The Sugar Hill label's first record was "Rapper's Delight" (1979) by The Sugarhill Gang,[4] which was also the first top 40 hip hop single.

Afterwards Super Wolf,[5][4] The Sequence, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Funky Four Plus One, Crash Crew, Treacherous Three, West Street Mob, and Spoonie Gee joined the label.

A distribution deal with MCA Records ended up in protracted litigation, and, finally, the label closed down in 1986.

[6] In 1995, Rhino Records purchased all the released and unreleased masters owned by the Sugar Hill label, covering the Americas and Japan, with Castle Communications (now known as Sanctuary Records, a division of BMG Rights Management) taking the international rights.

Master tapes from the All Platinum years, as well as Sugar Hill recordings, were reportedly destroyed in the fire.