Hip hop -pioneerit Funky 4+1, The Furious 5 ja Reggie Payne pääsivät vähän aikaa sitten vihdoinkin sopuun Sugar Hill Recordsin kanssa ja he ovat saaneet rahallisen korvauksen tekemästään musiikista.
Sugar Hill Records on ollut tärkeä osa hip hop -historiaa. Ikoninen levy-yhtiö tunnetaan vuonna 1979 julkaistusta “Rapper’s Delight” -biisistä, joka teki hip hopista kaupallisesti kannattavan taidemuodon. Se tunnetaan myös häikäilemättömistä levytyssopimuksista artistien kanssa. Nyt 42 vuotta myöhemmin artistit ovat kuulemma vihdoinkin saaneet korvauksensa Grandmaster Flashin ja MC Sha Rockin mukaan.
Sylvia ja Joe Robinson perustivat Sugar Hill Recordsin 70-luvulla. Sylvia Robinson kuoli vuonna 2022 sydämen vajaatoimintaan, mutta hänen perheensä on hoitanut levy-yhtiön toimintaa siitä lähtien.
Lue Sha Rockin Facebook-kirjoitus alta.
“We’ve finally won against Sugar Hill Records. Let me give you the back story. Back in the early 90’s after returning to the United States from Germany. I worked effortlessly on finding an attorney to take on Sugar Hill Records. No one wanted to take my case. I eventually came across a woman who put me in touch with Artist Rights Enforcement in New York City, who fights for artist rights. I became their first hip hop client. I brought in the Funky 4+1 and then went to Rahiem to bring in the furious 5. I also tried to include the Sequence to file a class action lawsuit, but they didn’t want any part of the law suit. 1979 I recorded my first rap record under Enjoy Records. June 1980 the Funky 4 signed to Sugar Hill Records.
We’ve been back in forth to court since the 1990’s. We’ve won all of our cases. 42 years later I as well as the Funky 4+1 More, The Furious 5 and Reggie Payne Reggie Reg Crash Crew from the Crash Crew have been vindicated. We won our final judgement. People use to think I was tripping, simply because I’ve always spoken on the lawsuit and was determined to see this through. Some said let it go. I can’t discuss the amount; but it’s finally over. Or we’re be back in court if my money is short.”
