The Sequence was an American female hip–hop trio from

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the city ...

, who formed in 1979. The Sequence is noted as the first female hip hop trio signed to the

Sugar Hill Records Sugar Hill Records is an American bluegrass and Americana record label. It was founded in Durham, North Carolina in 1978 by Barry Poss and David Freeman, the owner of County Records and Rebel Records. Poss acquired full control of Sugar Hil ...

label in the late–1970s and early–1980s. The group consisted of Cheryl Cook, known as "Cheryl The Pearl", Gwendolyn Chisolm, known as "Blondy", and lead singer and rapper

Angie Stone Angela Laverne Brown (born December 18, 1961) known professionally as Angie Stone, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. She rose to fame in the late 1970s as member of the hip hop trio The Sequence. In the early 1990s ...

, known as Angie B, who were all high school friends.

Background

The trio was noticed when they bum rushed a performance by

the Sugarhill Gang The Sugarhill Gang is an American hip hop trio. Their 1979 hit "Rapper's Delight" was the first rap single to become a top 40 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100; reaching a peak position of number 36 on January 12, 1980. This was the trio's onl ...

and sang for them and

Sylvia Robinson Sylvia Robinson (née Vanderpool; May 29, 1935 – September 29, 2011) was an American singer, record producer, and record label executive. Robinson achieved success as a performer on two R&B chart toppers: as half of Mickey & Sylvia with ...

backstage. Their most notable single was "

Funk You Up "Funk You Up" is a 1979 old school hip hop song recorded by the Sequence for Sugar Hill Records. It is significant as the first hip-hop song to be released by a female rap group (and by a rap group from the Southern United States, as all three ...

" (1979), which was the first rap record released by a female group and the second single released by

.Greenberg, Steve; Light, Alan d.(1999). ''The VIBE History of Hip Hop''. Three Rivers Press. p. 28. Elements of "Funk You Up" were later used by

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...

for his 1995 single "

Keep Their Heads Ringin' "Keep Their Heads Ringin'" is a song by American rapper Dr. Dre featuring vocalist Nanci Fletcher. It was the only single released from the soundtrack of the 1995 movie ''Friday'', starring Ice Cube and Chris Tucker. Although the soundtrack was r ...

".''Ego Trip's Book of Rap Lists: Book of Rap Lists''. 1999. Macmillan. p. 30. The group backed

Spoonie Gee Gabriel Jackson (born May 27, 1963), better known by his stage name Spoonie Gee, is one of the earliest rap artists, and one of the few to have released rap records in the 1970s. He has been credited with originating the term hip hop and some o ...

on the single "Monster Jam" (1980). Their single "Funky Sound (Tear the Roof Off)" (1981) was a remake of the single "

Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker) "Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)" is a funk song by Parliament. It was released as a single under the name "Tear the Roof off the Sucker (Give Up the Funk)". It was the second single to be released from Parliament's 1975 album '' ...

" (1976) by

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. The groups other charting single was "I Don't Need Your Love (Part One)" (1982). Angie Stone subsequently became a member of Vertical Hold and later a solo artist. In September 2011, without Angie Stone, Cheryl Cook and Gwendolyn Chisolm released a single entitled "On Our Way to the Movies". "On Our Way to the Movies" contains a sample of

The Staple Singers The Staple Singers were an American gospel, soul, and R&B singing group. Roebuck "Pops" Staples (December 28, 1914 – December 19, 2000), the patriarch of the family, formed the group with his children Cleotha (April 11, 1934 – February 21 ...

' song "Let's Do It Again". In December 2017, the group, represented by attorney Antavius Weems, filed a Federal Copyright Infringement claim against

Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his stage performances, retro showmanship, and for performing in a wide range of musical s ...

, claiming that his hit song "

Uptown Funk "Uptown Funk" is a song by British record producer Mark Ronson from his fourth studio album, ''Uptown Special'' (2015), featuring American singer and songwriter Bruno Mars. It was released as the album's lead single on 10 November 2014 via dow ...

" makes use of their 1970s hit "Funk You Up".

Discography

Albums

* ''Sugarhill Presents the Sequence'' (1980), Sugar Hill * ''The Sequence'' (1982), Sugar Hill – No. 51 Black Albums * ''The Sequence Party'' (1983), Sugar Hill

Compilations

* ''Funky Sound'' (1995),

P-Vine P-Vine Records is an independent record label based in Tokyo, Japan. History It was started in 1976 by Blues Interactions, a firm founded in 1975 by Yasufumi Higurashi and Akira Kochi, as a record label focused on black music. The label name c ...

* ''The Best of the Sequence'' (1996), Deep Beats * ''Monster Jam: Back to Old School, Vol. 2'' (2000),

Sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

Singles

* "

" (1979), Sugar Hill – No. 15 Black Singles * "Monster Jam" (1980), Sugar Hill – with

* "And You Know That" (1980), Sugar Hill * "Funky Sound (Tear The Roof Off)" (1981), Sugar Hill – No. 39 Black Singles * "Simon Says" (1982), Sugar Hill * "I Don't Need Your Love (Part One)" (1982), Sugar Hill – No. 40 Black Singles * "Here Comes the Bride" (1982), Sugar Hill * "I Just Want To Know" (1983), Sugar Hill * "Funk You Up '85" (1984), Sugar Hill * "Control" (1985), Sugar Hill * "Love Changes" (1982), Sugar Hill * "On Our Way to the Movies" (2011), Distrophonix

References

African-American musical groups American women rappers African-American women rappers Women hip hop groups Musical groups from South Carolina American musical trios Southern hip hop groups Musical groups from Columbia, South Carolina Sugar Hill Records (hip hop label) artists {{Hiphop-band-stub