Folks look out because one of Hip Hop's pioneers Grandmaster Caz is gearing up to set the record straight. He will be dropping a single called 'MC Delight' which is a response to Sugar Hill Gang's Big Bank Hank stealing Caz's rhymes more than 20 years ago with the song 'Rapper's Delight'. For those who don't know the full story, Caz was one of the most well known and respected emcees back in the early days of Hip Hop. What made him stand out from the rest was the fact that he could deejay and emcee at the same time without missing a beat. His legendary crew the Cold Crush Four [they later became the Cold Crush Brothers] executed some of the most memorable and dopest routines to date. Old School heads will remember the patented routine the group did to the song 'Cats In the Cradle'. I still have that on tape and play it on air from time to time..
Anyway, Big Bank Hank used to be a door man at a club called the Executive Playhouse which later became known as Sparkles. He somehow got connected with Sylvia Robinson to become part of a newly formed group called Sugar Hill Gang. Sylvia planned to put out a rap record which was something that was unheard of at that time. Big Bank Hank who knew Caz and all the pioneers because he was a doorman asked to borrow Caz's book of rhymes. He used many of those rhymes in the landmark song 'Rapper's Delight'. That wasn't so bad. What got people angry was the fact that Hank tried to keep things a secret. He and the other Sugar Hill Gang members didn't let folks know that there was a thriving Hip Hop scene in New York and that they were actually new kids on the block who weren't even known prior to the record being made. They never publicly gave Caz his props for the rhymes, much less money and its been a point of contention ever since..
I vividly recall the reaction people in the Bronx had when Rapper's Delight' came out. A lot of cats were happy and in awe to hear a rap record, but at the same time everyone was confused as to who the group was.. No one had ever heard of the Sugar Hill Gang. Adding to the confusion were people hearing rhymes that were familiar and easily recognized. That's because Caz had an awesome rep and was real popular. Also some of the rhymes used were featured in a movie that had been released a year earlier called 'Five On the Black Hand Side'. The real confusion kicked in when the rhyme about being the 'Casanova Fly' was heard, because there was a gang that rolled with Grand Master Flash called the Casanovas. The leader of the Casanovas was often referred to as The Casanova Fly. Grandmaster Caz also sported that name or at least he used it within his rhymes. ..So folks thought that perhaps Caz had loaned his rhymes to the leader of the Casanova Crew. It was mad confusing.. But the bottom line was Sugar Hill had committed three major violations. First they bit Caz's rhymes. Secondly, they took some one else's name when Hank called himself the Casanova Fly.. Finally they used the word rap to describe what we called emceeing. The word rap was never used prior to '79 to describe the technique of rhyming to music on the mic.. So look out for Caz's new single which is due out in a couple of weeks.. I wonder if Sugar Hill will come back with their own battle record..
