The Sweetest Thing: The Sugarhill Gang

Michael ‘Wonder Mike’ Wright and Henry ‘Hen Dogg’ Williams, of hip hop legends the Sugarhill Gang, are psyched about sharing a stage with Grace Jones and DJ Shadow at Metropolis.

“We’ve played with everyone you can think of, man, from James Brown to Crowded House,” guffaws Wonder Mike. “We love doing festivals because we love playing in all venues, but the bigger crowds are always fun. On a Halloween night in Washington DC years ago, only three people showed up, but we still did the show. Being onstage is the greatest high in the world. It’s better than any high you can imagine. All that love, joy and happiness is directed straight towards us.”

If you’ve ever seen Sugarhill Gang live, you’ll know they’re one of the most energetic and euphoric live hip hop acts in the world, with stage invasions commonplace during their signature hit, the prototype rap anthem ‘Rapper’s Delight’.

“It’s something we bring wherever we go,” says Wonder Mike, “and people have been talking about it more and more lately. Music is a universal language, so if you have a hit record that people love and it affects them in a certain way, it’s something that’s going to last. ‘Rapper’s Delight’ came out in ’79, but all age groups know it.

“We played a lot in the late ’90s, before all this craziness that started taking over the world post-2001. Everyone was having a good time and in the light of all that craziness happening everywhere since then, we still bring good vibes. It’s the way we operate. The show is fundamentally still the same. We changed it a bit and added new songs, as we’ve saved up a lot over the years. It’s always people going crazy because we go crazy onstage. It’s a contagious experience for everyone.”

For the last decade, Sugarhill Gang’s touring plans were put on ice over litigation regarding their name, with Wonder Mike leaving Sugarhill Records in 2005. They’ve toured under other monikers such as Rapper’s Delight and the Original Sugar, but 2016, they’ve finally been able to revert back to their original name.

“It is a massive relief and huge weight off our shoulders,” Wonder Mike says. “So many times we’ve had to tell people we have to be billed as Rapper’s Delight featuring Wonder Mike and Master Gee, or some other horseshit. Now, we’re the Sugarhill Gang again. It feels like we can live and breathe as us once more.”

The ups and downs of the Sugarhill Gang are documented in I Want My Name Back, a fascinating film about their trials and tribulations.

“Universal are now working on The Sugarhill Story, so we’re going to have a lot of new stuff coming out,” Wonder Mike reveals. “The producer Roger Paradiso did a great job on I Want My Name Back and we all got to contribute our own stories. We didn’t know it was going to be premiered in a gigantic movie theatre near Madison Square Garden. They put it on the biggest screen in the place that was forty feet wide and twenty feet high.

“We’re looking at our story and all the ups and downs and drama on this giant screen with the sound blaring at us and this history condensed into 90 minutes. The first time I watched it I couldn’t move or get up. I had to see it three times to get my head around my life experiences being on film. Something similar happened when I went to see Apocalypse Now, but this time it was all about our own lives.”

What would the late members of the original line up make of it all?

“Well, we are pragmatic men and we speak the truth,” Wonder Mike replies. “Big Bank Hank would’ve had a ball. Joey was our main antagonist for years, but now his brother is the complete opposite and it’s really cool working with him. He’s a professional and a nice guy all the way around. He gave us the green light to use the name and kicked all the phony motherfuckers off the road. It’s not bragging when it’s true – we kick ass onstage.

“We’re in this business 36 years, so we’re not some fly-by-nights. We’re seasoned professionals. We put on our hard hats and go to work. There is no bullshit or posturing for the cameras – we go to work and entertain people. We’re privileged that this is a worldwide thing and people want to see our show, so we give it to them.”

The Sugarhill Gang story certainly isn’t over yet.

“I’ll put it to you like this, brother, we love to do what we do,” Wonder Mike beams. “People ask us all the time what we’re doing, and my Mom often asks me if we’re going to take a vacation, but everyday we go out is like a vacation for me. I can’t think of anything better in this world or in this life than doing something you love to do and making a living – whether you are a carpenter, painter, computer programmer, whatever. If you have a passion for something in life, then that is what your life is all about.”