View source for Rapper's Delight

{{short description|1979 single by The Sugarhill Gang}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2014}}
{{Infobox song
| name          = Rapper's Delight
| image         = Rapper's Delight (Long version) by Sugarhill Gang US 12-inch vinyl red label.png
| alt           = 
| caption       = A pressing of the 1979 US 12-inch single not crediting Chic's song
| type          = single
| artist        = [[the Sugarhill Gang]]
| album         = [[Sugarhill Gang (album)|Sugarhill Gang]]
| released      = {{Start date|1979|9|16}}<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Lynch|first1=Joe|title=35 Years Ago, Sugarhill Gang's 'Rapper's Delight' Made Its First Chart Appearance|url=http://m.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article/1525661/|access-date=February 24, 2015|magazine=Billboard|date=October 13, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224085412/http://m.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article/1525661/|archive-date=February 24, 2015|df=mdy-all}}</ref>
| recorded      = {{Start date|1979|8|2}}
| studio        = 
| venue         = 
| genre         = 
* [[Old-school hip-hop]]
* [[disco]]
* [[funk]]
| length        = 
* {{duration|m=3|s=55}} (single version)
* {{duration|m=4|s=55}} (album version)
* {{duration|m=5|s=5}} (7" single version)
* {{duration|m=6|s=30}} (12" short version)
* {{duration|m=7|s=7}} (long single version)
* {{duration|m=14|s=37}} (12" long version)
| label         = [[Sugar Hill Records (hip hop label)|Sugar Hill]]
| writer        = 
* [[Bernard Edwards]]
* [[Nile Rodgers]]
* [[Sylvia Robinson]] (uncredited)
* [[Big Bank Hank|Henry Jackson]] (uncredited)
* [[Wonder Mike|Michael Wright]] (uncredited)
* [[Master Gee (musician)|Guy O'Brien]] (uncredited)
* [[Grandmaster Caz|Curtis Brown]] (uncredited)
* [[Alan Hawkshaw]] (uncredited)
| producer      = Sylvia Robinson
| prev_title    = 
| prev_year     = 
| next_title    = Rapper's Reprise
| next_year     = 1980
| misc          = {{External music video|{{YouTube|mcCK99wHrk0|"Rapper's Delight"}}|header=Music video}}
}}

"'''Rapper's Delight'''" is a 1979 rap song that serves as the debut single of American hip-hop trio [[the Sugarhill Gang]], produced by [[Sylvia Robinson]]. Although it was shortly preceded by the [[Fatback Band]]'s "[[King Tim III (Personality Jock)]]", "Rapper's Delight" is credited for introducing rap music to a wide audience, reaching the top 40 in the United States, as well as the top three in the United Kingdom and number one in Canada. It was a prototype for various types of [[Rapping|rap]] music. The track [[Interpolation (popular music)|interpolates]]<ref>Branch, Darrell. ''The Beat Game: The Truth About Hip-Hop Production''. Create Space. 2014</ref> [[Chic (band)|Chic]]'s "[[Good Times (Chic song)|Good Times]]", resulting in Chic's [[Nile Rodgers]] and [[Bernard Edwards]] threatening to sue [[Sugar Hill Records (rap)|Sugar Hill Records]] for copyright infringement; a settlement was reached that gave the two songwriting credits. It also interpolates [[Love De-Luxe]]'s "[[Here Comes That Sound Again]]". The track was recorded in a single take.<ref>{{cite news |title='Rapper's Delight' |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1116242 |quote=The story goes that [[Big Bank Hank]], [[Wonder Mike]], and [[Master Gee (musician)|Master Gee]] met [[Sylvia Robinson]] on a Friday and recorded "Rapper's Delight" the following Monday in just one take. |publisher=[[National Public Radio]] |date=December 29, 2000 |access-date=2010-12-20}}</ref> There are five mixes of the song.

"Rapper's Delight" was ranked at number 251 on ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine's list of the "[[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time|500 Greatest Songs of All Time]]" in 2010, and number 2 on [[VH1]]'s "100 Greatest Rap Songs". It is also included on [[NPR]]'s list of the 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century. It was preserved in the [[National Recording Registry]] by the [[Library of Congress]] in 2011 for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/recording-registry/complete-national-recording-registry-listing/|title=Complete National Recording Registry Listing|access-date=18 December 2015|publisher=Library of Congress}}</ref>

In 2014, the record was inducted into the [[Grammy Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/grammy-hall-fame-class-2014|title=GRAMMY Hall Of Fame Class Of 2014|last=<!--staff-->|date=21 June 2017|website=grammy.com|access-date=25 September 2017}}</ref>

==Background==
In late 1978, [[Debbie Harry]] suggested that [[Chic (band)|Chic]]'s [[Nile Rodgers]] join her and [[Chris Stein]] at a [[hip-hop]] event, which at the time was a communal space taken over by teenagers with [[boombox]] stereos playing various pieces of music that performers would [[Breakdancing|break dance]] to. Rodgers experienced this event the first time himself at a high school in the [[The Bronx|Bronx]]. On September 20 and 21, 1979, [[Blondie (band)|Blondie]] and Chic were playing concerts with [[the Clash]] in New York at the [[Palladium (New York City)|Palladium]]. When Chic started playing "[[Good Times (Chic song)|Good Times]]", rapper [[Fab Five Freddy]] and the members of the Sugarhill Gang ("Big Bank Hank" Jackson, "Wonder Mike" Wright, and "Master Gee" O'Brien), jumped up on stage and started [[freestyle rap|freestyling]] with the band. A few weeks later, Rodgers was on the dance floor of New York club Leviticus and heard the DJ play a song which opened with [[Bernard Edwards]]' bass line from Chic's "Good Times". Rodgers approached the DJ who said he was playing a record he had just bought that day in [[Harlem]]. The song turned out to be an early version of "Rapper's Delight", which also included a scratched version of the song's string section. Rodgers and Edwards immediately threatened legal action over [[copyright]], which resulted in a settlement and their being credited as co-writers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-SCGNOieBI|title=The Story of Rapper's Delight by Nile Rodgers|date=March 2, 2008 |publisher=RapProject.tv|access-date=2008-10-12}}</ref> Rodgers claims that this is the first and only time  ever he resisted one of his records from being sampled.<ref>{{cite podcast |host= Nile Rodgers |date= 2025-02-15 |title= Deep Hidden Meaning with Nile Rodgers |url= https://podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/deep-hidden-meaning-radio-with-nile-rodgers/id1701189228?i=1000692277617 |publisher= Apple Music |access-date= 2025-03-07 }} (at **31:28**)</ref> He admitted that he was originally upset with the song, but later declared it to be "one of his favorite songs of all time" and his favorite of all the tracks that [[Sampling (music)|sampled]] (or in this instance [[Interpolation (popular music)|interpolated]]) Chic.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://twentyfirstcenturymusic.blogspot.com/2011/11/nile-rodgers-interviewed-by-peter.html |title=Twenty First Century Music: Nile Rodgers interviewed by Peter Paphides at Waterstone's, Piccadilly, London |website=Twentyfirstcenturymusic.blogspot.com |date=2011-11-10 |access-date=2016-10-15}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=June 2015}} He also stated: "As innovative and important as 'Good Times' was, 'Rapper's Delight' was just as much, if not more so."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.blender.com/guide/articles.aspx?id%3D1992 |title=The Greatest Songs Ever! Good Times Article on Blender :: The Ultimate Guide to Music and More |access-date=2014-08-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013131702/http://www.blender.com/guide/articles.aspx?id=1992 |archive-date=October 13, 2007 |df=mdy}}</ref> Rodgers would even rap sections of ''Rapper's Delight'' when playing ''Good Times'' live with Chic.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chic - Good Times (Live At The Budokan) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhXwBOyLMBs&t=228 |website=YouTube |access-date=22 May 2025 |format=video |date=16 October 2009}}</ref>

A substantial portion of the early stanzas of the song's lyrics was borrowed by Jackson from [[Grandmaster Caz]] (Curtis Brown) who had loaned his 'book' to him—these include a namecheck for "Casanova Fly", which was Caz's full stage name.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nypost.com/2014/01/26/writing-cred-for-rappers-delight-sparks-grudge/|title=Writing cred for 'Rapper's Delight' sparks grudge|work=New York Post|date=January 26, 2014 |access-date=October 12, 2015}}</ref> According to [[Wonder Mike]], he had heard the phrase "hip-hop" from a cousin, leading to the opening line of "Hip-hop, hippie to the hippie, to the hip-hip-hop and you don't stop", while he described "To the bang-bang boogie, say up jump the boogie to the rhythm of the boogie, the beat" as "basically a spoken drum roll. I liked the percussive sound of the letter B". The line "Now what you hear is not a test, I'm rappin' to the beat", was inspired by the introduction to ''[[The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)|The Outer Limits]]'' ("There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture").<ref name=guardian />

Before the "Good Times" background starts, the intro to the recording is an interpolation of  "[[Here Comes That Sound Again]]" by British studio group [[Love De-Luxe]], a disco hit in 1979.<ref name=guardian>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/may/02/sugarhill-gang-how-we-made-rappers-delight-interview |title=Sugarhill Gang: how we made Rapper's Delight |last=Simpson |first=Dave |date=2 May 2017 |website=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=3 May 2017}}</ref>

According to Oliver Wang, author of the 2003 ''Classic Material: The Hip-Hop Album Guide'', recording artist ("[[Pillow Talk (Sylvia song)|Pillow Talk]]") and studio owner [[Sylvia Robinson]] had trouble finding anyone willing to record a rap song. Most of the rappers who performed in clubs did not want to record, as many practitioners believed the style was for live performances only. It is said that Robinson and her son overheard [[Big Bank Hank]] in a pizza parlour.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Weingarten |first=Christopher R. |date=2014-11-11 |title=Sugarhill Gang Rapper Big Bank Hank Dead at 58 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/sugarhill-gang-rapper-big-bank-hank-dead-at-58-233746/ |access-date=2022-06-29 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref> According to [[Master Gee (musician)|Master Gee]], Hank auditioned for Robinson in front of the pizza parlor where he worked, while Gee himself auditioned in Robinson's car.<ref name=guardian /> A live band was used to record most of the backing track, including members of the group "Positive Force": Albert Pittman, Bernard Roland, Moncy Smith, and Bryan Horton.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/positive-force-mn0000359776/biography|title=Positive Force - Biography & History - AllMusic|website=AllMusic|access-date=March 23, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.facebook.com/rockandrollhalloffame/posts/10153689203814107 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/21010144106/10153689203814107 |archive-date=2022-02-26 |url-access=limited|title=Albert Pittman|website=www.facebook.com|access-date=March 23, 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name=guardian />
 
[[Chip Shearin]] claimed during a 2010 interview that he was the bass player on the track. At the age of 17, he had visited a friend in [[New Jersey]]. The friend knew Robinson, who needed some musicians for various recordings, including "Rapper's Delight". Shearin's job on the song was to play the bass for 15 minutes straight, with no mistakes. He was paid $70 but later went on to perform with Sugarhill Gang in concert. Shearin described the session this way:
<blockquote>The drummer and I were sweating bullets because that's a long time. And this was in the days before samplers and drum machines, when real humans had to play things. ... Sylvia said, 'I've got these kids who are going to talk real fast over it; that's the best way I can describe it.'<ref name=Menconi>{{cite news|url=http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/03/14/385149/the-riff-that-lifted-rap.html?storylink=misearch |title=The riff that lifted rap |last=Menconi |first=David |work=[[News & Observer]] |date=March 14, 2010 |access-date=2010-04-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714175053/http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/03/14/385149/the-riff-that-lifted-rap.html?storylink=misearch |archive-date=July 14, 2011 |df=mdy}}</ref></blockquote>

==Chart performance==
"Rapper's Delight" peaked at number 36 in January 1980 on the US [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] chart,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.song-database.com/chhist.php?sid=11019&from=spu&type=ht |title=Billboard Hot 100 Chart History |publisher=Song-database.com |access-date=February 10, 2014}}</ref> number four on the ''Billboard'' [[Hot Soul Singles]] chart in December 1979. The song was much more successful internationally, reaching number one on the Canadian Top Singles chart in January 1980,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.9465a&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.9465a.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.9465a |title=Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada |date=July 17, 2013 |publisher=Collectionscanada.gc.ca |access-date=2019-02-24}}</ref> number one on the Dutch Top 40, and number three on the [[UK Singles Chart]]. In 1980, the song was the anchor of the group's first album ''[[Sugarhill Gang (album)|The Sugarhill Gang]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6281561/sugarhill-gang-rappers-delight-first-chart-appearance-anniversary|title=35 Years Ago, Sugarhill Gang's 'Rapper's Delight' Made Its First Chart Appearance|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] }}</ref>

It was the first top 40 song to be available only as a 12-inch extended version in the US. Early pressings (very few) were released with a red label, with black print, on [[Sugar Hill Records (hip hop label)|Sugar Hill Records]], along with a 7" 45rpm single (which is very rare). Later pressings had the more common blue label, in orange colored "roulette style" sleeves, fashioned after the label for [[Roulette Records]]; Roulette's [[Morris Levy]] and reputed mobster Tony Riviera had invested in Sugar Hill. Even later pressings were issued in the more common blue sleeves with the Sugarhill Records logo. In Europe, however, it was released on the classic 7-inch single format on French pop label [[Disques Vogue|Vogue]], with a shorter version of the song. It was this 7" single that reached number one in the Dutch chart. The song ranked number 251 on ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine's 2004 list of "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".<ref name=Menconi/>

A British version of the song, with rewritten lyrics, was recorded for the song's 25th anniversary in 2004 by an ensemble of performers including [[Rodney P]], [[Chester P]], [[Kano (rapper)|Kano]], Simone, [[Yungun]], [[Sway (British musician)|Sway]], J2K, Swiss, [[Baby Blue (rapper)|Baby Blue]], [[Skibadee]], Luke Skys, and MC D.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://soundcloud.com/bernardpachampong/music-rappers-delight-25th |title=Music: Rappers Delight 25th Anniversary Special &#124; BBC Radio 1Xtra by Bernard P Achampong &#124; Free Listening on SoundCloud |website=Soundcloud.com |access-date=2016-10-15}}</ref>

==Music videos==
The Sugar Hill Gang appeared on the syndicated Soap Factory Disco Show in late 1979, and their performance later became the song's official music video.<ref name="The Sugarhill Gang - Rapper's Delight (Official Video)">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcCK99wHrk0|title=Sugarhill Gang - Rapper's Delight|website=[[YouTube]] |date=August 24, 2015 |access-date=April 7, 2019}}</ref> The group's performance on the [[Palisades Park, New Jersey|Palisades Park]]-based program demonstrates the significant overlap between early hip-hop and disco of the late 1970s.

Alternate music videos exist, also.  One appears to have been recorded by Dutch broadcasting company [[Algemene Vereniging Radio Omroep|AVRO]] at a hotel pool in early 1980.<ref name="Sugarhill Gang - Rapper's Delight • TopPop">Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/zer0tlE4zGQ Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20181215024412/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zer0tlE4zGQ Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zer0tlE4zGQ|title=Sugarhill Gang - Rapper's Delight|website=[[YouTube]] |date=January 8, 2016 |access-date=March 7, 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

The theme was used in "[[Cog (advertisement)|Cog]]", a [[Honda]] advertisement. <ref>Fera, Rae Ann; "[http://www.boardsmag.com/articles/online/20030409/honda.html An idea deconstructed for Honda] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120217020126/http://www.boardsmag.com/articles/online/20030409/honda.html |date=17 February 2012 }}", ''[[Boards (magazine)|Boards]]'', 9 April 2003. Retrieved 6 September 2009.</ref>

==Personnel==
* [[Wonder Mike|Michael "Wonder Mike" Wright]] – vocals
* [[Grandmaster Caz|Curtis "Grandmaster Caz" Brown]] – writer
* [[Big Bank Hank|Henry "Big Bank Hank" Jackson]] – vocals
* [[Master Gee (musician)|Guy "Master Gee" O'Brien]] – vocals
* Bernard Roland<ref name="Positive Force Experience">{{cite web|url=http://nicolemount37.wixsite.com/music-bnb/bio|title=music-bnb|website=wixsite.com|access-date=March 23, 2018}}</ref> or Chip Shearin<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/03/14/385149/the-riff-that-lifted-rap.html?storylink=misearch|title=The riff that lifted rap – Music – NewsObserver.com|first=David |last=Menconi |date=March 14, 2010|access-date=March 23, 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714175053/http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/03/14/385149/the-riff-that-lifted-rap.html?storylink=misearch|archive-date=July 14, 2011|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name="TC Electronic">{{cite web|url=http://www.tcelectronic.com/chip-shearin/|title=Chip Shearin artist page|publisher=TC Electronic|access-date=July 25, 2017|archive-date=January 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180121155757/http://www.tcelectronic.com/chip-shearin/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="EEG Talent">{{cite web|url=http://www.eegtalent.com/index.php/artistprofile/97|title=Sugarhill Gang|publisher=EEG Talent|access-date=July 27, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/752800|title=Fender Precision Bass|date=1977 |publisher=The Met}}</ref> – electric bass
* Albert Pittman<ref name="Positive Force Experience" /> or Brian Morgan<ref name="EEG Talent" /> – electric guitar
* Moncy Smith – piano
* Bryan Horton – drums
* [[Sylvia Robinson]] – additional vocals, vibraphone, and production
* Billy Jones – engineer
* Phil Austin – mastering, original US vinyl release

==Charts==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

===Weekly charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! style="text-align:center;"|Chart (1979–1980)
! style="text-align:center;"|Peak<br />position
|-
{{singlechart|Australia|37|artist=The Sugarhill Gang|song=Rapper's Delight|access-date=August 22, 2011}}
|-
{{singlechart|Austria|5|artist=The Sugarhill Gang|song=Rapper's Delight|access-date=August 22, 2011}}
|-
{{singlechart|Flanders|2|artist=Sugarhill Gang|song=Rappers Delight}}
|-
|Canada Top Singles (''[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]]'')<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.9465a&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.9465a.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.9465a|title=Top Singles - Volume 32, No. 18, January 26, 1980|magazine=[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]]|access-date=February 24, 2019 }}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
|France ([[Institut français d'opinion publique|IFOP]])<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.infodisc.fr/Bilan_S.php |title=InfoDisc : Tout les Titres par Artiste |access-date=2013-06-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131026071323/http://www.infodisc.fr/Bilan_S.php |archive-date=October 26, 2013 |df=mdy }}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|2
|-
|Ireland ([[Irish Recorded Music Association|IRMA]])<ref name="Irish Charts">{{cite web|author=Jaclyn Ward - Fireball Media Ltd |url=http://www.irishcharts.ie/ |title=The Irish Charts - All there is to know |publisher=Irishcharts.ie |date=1962-10-01 |access-date=2014-12-05}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|14
|-
|Italy (''[[Musica e dischi]]'')<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.musicaedischi.it/classifiche_archivio.php|title=Classifiche|work=[[Musica e dischi]]|language=it|access-date=June 7, 2022}} Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Sugarhill Gang".</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|10
|-
{{singlechart|Dutch40|1|artist=The Sugarhill Gang|song=Rapper's Delight|access-date=August 22, 2011}}
|-
{{singlechart|Dutch100|2|artist=The Sugarhill Gang|song=Rapper's Delight|access-date=June 7, 2022}}
|-
{{singlechart|New Zealand|18|artist=The Sugarhill Gang|song=Rapper's Delight|access-date=August 22, 2011}}
|-
{{singlechart|Norway|2|artist=The Sugarhill Gang|song=Rapper's Delight|access-date=August 22, 2011}}
|-
|South Africa ([[Springbok Radio]])<ref name="South African Rock Lists">{{cite web|url=http://www.rock.co.za/files/springbok_top_20_(S).html |title=South African Rock Lists|access-date=2019-07-03}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center; "|3
|-
|Spain ([[Productores de Música de España|AFE]])<ref>{{cite book |last=Salaverri|first=Fernando|title=Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002|edition=1st|date=September 2005|publisher=Fundación Autor-SGAE|location=Spain|isbn=84-8048-639-2}}</ref>
|style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
{{singlechart|Sweden|2|artist=The Sugarhill Gang|song=Rapper's Delight|access-date=August 22, 2011}}
|-
{{singlechart|Switzerland|2|artist=The Sugarhill Gang|song=Rapper's Delight|access-date=August 22, 2011}}
|-
{{singlechart|UKsinglesbyname|artistid=7613|3|artist=Sugarhill Gang|song=Rapper's Delight|songid=8390|access-date=August 22, 2011}}
|-
{{singlechart|Billboardhot100|36|artist=The Sugarhill Gang|song=Rapper's Delight}}
|-
{{singlechart|West Germany|3|artist=The Sugarhill Gang|song=Rapper's Delight|songid=624|access-date=August 22, 2011}}
|}
{{col-2}}

===Year-end charts===
{| class="wikitable"
! style="text-align:center;"|Chart (1980)
! style="text-align:center;"|Peak<br />position
|-
|Canada Top Singles (''RPM'')<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.0272&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.0272.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.0272 |title= Canadian 1980 Top 100 Singles |date= July 17, 2013 |publisher= Library and Archives Canada |access-date= 24 February 2019}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|27
|-
|France (IFOP)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://top.france.free.fr/html/annuel/1980.htm |title=TOP - 1980 |website=Top.france.free.fr |access-date=2016-10-15}}</ref>|| style="text-align:center;"|33
|-
|Italy (FIMI)<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yends/hpe1980.htm |title= Top Annuali Single 1980}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|51
|-
|}
{{col-end}}

==Certifications and sales==
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|artist=Sugar Hill Gang<!-- artist name spelled this way in Music Canada database -->|title=Rapper's Delight|type=single|award=Platinum|relyear=1979|certyear=1980|salesamount=249,000|salesref=<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1981/BB-1981-01-24.pdf|title=Juno Album, Singles Data|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|via=World Radio History|page=102|date=January 24, 1981|accessdate=March 2, 2021}}</ref>}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=France|title=Rapper's Delight|artist=Sugarhill Gang|type=single|nocert=true|salesamount=300,000|salesref=<ref name="topfrance1980">{{cite book|url=http://www.top-france.fr/html/annuel/1980.htm|title=TOP – 1980|work=40 ans de tubes : 1960–2000 : les meilleures ventes de 45 tours & CD singles|author=[[Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique]] (SNEP)|editor=Fabrice Ferment|access-date=March 12, 2022|language=fr|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210223153814/http://www.top-france.fr/html/annuel/1980.htm|archive-date=February 23, 2021|via=Top-France.fr|oclc=469523661}}</ref>}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Germany|artist=Sugar Hill Gang|title=Rapper's Delight|type=single|nocert=true|relyear=1979|salesamount=100,000|salesref=<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1980/Music-Week-1980-04-19.pdf|title=Dateline: Hamburg|magazine=[[Music Week]]|page=16|date=April 19, 1980|accessdate=March 12, 2022}}</ref>}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Netherlands|artist=Sugarhill Gang|title=Rapper's Delight|type=single|award=Gold|relyear=1980|certyear=1979|access-date=March 4, 2021}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Philippines|artist=Sugar Hill Gang|title=Rapper's Delight|type=single|nocert=true|relyear=1979|salesamount=100,000|salesref=<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1980/BB-1980-06-07.pdf|title=Filipino Film Sparks Life Into EP Format|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|first=Ces|last=Rodriguez|page=45|date=June 7, 1980|accessdate=March 12, 2022}}</ref>}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Spain|type=single|artist=Sugarhill Gang|title=Rapper's Delight|relyear=1979|award=Gold|certref=<ref name="Spanish certifications 1979-1990">{{cite book|url=http://www.mediafire.com/view/x263f6daopkswo8|title=Sólo Éxitos 1959-2002 Año A Año: Certificados 1979-1990|year=2005|publisher=Iberautor Promociones Culturales|language=es|isbn=8480486392}}</ref>}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Sugarhill Gang|title=Rapper's Delight|type=single|award=Platinum|relyear=2007|certyear=2024|id=5353-1760-1|access-date=August 30, 2024}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=Sugar Hill Gang|title=Rapper's Delight|type=single|nocert=true|relyear=1979|salesamount=1,300,000|salesref=<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/1970/1979/CB-1979-11-07.pdf|title=International Music People Mingle At MUSEXPO Confab|magazine=[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]]|page=52|date=November 17, 1979|accessdate=March 12, 2022}}</ref>}}
{{Certification Table Summary}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Worldwide|artist=Sugar Hill Gang|title=Rapper's Delight|type=single|nocert=true|relyear=1979|salesamount=5,000,000|salesref=<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thesource.com/2020/09/16/today-in-hip-hop-history-sugar-hill-gang-releases-rappers-delight-41-years-ago/|title=Today In Hip-Hop History: Sugar Hill Gang Releases 'Rapper's Delight' 41 Years Ago|author=Sha Be Allah|publisher=[[The Source (magazine)|The Source]]|date=September 16, 2020|accessdate=June 8, 2022}}</ref>}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|streaming=true}}

==Legacy==
''New York Times'' columnist [[Charles M. Blow]] recalled his memories of the song, hearing it in the rural South: "It sounded revolutionary, even when I was a child, or perhaps especially when I was a child. And it was. It was fierce and fun, simultaneously foreign and familiar." He added:<ref>{{cite news |last1=Blow |first1=Charles |author1-link=Charles M. Blow |title=America's Black Pain and Joy |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/06/20/opinion/charles-blow-rappers-delight.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=20 June 2023}}</ref>
{{quote|Listen to "Rapper's Delight", and you hear a lightweight, joyous anthem. But it is a rough-hewn joy, miraculously born out of the struggle and pain of the Black experience. Struggle and pain are often a kiln for creativity, and that has meant that much of American culture is born of the story of Black American life.}}
The song appears on the soundtrack of several video games. The long single version appears in ''[[Tony Hawk's Underground 2]]'', while the full version (albeit censored) appears in ''[[MLB 2K10]]''. It also appears in ''[[Forza Horizon 4]]'', on one of the game's radio stations. A cover of the song is on the track list for ''[[Just Dance 2024 Edition]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-13 |title=Just Dance 2024 song list and track list |url=https://www.theloadout.com/just-dance-2024/song-list |access-date=2023-09-13 |website=The Loadout |language=en-US}}</ref>

The chorus of the 2002 international hit "[[The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)]]" by [[Las Ketchup]] is a Spanish [[gibberish]] version of [[Wonder Mike]]'s part in "Rapper's Delight".<ref>{{cite news|title=Todo lo que sube debe bajar, lo importante es que ahora estamos arriba |url=http://terra.es/ocio/articulo/html/oci16323.htm |access-date=1 August 2019 |newspaper=[[Terra Networks]] |date=2004 |language=es |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227140115/http://terra.es/ocio/articulo/html/oci16323.htm |archive-date=27 February 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=27 September 2017|title=Este hilo explica la desgarradora historia del "Aserejé"|url=https://www.elespanol.com/social/20170927/249975805_0.html|access-date=2 July 2020|website=El Español|language=es-ES}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of one-hit wonders in the United States#1970s|List of 1970s one-hit wonders in the United States]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* {{National Public Radio|1116242}}
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/3727320.stm Silver jubilee for first rap hit] — [[BBC]] article about the single on its 25th anniversary
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-SCGNOieBI The Story of Rapper's Delight by Nile Rodgers]
* [https://www.npr.org/programs/specials/vote/100list.html The 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century] - [[NPR]]

{{The Sugarhill Gang}}
{{Chic}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1979 songs]]
[[Category:1979 debut singles]]
[[Category:American disco songs]]
[[Category:Funk-rap songs]]
[[Category:The Sugarhill Gang songs]]
[[Category:Dutch Top 40 number-one singles]]
[[Category:Number-one singles in Spain]]
[[Category:RPM Top Singles number-one singles]]
[[Category:Songs written by Bernard Edwards]]
[[Category:Songs written by Nile Rodgers]]
[[Category:Songs written by Sylvia Robinson]]
[[Category:United States National Recording Registry recordings]]
[[Category:Sugar Hill Records (hip-hop label) singles]]
[[Category:LGBTQ-related songs]]
[[Category:Sampling controversies]]
[[Category:Songs about hip-hop]]