The woman most responsible for the rise of Hip Hop as an internationally recognized music genre has passed away. Sylvia Robinson died of congestive heart failure at 6:28 a.m. today in a New Jersey hospital. She was 75.
Ms. Robinson is best known for producing both Sugar Hill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” and Grand Master Flash & the Furious Five’s “The Message” on her independent Sugar Hill Records label.
The beautiful founder and CEO of Sugar Hill Records was also a noted singer in her own right. Her singles “Pillow Talk” and “Love Is Strange” were both staples on urban radio in the seventies.
Her unconventional use of sampling in “Rapper’s Delight” led to Ms Robinson being known as the “mother of hip-hip.” Ms. Robinson opened the door for many black women in the music industry. Because of her, black female executives dominated the urban music industry in the 80s and 90s.
Watch Ms. Robinson perform “Pillow Talk” on Soul Train after the break
