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'Rapper's Delight': How hip-hop got its first record deal

Rap pioneers the Sugarhill Gang (left to right: Wonder Mike, Master G and Big Bank Hank) perform live circa 1979.
Michael Ochs Archives
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Getty Images
Rap pioneers the Sugarhill Gang (left to right: Wonder Mike, Master G and Big Bank Hank) perform live circa 1979.

Hip-hop was born at a party in 1973, but it'd be another six years until the first commercial hip-hop records. People have differing views of it, but the release of "Rapper's Delight" changed history.

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Juana Summers is a host of NPR's All Things Considered.
Kat Lonsdorf is reporter for NPR, often covering national security and international stories. She is based in Washington, D.C.