Writers behind the FOX hit series Empire are taking their talents to the big screen. Billboard reports that Malcolm Spellman and Carlito Rodriguez have been chosen by Warner Bros. to tell the story of Sugar Hill Records co-founder Sylvia Robinson, who is known as “The Mother of Hip-Hop.”
She, along with her husband Joe Robinson, founded the label in the 1970s. Robinson was the main force behind the first mainstream rap record, “Rapper’s Delight” and “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.
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The film will focus on the early beginnings of the genre and show aspiring hip-hop execs competing to release the first rap song.
Robinson had her own run in the music industry dating back to the 1950s. She released “Love Is Strange” in 1957 which hit no.1 and “Pillow Talk” in 1973. She began producing records in the 1960s.
Robinson died Sept. 29th, 2011 of congestive heart failure.