By BRUCE SHIPKOWSKI and MESFIN FEKADU Associated Press
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Big Bank Hank, one of the members of the pioneering hip-hop group the Sugarhill Gang, has died, according to Aree Booker, a funeral director with Eternity Funeral Services in Englewood, New Jersey. He was 57.
Booker didn’t specify the cause of death, but said the rapper died Tuesday and that his funeral home would handle the services.
Big Bank Hank, whose real name was Henry Jackson, was a part of the Sugarhill Gang in 1979 when the band had hip-hop’s first hit with “Rapper’s Delight.” The song was released as hip-hop music started to emerge as a genre.
The Sugarhill Gang also included Master Gee and Wonder Mike. All of the members are from Englewood, New Jersey.
