Text size:

Where are they now?

By Glenn Gamboa | Staff Writer

October 10, 2004

The Sugarhill Gang

After 25 years, the Sugar Hill Gang is still going strong, celebrating the anniversary with a series of high-profile shows and a new album that could be in stores by the end of the year. "We have six or seven songs done already, and we're trying to get done before Christmas," says Michael "Wonder Mike" Wright.

"The new stuff has all kinds of flavors of hip- hop. It has rock guitars. It's gonna be good. But with all the things we have going on, it may take longer. What we need is a rolling studio."

Wright, Henry "Big Bank Hank" Jackson and "Master Gee" Joey Robinson Jr. are still touring as the Sugar Hill Gang. Robinson also works as the band's manager.

Guy O'Brien, who was "Master Gee" first -- Robinson's father refused to let Joey tour when he was still in high school -- now runs a Chicago advertising firm.

Sylvia Robinson is looking forward to celebrating her 50th anniversary in the music business, with her 1956 hit, "Love Is Strange," nearing its golden landmark. Her solo hit, "Pillow Talk," turned 30 last year. Her Sugar Hill Studios in Englewood, N.J., were destroyed in a fire in 2002.

Curtis "Grandmaster Caz" Brown is still recording as a solo artist. He also works at Hush Tours, known for offering tours of hip-hop's historical landmarks in the Bronx, where he still lives.