Let’s face it, ‘The Sugarhill Gang’ were the best gig in Sheffield this year

On Friday night, the famed Sugarhill Gang, plus special guests Grandmaster Melle Mel and the Furious Five’s Scorpio transformed Sheffield Student’s Union’s ‘The Foundry’ into ‘1970s The Bronx’ on their UK summer tour.

The group, famed for the bangers ‘Rapper’s Delight’ and ‘Apache (Jump On It)’, are known for being pioneers of the hip-hop genre, releasing one of the first ever hip-hop records. They emerged from the booming music scene of the Bronx in the late 70s, where they performed with hip-hop legends including Grandmaster Flash.

If you’ve ever seen an episode of Netflix’s The Get Down you can imagine the scene. Everything from the excited crowd to the records getting literally cut and mixed on the turntable showed that this was an old-school party. Hell, these are the artists who created the phrase “put your hands in the air”, and they definitely know how to work an audience.

The small size of the Foundry, rather than being an inconvenience at Pop Tarts, worked to lend the gig a feeling of intimacy that suited the scene. Supporting act Otis Mensah gave a more poetic take on hip-hop, delivering sentimental rap with relaxed background melodies, as well as there being break-dancers between acts.

The Sugarhill Gang took the stage earlier than their expected time, marking them out from artists who take pains to be “fashionably late”. From the first moment they stepped out, they knew how to work the crowd – these are the people who were initiating crowd chanting and orchestrating mass fist-pumping back before the bands of the modern day and they delighted the audience with their mix of funk tunes and rap.

Grandmaster Melle Mel took the stage donned in a long leather jacket, and instantly got to work educating the audience about the origins of hip-hop. Melle Mel owed the success of hip-hop to everyone on the scene at the time, including Grandmaster Flash. With Scorpio by his side, they performed classics ‘Beat Street’ and ‘The Message’, among others. Their distinct mix of funk music with old-style rap performed as if they had been recording yesterday was enough to have the whole crowd dancing.

It wasn’t long before The Sugarhill Gang came back to perform their two biggest hits. The crowd were sent bouncing off the ceiling with ‘Apache (Jump On It)’ and the crew didn’t miss a beat on their landmark ‘Rapper’s Delight’. They finished with an important and genuine message about spreading peace and happiness rather than hate, and the way the crowd danced and chatted with one another showed that their message was warmly received.

The Furious Five’s Scorpio

The forefathers of hip-hop seemed genuine onstage and were even more so offstage. Once the ‘Gang’ left the stage, they were more than happy to talk to fans and sign T-Shirts. Master Gee could even be found sauntering through the crowd, taking photos with everyone. Mingling with the hip-hop pioneers was undoubtedly the highlight of the night for many.

The novelty of the reunion, the journey through hip-hop music and the party atmosphere made this a unique gig and singing “a hip hop, the hippie, the hippie, to the hip, hip hop, and you don’t stop” with the hip-hop legends was an incredible moment that the crowd are unlikely to forget.