Sylvia Robinson was known as Little Sylvia when she started her recording career at the age of 16. Her first taste of fame came when she joined forces with Mickey Baker and Mickey & Sylvia topped the R&B charts in 1957 with their timeless single “Love is Strange.” However, Robinson’s biggest impact on popular music came through her role as founder and CEO of Sugar Hill Records — the label that released the first rap song to win a mainstream audience: “Rapper’s Delight” by The Sugar Hill Gang.

Robinson is a DIY music hero who recruited, formed and recorded the band whose song would become the cornerstone of rap as we know it today. This fan video is another DIY contribution to her legacy that tells the story of this remarkable woman and the timeless music she put on the map.

“Rapper’s Delight” dropped in 1979. Here’s to 35 years of hip-hop…

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