Sylvia Robinson, the Mother of Hip-Hop

 is remembered today by hip-hop fans as a pioneer of the genre. How did the R&B singer-songwriter once known for her duo Mickey & Sylvia become the "mother of hip-hop?" As the story goes, Sylvia Robinson was out at a club in Harlem one night in 1979. The record label she and her husband owned, Sugar Hill Records, was struggling — they were hoping they could avoid bankruptcy. And they were always open to new sounds that might revitalize the music scene — and their business. Robinson heard the DJ talking rhythmically over the music, and the crowd loved it. She had never heard it before, though it was a common enough sound in the inner city. For a couple of years, MCs like Grandmaster Flash and Kurtis Blow had been putting on live shows that intertwined DJing and rapping in a stream-of-consciousness groove that could last for hours. These raps were becoming a fixture of the club scene, but they hadn't yet been committed to vinyl. Robinson decided it was time to bring this music out of the clubs and onto the radio. Within days, she had assembled a group of amateur rappers — none of whom had met each other before — into the Sugarhill Gang. She brought them into her studio, recorded their raps over a disco beat in a single 15-minute take, and history's first rap record was born.

Delightful Big Bank Hank

Hank Jackson, aka , died Nov. 11, 2014, after a long battle with cancer.

Remembering Gangsta Rap Pioneer Eazy-E

When N.W.A.’s debut album, Straight Outta Compton , came out in 1988, it struck a nerve within the rap community and with young people of all stripes.

Five Songs: Adam Yauch's Favorites

In honor of the birthday of the Beastie Boys' Adam Yauch, listen to these five songs that MCA himself loved and might have recommended.

Koopsta Knicca (1975–2015), Memphis rapper

Rapper and founding member of Three 6 Mafia.

Phife Dawg (1970–2016), A Tribe Called Quest rapper

Phife Dawg, a rapper and a founding member of the hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest, has died, according to multiple news sources, including Billboard and Rolling Stone.

Afeni Shakur (1947–2016), Tupac Shakur's mother

Afeni Shakur, the mother of the late hip-hop legend Tupac Shakur, died May 2, 2016, according to multiple news sources. She was 69.

John Berry (1963–2016), Beastie Boys founding member

Founding member of the Beastie Boys hip-hop group.

Jerry Heller (1940–2016), rap manager

Managed gangsta rap pioneers N.W.A. and Eazy-E.

Carlos "Shawty Lo" Walker (1976–2016), Dey Know rapper

Carlos “Shawty Lo” Walker, an Atlanta-based hip-hop artist known for hit singles such as “Laffy Taffy” and “Dey Know,” died in an automobile accident Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2016, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was 40.

Prodigy (1974–2017)

The rapper Prodigy from the hip-hop duo Mobb Deep died Tuesday, June 20, 2017, according to multiple news sources. He was 42.

Christopher Wong Won (1964–2017), 2 Live Crew co-founder

Rap legend co-founded the hip-hop group 2 Live Crew.

Lil Peep (1996–2017), musician combined emotional lyrics with hip hop beats

Lil Peep, singer, rapper, and fashion model, died Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017, according to multiple news sources. He was 21.

Fredo Santana (1990–2018), Chicago rapper and cousin of Chief Keef

Fredo Santana rapped about street life on Chicago's South Side.

Craig Mack (1970–2018), "Flava in Ya Ear" rapper

WALTERBORO, S.C. (AP) — Former rapper Craig Mack, best known for the platinum 1994 hit "Flava in Ya Ear" has died in South Carolina.

XXXTentacion (1998–2018), controversial rapper

His music topped charts despite legal issues.

Mac Miller (1992–2018) popular rapper and singer

Mac Miller (1992–2018) was a popular rapper who just released his fifth studio album titled “Swimming” in August 2018. Debuting at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, the album features the single “Small Worlds.” Miller was scheduled to kick off a U.S. tour October 27 in San Francisco.

Andre Williams (1936–2019), R&B singer known as the "Godfather of Rap"

Andre Williams was an R&B singer who had hits in the 1950s with "Bacon Fat" and the too-raunchy-for-radio "Jail Bait." Known as the "Godfather of Rap" for the spoken-sung style he adopted when he wanted to be a recording star but knew he couldn't sing well enough, Williams recorded with labels including Detroit-based Fortune Records and Chicago's Chess Records. His most enduring composition is "Shake a Tail Feather," which became an R&B standard after he co-wrote it, recorded first by the Five Dutones and more famously by Ike and Tina Turner as well as by for the 1980 movie "The Blues Brothers." He wrote songs for , and produced for musicians including Ike Turner and , but he also continued recording and performing his own music all his life, including his 2017 album "Don't Ever Give Up."

Nipsey Hussle (1985–2019), Grammy-nominated rapper

Nipsey Hussle was a Grammy-nominated West Coast rapper known for his mixtapes and his 2018 debut studio album, "Victory Lap." Hussle, born Ermias Asghedom, released his first mixtape in his native Los Angeles in 2005 and followed it up with the "Bullets Ain't Got No Name" series. By 2013, his mixtapes were so sought after that he was able to release his limited-edition "Crenshaw" at $100 per hard copy. All 1000 copies sold in less than 24 hours — including, reportedly, 100 copies bought by Jay-Z. Hussle's "Victory Lap" was nominated for a Grammy Award for best rap album in 2018.

Bushwick Bill (1966–2019), rapper with the Geto Boys

Bushwick Bill was a member of the iconic Houston based rap trio the Geto Boys. Real name Richard Shaw, he was born in Kingston, Jamaica with dwarfism. He first joined the Geto Boys as a dancer and then became a rapper alongside Willie D and Scarface. The trio were pioneers of southern hip-hop and horrorcore. Bushwick Bill was featured on the Geto Boy’s hit songs, “Mind Playing Tricks on Me” and “Damn It Feels Good to Be a Gangsta.” He also released multiple solo albums.

Jimmy Spicer (1958–2019), pioneering rapper recorded “Adventures of Super Rhyme”

Jimmy Spicer was a pioneering rapper whose 1980 single “Adventures of Super Rhyme (Rap)” was one of the earliest hip-hop songs. Released not long after the Sugar Hill Gang made history with their “Rapper’s Delight,” “Adventures of Super Rhyme” was a 15-minute storytelling epic, the first of its kind and an influence on later storytelling hip-hop. The song got him signed with Russell Simmons’ Rush Management, and Spicer released further singles including “Money (Dollar Bill Y’all)” and “The Bubble Bunch.” Soon-to-be legendary producers including Rick Rubin and Jellybean Benitez produced singles for Spicer, who worked for Rush Management and opened a recording studio in later years.

Juice WRLD (1998–2019), Chicago rapper

Juice WRLD  was a Chicago rapper best known for the hit song “All Girls Are the Same” from 2018 album “Goodbye & Riddance.” Juice WRLD (born Jarad Higgins) signed a $3 million record deal with Interscope Records in 2018 after his EP “Juice Wrld 999” was streamed millions of times. In 2019 he released album “Death Race for Love” that hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and co-headlined a tour with Nicki Minaj.  

J. “A$AP Snacks” Scott (2020), DJ for A$AP Rocky

J. Scott , also known as A$AP Snacks, was the DJ for rapper A$AP Rocky and a member of the A$AP Mob hip hop collective. Scott was also half of the DJ duo Cozy Boys along with A$AP Lou, and he was a producer and creative director for projects by A$AP Mob members. He worked as a manager for other artists. A$AP Rocky reported that Scott died over the weekend.

Pop Smoke (1999–2020), up and coming rapper

Pop Smoke  was an up and coming rapper known for his 2019 hit song “Welcome to the Party.” The track was mixed by ASAP Ferg, Meek Mill, Pusha T and others. A remix was done a few months after the original that featured Nicki Minaj. Pop Smoke was born Bashar Barakah Jackson in Brooklyn, New York. Pop Smoke’s debut mixtape “Meet the Woo” was released in July 2019. His second mixtape titled “Meet the Woo 2” was released on February 7.

Chynna Rogers (1994–2020), rapper and model

Chynna Rogerswas a model with the Ford Agency and a rising rap artist associated with A$AP Mob.

Steve “Stezo” Williams (2020), old school rap legend

Steve “Stezo” Williams was an old school rap legend known for his 1989 album  Crazy Noise . 

Kiing Shooter (1995–2020), NYC rapper who recorded on Nas’ label

Kiing Shooter was a New York City rapper who was signed to Nas’ Mass Appeal Records and Jungle’s Street Dreams Records.

Huey (Lawrence Franks Jr.) (1989–2020), rapper known for “Pop, Lock & Drop It”

Huey was a rapper from St. Louis known for his 2006 top ten hit “Pop, Lock & Drop It”

Jordan Groggs (1988–2020), rapper with Injury Reserve

Jordan Groggs , also known as Stepa J. Groggs, was a rapper with the Arizona hip hop group Injury Reserve.

Lil Marlo (2020), Atlanta rapper

Lil Marlo , born Rudolph Johnson, was an Atlanta rapper who recorded for the Quality Control label.

Roy Charles Hammond (2020), legendary soul singer

Roy Charles Hammond was a legendary soul singer known as Roy C. His best-known song was “Shotgun Wedding,” a top 20 R&B hit in 1965.   

John “Ecstasy” Fletcher (1964–2020), rapper with influential group Whodini

John Fletcher was a rapper with the influential early rap group Whodini, who went by the name Ecstasy.

MF DOOM (1971-2020), masked rapper & master lyricist

Daniel Dumile, most widely known by the stage name MF DOOM, was one of the most influential rap lyricists of the 2000s.

Dearon “Deezer D” Thompson (1965–2021), “ER” actor and rapper

Dearon “Deezer D” Thompson was an actor, rapper, and motivational speaker best known for his longtime role as nurse Malik McGrath in “ER.”

Duke Bootee (1951–2021), influential rapper who co-wrote “The Message”

Duke Bootee , born Edward Fletcher, was an early rapper who co-wrote the influential hip-hop song “The Message,” performed by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.

Prince Markie Dee (1968–2021), the Fat Boys' rapper

Prince Markie Dee was a rapper with the legendary hip-hop group the Fat Boys who were hugely popular in the 1980's.

U-Roy (1942–2021), Jamaican musician who pioneered toasting

U-Roy was a Jamaican musician who pioneered toasting, a precursor to rap music in which a DJ talked over the records he was playing.

Black Rob (1969–2021), rapper known for “Whoa”

Black Rob was a rapper best known for his 2000 hit single, “Whoa.”

Shock G (1963–2021), frontman for Digital Underground

Shock G was the frontman for the hip-hop group Digital Underground, whose hits included “The Humpty Dance.”

Biz Markie (1964–2021), rapper known for “Just a Friend”

Biz Markie was a rapper best known for his 1989 hit song, “Just a Friend.”

Young Dolph (1985–2021), rapper known for “Rich Slave”

Young Dolph was a rapper known for music including his Top 5 2020 album “Rich Slave.”

Jamal Edwards (1990–2022), pioneering British music entrepreneur

Jamal Edwards was a pioneering British music figure whose YouTube channel SBTV was influential in promoting emerging rappers and singers such as Ed Sheeran and Stormzy.  

Archie Eversole (1984–2022), rapper known for “We Ready”

Archie Eversole was an Atlanta-based rapper best known for his 2002 hit “We Ready.”

Trouble (1987–2022), rapper collaborated with Drake 

Trouble was an Atlanta rap artist who collaborated with Drake and The Weeknd on his 2018 debut album ‘Edgewood.’

PnB Rock (1991–2022), rapper known for his single “Selfish” 

PnB Rock was a Philadelphia born rapper who was known for his single “Selfish,” which charted in 2016.  

Coolio (1963–2022), “Gangsta’s Paradise” rapper

Coolio was a rapper and actor who won a Grammy Award for his 1995 No. 1 single “Gangsta’s Paradise.”

Hurricane G (1970–2022), pioneering New York rapper 

Hurricane G (Gloria Rodriguez) was a pioneering New York rapper who was the first female member of the hip hop collective known as the Hit Squad.

Grand Daddy I.U. (1968–2022), 1990s rapper and producer

Grand Daddy I.U. was a rapper and producer known for singles including “Something New” and “Sugar Free.”

Gangsta Boo (1979–2023), rapper in Three 6 Mafia

Gangsta Boo  was an influential rapper and a former member of the hip hop group Three 6 Mafia.