The Message

Written by Clifton "Jiggs" Chase, Duke Bootee, Grandmaster Melle Mel, and Sylvia Robinson in 1980 in response to the New York City transit strike, "The Message" was released as a single by Sugar Hill Records on July 1, 1982. The song was an early prominent hip-hop track to provide social commentary, with lyrics describing the stress of inner-city poverty and a narrative about a child born in the ghetto who is lured into a life of crime. Commercially, it reached number 62 in the United States.