 and 2.

Thirty years ago, a 12 inch changed the world of music. "Rapper's Delight", a 15-minute song by Sugarhill Gang, was not the first hip hop song put on vinyl as a lot of people believe (it was Fatback Band's "King Tim III"). Nevertheless, it was definitely the record which made hip hop big, kicking off the career of many kids who had never thought they could make it before. Based on another classic - Chic's "Good Times" (the instrumental was replayed by another band, Positive Force, and, at least officially, samples of Chic's song were not used) - it's all about three guys rapping incessantly about parties, cars, ladies, hotels, motels. It was all about fun. Not everyone was happy, though.

Sylvia Robinson was a label owner who called three guys with no professional connection with the world of hip hop - Big Bank Hank, Wonder Mike and Master Gee - to record the track. Those who had been in it since the beginning got pissed off - how come three "nobodies" are selling thousands of records? Some even say it was the day that hip hop died, and that "Rapper's Delight" didn't have any of the main characteristics of the called real hip hop - "no DJ to rhyme over, no rivalry or competition with other crews, and no prospect of concert play or crowds to entertain. (...) They moved Hip Hop from the street to the mainstream, from the live to the studio-generated, from the crowd-centric to the rapper-centric, and from the active to the passive." (entry of Urban Dictionary). It's also said that one of the members of Sugarhill Gang stole verses from one of the rappers of the Cold Crush Brothers for the track, and this guy didn't get any money or credits.

The thing is: right or wrong, good or bad, if it weren't for "Rapper's Delight" maybe we wouldn't have a lot of what we have today in the DJ culture, musically and technically speaking. Second: if the guys who had been struggling before felt they deserved this opportunity, they should have thought commercially about it before and tried to put their work on wax, but none of them believed it would work, at least before the record had been released. By the way, most of them had their piece of the cake later, and as Grandmaster Flash properly spoke on Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton's "Last Night A DJ Saved My Life" book: "I was like... 'Damn, I could'a been the first.' I didn't know the gun was loaded like that. Blew up. It was a huge record for them. (...) It was OK, though. 'Cos we were gonna come later... We had the talent, and they didn't". Does anybody dare to disagree?

(Check the bottom of the post for videos)

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Trinta anos atrás, um 12 polegadas mudou o mundo da música. "Rapper's Delight", uma música de 15 minutos do Sugarhill Gang, não foi a primeira faixa do hip hop em vinil como muitos acreditam (o posto é de "King Tim III", do Fatback Band). No entanto, foi definitivamente o disco que fez o hip hop crescer, o trampolim para o sucesso de muitos garotos que nunca acharam que conseguiriam antes. Baseada em outro clássico - "Good Times", do Chic (o instrumental foi tocado de novo por outra banda, Positive Force, e, pelo menos oficialmente, nenhum sample da original foi usado) - consiste em três caras tagarelando sem parar (no Brasil saiu com o apelido "Melô do Tagarela", veja a foto) sobre festas, carros, mulheres, hotéis, motéis. Pura diversão. Nem todo mundo estava feliz, no entanto.

Sylvia Robinson era uma dona de selo que chamou três caras sem ligação profissional com o mundo do hip hop - Big Bank Hank, Wonder Mike and Master Gee - para gravar a faixa. Quem estava na cena desde o começo de tudo ficou puto - como três fanfarrões estão vendendo milhares de discos? Alguns ainda dizem que foi o dia em que o hip hop morreu, e que "Rapper's Delight" sequer tinha alguma das principais características do chamado verdadeiro hip hop - "nenhum DJ fazendo a base para as rimas, nem rivalidade ou competição com outros grupos, nem perspectiva de shows ou platéias para entreter. (...) Levaram o hip hop das ruas pro mainstream, do palco pro estúdio, do centrado no público pro centrado no rapper, do ativo pro passivo" (verbete do Urban Dictionary). Dizem também que um dos membros do Sugarhill Gang roubou versos de um dos rappers do Cold Crush Brothers para a faixa, e que o cara não ganhou nem grana nem créditos.

A questão é: certa ou errada, boa ou ruim, não fosse "Rapper's Delight" e talvez não tivéssemos muito do que temos hoje na cultura do DJ, musicalmente ou tecnicamente. Segundo: se os caras que estavam lutando antes achassem que eles mereciam a oportunidade, deveriam ter pensado comercialmente antes e tentado lançar em vinil, mas nenhum acreditou que isso poderia dar certo, pelo menos até esse disco ter sido lançado. Aliás, a maioria deles teve sua fatia do bolo mais tarde, e como sabiamente disse Grandmaster Flash no livro "Last Night A DJ Saved My Life" de Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton: "Fiquei tipo... 'Droga, eu poderia ter sido o primeiro.' Não sabia que a arma estava carregada assim. Estourou. Foi um enorme sucesso pra eles (...) Tudo bem, porque a gente viria depois... A gente tinha talento, eles não". Alguém se atreve a discordar?

Back then / Lá atrás


30 years after / 30 anos depois