Grandmaster Caz Talks Big Bank Hank Stealing "Rapper's Delight"

www.vladtv.com - Grandmaster Caz sat down with VladTV and spoke on his connection to recently deceased member of the Sugar Hill Gang, Big Bank Hank, saying as his manager, Hank took credit for his rhymes that ended up on the now legendary track, "Rapper's Delight."
Caz claims Hank, as his manager, had a copy of a tape of rhymes he'd written, and listened to it regularly. Hank was rhyming the lines one day in a pizza shop when Sugar Hill Records founder Sylvia Robinson walked in and heard the bars, asking if he'd like to audition to be in the rap group "Sugar Hill Gang." Instead of giving Caz credit, he repeated his rhymes and won a spot in the group. Caz continues to claim that he wrote pretty much every word of Hank's verse on the Hip Hop classic, "Rapper's Delight." He also admits he didn't like the record when he first heard it.
Once the song became a hit, Caz admits he felt jerked that Hank got so many opportunities based on the lyrics he'd written. Check out the interview above.

[@peterrod5239]

caz been talking about this for years, not just because hank pass away. caz been saying this for years now. hank stole this man life. and never gave caz credit. not even the balls to change the lyrics. living the good life on the work of the other guy. i give caz lots of props that he remain calm and did not do nothing crazy. hank was the first accomplish biter in the history of hip hop.

[@coolnesss16]

+Peter Rod Slightly more fucked up was the fact that the sugar hill gang wasn't heavy into hip-hop. They weren't real rappers. Sylvia Robinson basically scrounged some guys up had them rap for her their voices sounded good to her and they recorded a track. The group itself was a fabrication. I'm sure Mell Mel and the actual MC's who were rockin parties back then were like what the fuck is this??

[@lxolxo7]

+Peter Rod YEP! And that's the "American Dream".......

[@lxolxo7]

+Patrick Griffin Sad part about this is, although I now know a lot of the history behind this track and its making, it still will always be a CLASSIC to me.

[@coolnesss16]

Jon Q Oh yeah fabricated or not, it's a complete classic and one the first and most important rap tracks to ever exist. I give Sugar Hill gang and Sugarhill records credit had they not recorded that track it's arguable hip-hop wouldn't be what it is now. As great as Caz and melle mel and the greats were, I don't really think they had that vision. They should've been trying to record records.

[@mspinkytee]

+Polly Wui No he is not. I never heard of this basic brother. But I will remember Big Bad Hank. He has a nice voice. It was not meant for this dude.

[@AF-Twice]

Sugar Hill Gang pioneered the art of biting.

[@macktasticification]

sugar hill gang pioneered the art of getting fucked by the label and owning nothing.

[@OfficialJalenHemphill]

Y'all Are PETTY! LOL!!!!

[@OfficialJalenHemphill]

***** Yeah, I Know But Damn! LOL!

[@macktasticification]

***** real talk. you know what it is that the members of the sugar hill gang were all homeless at one point AFTER rappers delight. label execs adding themselves as writers on the songs. the robinson family are pieces of shit starting with sylvia!

[@MrWARBUCKS24]

That was the nature of the music business Sylvia and Joe weren't the first to do that and certainly wasn't the last it still goes on Sylvia deserves credit and respect for what she did now the shit her son's did afterwards was some straight bullshit

[@DefSquadFan]

Big Ups to Caz for repeating a story that he has told 50 million times and not getting irritated. He's a real professional. 99% of people would not tell that story not one more time.

[@cenziclopedia]

and also the fact that even later apologizes for not remembering perfectly. This man is humble!

[@grandimperial1063]

YES I was there! Grand Master Caz was out in the park Rapping that Song.

[@PianoGesang]

Damn, ever since I heard Rapper's Delight in the 80ies here in Germany I thought that Hank's style and rhymes were way better than Wondermike's or Master Gee's. Now I know why. Casanova Fly is an honest man, I dig him!

[@Nappy1987]

i waited my whole life for the rappers delights controversy to be cleared. thaks vlad

[@bennyblanco5366]

WATCH DAT FAM

[@djspair]

Check out the documentary "I Want My Name Back" It's about the history of the Sugar Hill Records & The Sugar Hill Gang. Highly recommended

[@topobadisang4129]

djspair I watched that about 2 months before Hank's passing...Very insightful....They never really got their name back

[@estherstrategicadvisor749]

Cirby Shottas Watch Unsung story on them, even more to the story of crookedness by Sylvia

[@kyngronin2442]

i dont mean to be off topic but does someone know a way to get back into an Instagram account..? I somehow forgot my password. I love any assistance you can give me.

[@brickcamm]

comedians steal jokes, dancers copy moves, in life we all have been smoked or taken for something. mad respect for caz and RIP hank.

[@thedarkchild86]

Q Tip said it best .... the record business is shady .... Hank should have made his peace with Caz before he passed away .....PERIOD.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@reefb1277]

Older heads knew about this over 20 years ago-!!! Original member of the cold crush brothers. The two other members of the real sugar hill gang said Hank could not really rap- Wonder Mike and Master Gee!!!

[@ygwaltgmb]

IN THE SONG IT SAYS I'M C A S A N O V A 😂😂😂

[@TheProverbialHater]

Must feel like throwing away the winning lottery ticket... Damn!

[@macktasticification]

nah tarts like giving your boy the money to buy the ticket then he takes it and collects the reward for himself

[@TheProverbialHater]

Snuff Daddy Talk to em... Yassss! lol.

[@victorfergn]

I went to see the comment section of Rapper's Delight and I got really pissed

[@troylowe814]

I first heard this story in 1991, when I became an aquaintance of a former Bronx resident who knew several of the early hip hop crews. Kind of an open secret that Big Bank Hank took advantage of Caz for a long time.

[@ericjackson7632]

How can anyone not know? When Hank raps "check it out I'm the C-A-S-A the N-O-V-A and the rest is F-L-Y." Its known.

[@pendejo6466]

Whoa!

[@pimpmastaa101]

I will never listen to this song the same way ever again

[@victorfergn]

thank god

[@leewightman8001]

As a student of hip-hop this is an important story

[@markbaz]

Damn, Ghostwriting in Hip Hop since since damn near DAY ONE!!!

[@jorhodes8507]

That wasn't Ghost writing....that my friend was out right stealing.

[@troyscinema]

Plenty of the top Hip Hop songs back then were co written or ghost written entirely by a songwriter or producer. ex. "the message" "Christmas rappin"

[@thewkovacs316]

@@jorhodes8507 he handed him the lyric sheet. didnt ask for anything in return. what did he think was going to be done with it?

[@spaceman2108]

@@troyscinema who "originally" wrote the message?

[@ruffoprime1282]

@@spaceman2108 i think it was Melle mel?

[@geraldjackson2000]

"Damm fly guy I'm in love with you, the Casanova legend must be true" smdh

[@myronsmith2114]

I often wondered why Hank never spelled out his own name . That never made any sense to me

[@CopperNT]

WHY DOESN'T VLAD SHUT UP AND LET HIM TALK

[@terrancewicks4079]

Thank you

[@esseen100]

Bust the facts Caz! This info is Culture Gold!

[@jameslemmons9737]

king esseen 💯💯💯😎👍🏾

[@bennyblanco5366]

CRAZY HOW DIS INTERVIEW BEING RELEASED ON THE DAY HE DIED !!! THIS NIGGA VLAD

[@xavierrandall]

Got to remember these was back in 79, nothing never was ever heard on a nation wide level at that time plus on top of that Suger Hill used a very popular song to rap over which was Good Times by Chic and it was something VERY different during that era.

[@yakacm]

I could have been a contender, instead I got a 1 way ticket to Palookaville.

[@texasvice1]

When it comes to greed there is no true trust!

[@gaffle-411]

Caz was one of the greats but he got jerked. I wish he could somehow find that original tape/rhyme book and collect residuals from his original work.

[@GreeneHouseProductions]

kinda funny reading the comments, this has been known for a while that Grandmaster Caz wrote big hanks verse on rappers delight.. he was basically the first ghost writer in hip hop.. either way still love the song even tho its like 15 minutes.. if that were to happen today fans would go crazy..lol

[@andrewmunlin5263]

He didnt ghostwrite hank stole

[@MrRiq29]

@@andrewmunlin5263 exactly stole

[@craigreed1638]

@@andrewmunlin5263 he didn't steal it Caz gave him those lyrics willing. Hank tried to get him put on but Sylvia Robinson didn't want to sign him. Caz told this, but now his story has changed.

[@1980Triumph]

The problem here and what Caz has excluded from this interview is that he GAVE HANK the book to use. He knew Hank used the lyrics and was fine with it until the record blew up. He basically says so in this interview as well, he said Hank bought him the record. I don't think Hank was trying to be sneaky, the problem is just that it didn't work out for Caz and I understand that point. The problem is that Hank lost contact and that was incredibly wrong there but the origin of the record wasn't malicious.

[@TheGlass50]

I agree

[@darrylhagwood7054]

Yeah you're right about one point of it he did give him the book with rhymes to use but Hank was his manager he's thinking if something comes of it Hank would put him on or at least introduce him to The sugarhill record you know the job of a manager not try to be an MC himself he was overheard singing to a tape that Caz made. A manager himself would have said hey I'm not a rapper but the guy that made this tape and wrote these rhymes I'm saying is one of the best rappers around you should check him out his name is Caz

[@1980Triumph]

@@darrylhagwood7054 - Hank addressed this and said that he had no pull in the business. If you think about it they had no real power to put anybody on. The whole thing is a mess, I just do not understand how a few lines can amount to so much controversy, people use other people's lyrics and music all the time, from covers to samples and Caz gave them up freely.

[@darrylhagwood7054]

That he did I got to agree with you on that

[@RealLiveCrew]

R.i.p big bank hank

[@djarchive8303]

Heads already known about this for 20 plus years but now alot more people know now!

[@Mr1and14orth]

Respect , keep these OG interviews coming Vlad!

[@tharealezg]

Rappers delight has gotta b one of tha best tracks ever. Love tha Redman, Eric Sermon version aswell

[@robertoapplewhitejr1585]

Original track by CHIC Goodtimes!!😁👍

[@dblocknyc]

wow! never realized son spelled Caz name out on wax, that is krazyyyy lol surprised this never came out b4

[@russ6541]

People have known about this for a long time

[@slangx9684]

Sugerhill opened the door for the hip hop when there wasn't a door. Show em a little love dang

[@anthonyperry6957]

We need a hi hop museum

[@guysimmons4305]

anthony perry there is one just look it up.

[@beeboy6967]

The way I look at it, money was hard to get ( and still is ) especially in the 70's & early 80's....when someone offers you a record deal, fame & fortune ( and all the other bullshit that comes with it ) you don't worry about anyone else except yourself ( I'm sure Big Bank Hank ( R.I.P ) never knew rappers delight would blow up like it did.....The lesson here is money is the root of all evil, peace to all !

[@estherstrategicadvisor749]

Beeboy69 Money is NOT the root to all evil, the LOVE OF MONEY, is the root to all evil. i.e. the perversion of loving/lusting after something to the point of selling your soul

[@ClearReception]

I smell bullshit, Hank should have come clean with Caz, instead of cold disappearing, fuck that.

[@savingsoul]

ok,so where can we hear the demo tape

[@selfishstockton6123]

He said he doesn’t have it anymore. It was a long time ago

[@cocococo9087654321]

I was " born in 75 and have alot of knowledge of our hiphop elements so you can only imagine the skills Talent knowledge and experience that this brother has ...one of the founding fathers GMC . Salute

[@dannytennial5311]

You were ONLY 4 years old when it hit in 1979. A baby. I was in High School. Saw and knew the impact.

[@MrJacksonvill]

15minutes later its a Legendary ICONIC SONG::

[@anthonybrown3481]

Caz is a great writer and Hank was a great performer. That's the story.

[@devayonlett3321]

Actually if he recorded before Hank died...respect to Vlad for not dropping it while hw was alive and fucking his legend up. Cant fuck up a dead mans legend.

[@MaddShitter]

Right..!

[@jaceking5938]

I would give anything to transport back to 1970s 80s NYC

[@tevenioinquotamarey9473]

R.I.P.

[@jaquizemccarthy9798]

R.I.P. BIG BANK HANK

[@IceeThirdd]

People are mad at Vlad and disrespecting Grandmaster Caz for telling the truth but this was already put out there in a documentary on the Sugar Hill Gang about a year or 2 ago.

[@confronsational]

Big hank, big crook rip

[@mrchill1988]

I saw two other interviews, one where he said Hank asked if he could use his rhymes and he said yes. The other he said he gave Hank one of his rhyme books and said use what you want. So what's the real story?

[@DoronBond]

Exactly ..I saw the SAME interview...oh well...unfortunate Hank passed so we could hear his side of the story cause no one took the time to ask him or maybe they did and he declined to respond..dang oh well

[@estherstrategicadvisor749]

Think of the CROOKEDNESS of it all. Knowing he's making money because of his friend, if Caz HAD given the lyrics to him, out of gratitude & integrity would have been to give him some money. Caz could've then written more lyrics for them. Avoiding him proves he stole it.

[@1980Triumph]

Thanks Mrchill, I saw the same interview where Caz clearly states he gave Hank the book to use as he sees fit, that is why he can't find it and now he is pretending he might have it or lost it.

[@naturemanironfist5621]

Yeah makes sense .

[@MrSlamCAC]

I still listen to my Cold crush brothers tapes, and can’t stomach rappers delight.

[@rexagarvin1408]

School is in session!! Caz was there!!

[@TEACHYOUTEEWHY]

Even though Big Bank Hank died, I kind of believe Grandmaster Caz.

[@adilsonnascimento1362]

Hank killed it..

[@austin_harrouff]

He is humble. I love that about him.

[@kollusion1]

ARRRGH!! Too short. Love Caz, fact not BS.

[@gregarnold1696]

Vlad you call yourself a journalist but did you just reference wikipedia omg

[@soultheinterrogator]

How ironic. Big Bank Hank makes money off of Caz' lyrics. Vlad makes money off of Caz' story about Hank making money off of Caz. Smgdh

[@herotheplottmix6690]

Grandmaster Caz start your own KZbin...

[@genjutsu123]

Yeah it's messed up Hank took his lyrics without giving credit. However let's give Hank credit for his amazing flow. Some rappers can write well but can't flow. Some are magical on the microphone. Let's not act like Hank stole someone's flow too. He was gifted on the mic

[@djwarzone1]

Grandmaster Caz still spits nasty

[@lilmovieman407]

Wow really great way to get views up that was my UNCLE btw rip uncle hank.... I love how the song is 15 min long and caz only complains about ONE verse, any ways or people looking to pay respect to my uncle Funeral Services Henry Jackson "Big Bank Hank" Thursday,Nov.20 Community Baptist Church 224 First Street Englewood, NJ 07631 Viewing 4pm - 7pm

[@allentownp.a7637]

Its only obvious that dude wasn't the only one rapping people aint just gonna record anyone off the street

[@vitesse_arnhem]

Vlad is the Funk Flex of interviews. Never lets the guy speak.

[@mikeb3936]

Like Nas said in Carry On Tradition.."Sylvia Robinson was stealing and robbin them."

[@jorhodes8507]

Sylvia Robbin-son...🙄

[@mikeb3936]

@@jorhodes8507 LOL...you right, her name was the warning.

[@Baldphace]

Everytime I listen to this Vlad irritates me cuz he don't know nothing about Hip Hop then and now 😡

[@jermainehamilton2192]

Tupac diss him in his song call Old School saying, "I remember Mr Magic flash, grandmaster caz and LL raising hell but that didn't last Eric B and Rakim was the shit to me" so obviously he hate 2pac to death for that bar.

[@malmsteen2013]

That is the same way ancient greece stole everything from ancient kemet and made it look like greece invented it when it real was ancient kemet.

[@PianoGesang]

malmsteen2013 The comparison is outlandish. I guess you only wanted to impress ppl by dropping the Kemet thang.

[@terrancewicks4079]

Hetep

[@bl7man1]

living legend

[@breakfastplan4518]

Like the way Caz called wikipedia "Bull"....

[@voidisyinyangvoidisyinyang885]

it makes sense since he didn't write songs when he was in Sugarhill gang either.

[@johngeezy7291]

It’s messed up what hank did but that shit changed everything for hip hop so it ended up working out

[@HolloMatlala1]

2:00 Olympics need to bring back our "Gift". they don't understand what this means to "us"

[@paulakennedy4640]

we miss himmmmmmm

[@ryanp566]

Who else caught the fact that Shaolin Fantastic from "The Get Down" was supposed to be a young Grandmaster Caz?

[@andrewmunlin5263]

No he's not

[@juicer404]

I met caz yesterday on his hush tour

[@markbaz]

People been stealing Rhymes since Day One!!!

[@nomibe2911]

I could've sworn Caz was giving them the lines on love. I doubt he knew those songs would become hits and legendary.

[@confronsational]

Y yall mad. The truth is part of his legacy too. He made them bad choices. The others in sugar hill gang dont even talk to him. Hope he made some amends before his demise

[@daxmoney5011]

I think this the reason some old heads and I’m saying Like REAL OLD Heads say that hip hop died when it got put on records

[@MAINPROBLEM4EVA]

Big Bank Hank shouted him out in the beginning of the rhyme tho. If Caz didn't get paid, that's more on him business wise.

[@bigolbabyhuey]

Exactly. Plus in the past Caz told that story a lil different. He said he let Hank use those lyrics in exchange for Hank borrowing money from his parents to buy dj equipments for Caz group

[@vincent5318]

damn vlad doesn't even know the history of hiphop.

[@leonordeborbon2121]

he dont know all hiphop story, just like you or anyone else. At least he investigate and get info from the sources

[@vincent5318]

Leonor De Borbón you’re a bit late to the party.

[@C-Lyfe85]

@@leonordeborbon2121 And after all his research oh, he's still wrong. But my issue is he thinks because he's made money off of this, his opinion actually matters, and that he actually knows the facts, LOL. The first thing he should do, is shut up and let the person, who knows the history speak. Especially when they were there.

[@htlewis07]

This is an old interview.... Pre BBH death

[@ADyani6]

I would be MAD AFFFFFF. Don’t steal my rhyme then not contact me. That’s wack af. But I got when opportunities strike, you gotta run with it

[@brooklynstyles4761]

Caz is a hip hop legend but he stole the grand master name from flash!

[@CPZBLH]

And Flash stole it from a Brooklyn DJ years prior: GrandMaster Flowers.

[@NYATLIEN]

If you knew anything about Hip Hop, the Grandmaster title is given to artist who master their craft.. just like DJ Scratch was just given his Grandmaster Title

[@CPZBLH]

Ishan King Actually, I DO know about Hip Hop....and so does Fab Five Freddy. He himself stated that Flash was never given that title but misappropriated it from Grandmaster Flowers. 😉

[@MitchellGibson1]

Despicable, Disrespectful & DickHeadish! What an appropriate time ⌚ to drop this video Vlad! You're a straight Mark for that one! No wonder why you have to spend so much 💵🍞 on 👮🚨. RIP Big Bank 🏦 Hank!

[@dotellmissthing1470]

Rest In peace Big Bank Hank. But where is the lie?

[@ruebencastro3642]

RAPPER'S DELIGHT WAS NOT THE FIRST RAP RECORD.. NEW YORK DID NOT CREATE RAP.. #FACTS

[@PopO51968]

I'm overcharging em for what they did to the Cold Crush!!!

[@robertoapplewhitejr1585]

COLDCRUSH BROS 4 EVA!! BIG UP CAZ!!😁👍

[@scottl.1568]

I met Caz once 😮

[@adambrown8294]

Why would u put this out the day after he died though lol

[@jasonwright4309]

And they stole lyrics from the movie five on the black hand side

[@d.i.g.i.t.a.l.9268]

"...And a iddiebittie bit of crack" - *SNL*

[@mrhawk1924]

Please stop crying.. that was decades ago.. be bless u was able to make albums and still around to talk about the old day's.. not like Prince and MJ and TP and NB who are dead...

[@CaseyStellar]

***** I wonder how far this will go...

[@Kuntyful]

a god lawyer would have got his royalties

[@TimScottSuiGeneris]

The timing is suspicious since Hank just died but what Caz spoke of is still true so no disrespect to the dead. Sylvia Robinson controlled Sugar Hill records like a true dictator should have, unfortunately naive artists got stiffed.

[@TimScottSuiGeneris]

Yes I know it's old news and I actually agree that it's classless on Vlad's part to let this happen now, this may be enough for me to unsubscribe, honestly I would unsubscribe over all the other stuff he uploads that just don't care about.

[@ibuildcircuits]

This interview originally was recorded weeks ago, Vlad took advantage of this opportunity in a hope to get more views.

[@rainmaker690]

+Tim Scott Caz has been saying this for years---it's not like he just decided to come out with this---hell, most hip-hop books have said the same thing.

[@HittokiriBattousai17]

Damn, the first great hip hop song got stole, straight up dude.

[@1980Triumph]

He didn't steal it, Caz told the story differently before, he said he freely gave the book to Hank to use. Caz gave it to them thinking they were going nowhere and only got made once the record blew up. Hank even bought him the record before release. Read between the lines, Caz is a a straight shooter but on this he is inconsistent.

[@albertoalamo5549]

Dirty mother fucking people will take your shit and get pau and wont even mention be on your pees and qqqqqqqqqq

[@ColaJames]

Now what you hear is not a test I'm rapping to the beat me the crew and our Friends gonna try to move your feet

[@garionbush5906]

Why would you put this up Vlad right after is death..I'm starting to not like you anymore

[@samtorres5958]

Garion Bush fuck big bank Hank and he should rest in piss for what he did

[@chandradaniels671]

Should have sued

[@charleschrismcbryde6622]

big bank hank was a biter not a rapper. we all know that now.

[@thunorwodenson]

I wonder if the other raps on rappers delight were also stolen. One guy keeps talking about how their crew is called Phase 2. I thought their crew were the sugar hill gang. So who is phase 2? Is that a crew they stole the rap from?

[@Tree2K10]

@Eric No, only Hank's, Master Gee and Wonder Mike wrote all their lyrics. And Phase 2 is the crew that Master Gee was with prior to the SHG and Wonder Mike was previously with a crew called Sound On Sound that you can hear mentioned in Rapper's Delight as well.

[@ichboxdichinsgesicht]

to this day rappers spell out their names