The seminal hit from Sugar Hill Gang is now in the Library of Congress.
Everyone knows the song and most people can recite the first few bars but, now, the song was one of 25 inducted into the Library of Congress.

Official write up after the jump…

Here’s the official write up from the Library of Congress’ website:

“The Sugarhill Gang’s infectious dance number from late 1979 might be said to have launched an entire genre. Although spoken word had been a component of recorded American popular music for decades, this trio’s rhythmic rhyming inspired many MC’s-to-be and other future rap artists. The album version of “Rapper’s Delight” is an epic 14’1/2 minute salvo of irreverent stories and creative word play. The song dates from hip-hop’s infancy. As such, it does not address subject matter that has given rap music both positive and negative notoriety, but the song’s inventive rhymes, complex counter-rhythms, and brash boastfulness presage the tenets of hip hop. “Rapper’s Delight” also reflects an early instance of music sampling and a legal settlement; it draws its bass line and other features from Chic’s 1979 hit “Good Times.” As a result, songwriting credits for “Rapper’s Delight” include that song’s composers, Chic guitarist Nile Rodgers and bassist Bernard Edwards, as well as Sylvia Robinson and the Sugarhill Gang (Michael Wright, Guy O’Brien, and Henry Jackson). Selected for the 2011 registry.”

Very cool. Great piece of nostalgia for any hip hop head.

via HipHopDX