Master Gee (musician)

Master Gee
Birth name Guy O'Brien
Genres Hip hop
Occupation(s) Rapper
Associated acts The Sugarhill Gang

Guy "Master Gee" O'Brien is a founder of the hip hop group The Sugarhill Gang. On the band's signature song, "Rapper's Delight," he raps, "I said M-A-S, T-E-R, a G with a double E, I said I go by the unforgettable name of the man they call the Master Gee."

O'Brien was a resident of Teaneck, New Jersey when he and rappers Big Bank Hank and Wonder Mike were discovered by producer Sylvia Robinson.[1]

He left Sugar Hill Records in 1984. Since the group's departure from the label, Joey Robinson Jr., son of Sugar Hill producer Sylvia Robinson, has used the stage name Master Gee. O'Brien and Wonder Mike have been in court over the use of the name.[2] The artists made a film, I Want My Name Back, about the appropriation of the group's name and the stage names.[3]

He lives in Cleveland, Ohio, where he is an executive in the Aroma Country air freshener firm. He performs with Wonder Mike in the rap group Rapper's Delight. The band tours with Living Colour.[4]

References

  1. Petrick, John; and Levin, Jay. "Rapper Big Bank Hank of Englewood-based Sugar Hill Gang dies at age 57", The Record (Bergen County), November 11, 2014. Accessed November 12, 2014. "Big Bank Hank and two other young rappers, Englewood’s Mike 'Wonder Mike' Wright and Teaneck’s Guy 'Master Gee' O’Brien, were discovered by Robinson’s mother, Sylvia, a founder of Sugar Hill Records in the 1970s."
  2. Reeves, Marcus (July 9, 2013). "Sugar Hill Gang's Master Gee and Wonder Mike Talk Finding Loopholes". BET.com. p. 1. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
  3. Fennessy, Kathy (July 19, 2012). "The Sugarhill Gang Wants Their Name Back". The Stranger. p. 1. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
  4. Norman, Michael (August 27, 2013). "Sugarhill Gang's Master Gee living the Rapper's Delight dream from a home base in Cleveland". Cleveland.com. p. 1. Retrieved November 17, 2014.