In Memoriam

Joseph Robinson Jr., owner of pioneering hip-hop label Sugar Hill Records, dies at 53

Joseph Robinson Jr., one of the heirs of the legendary hip-hop music label Sugar Hill Records, has died after a battle with cancer

Published

9 years ago

July 12, 2015

Unheard Voices Staff

Joseph Robinson Jr., owner of hip-hop label Sugar Hill Records, Dead at 53

Joseph Robinson Jr. (Photo: PR NewsWire | https://prnewswire2-a.akamaihd.net/p/1893751/sp/189375100/thumbnail/entry_id/0_ytkzd1tz/def_height/400/def_width/400/version/100012/type/1)

Joseph Robinson Jr., one of the heirs of the legendary hip-hop music label Sugar Hill Records, has died after a battle with cancer, reports NorthJersey.com.

The 53-year-old music executive died at his Tenafly home on Saturday, the site said.

Robinson was part of one of hip-hop’s pioneering families. His parents, Sylvia and Joseph Robinson Sr., founded the Englewood-based label in the 1970s, and released the famous hit “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugar Hill Gang in 1979 – a song often credited with introducing the music to the mainstream.

He and his two younger brothers, Rhondo and Leland, eventually took over the imprint from their parents in the 1980s.

Joseph Robinson Jr. was executor of the Sugarhill Music Publishing estate, helping to keep his family’s legacy alive.

In addition to handling the business side of the label, Robinson in 1985 became a member of the Sugarhill Gang, replacing Guy O’Brien and touring with Big Bank Hank and other band members.

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Unheard Voices Staff

Unheard Voices is an award-winning news magazine that started in 2004 as a newsletter in the Asbury Park, Neptune, and Long Branch, NJ areas to broadening into a recognized Black online media outlet. The company is one of the few outlets dedicated to covering social justice issues. They are the recipient of the NAACP Unsung Hero Award and CV Magazine's Innovator Award for Best Social Justice Communications Company.