Music Review // The Sugarhill Gang "Live at the Print Shop"

 

The Sugarhill Gang has been making music for just a little bit longer than I've been alive.   They may not have started it, but they really brought hip hop to the mainstream like no other artist has.  I ask the youth of today who the greatest rapper of all time is and they always tell me someone who is currently putting out music and young.   But if not for The Sugarhill Gang, artists like J Cole and Kendrick Lamar wouldn't be where they are.

Aside from the history lesson, I just enjoy old school hip hop.  I'm not really sure why or how it became the first genre of music I really explored, but back in the day I had all rap cassettes.  I'm not as excited about hip hop now as I was back then in the sense of the current artists won't ever be as good- in my opinion- as those that came before them, but hopefully this live performance here will shine a spotlight on The Sugarhill Gang and have the younger generations go through and take a trip back in time.

Along with these live performances of songs there are moments in between for an interview type of setting.   It's interesting because they discuss a number of topics and that includes the infamous East Coast - West Coast feud.   I really think hip hop was about having fun, as serious as it was, up until 2Pac died.  I feel like that changed a lot of the way people saw hip hop and the way the music came out, but The Sugarhill Gang has always been this positive force for music and this shows exactly why.

I really wish we could go back in time and just pull out some cardboard and break dance to solve problems rather than pulling out guns.   During this performance, I'm reminded of all the artists who came in between The Sugarhill Gang and what's on the radio now and how it feels like they're slowly fading away.   Whether it be someone learning or someone just trying to keep the memory alive, this is an extremely important performance not just in the history of hip hop but in the history of music.