If Barry White was the man that put you in a sexy mood, Sylvia Robinson was the female version who did the same. She teased and taunted with purring and moaning…and I’m pretty sure she put fellas in the mood. I mean, it was provocative.

I remember seeing her on Soul Train too. She tantalized her audience with these sultry lyrics and her natural beauty. The words coming from her mouth were about a woman who was both confident and ready to please her man.

Ironically enough, Sylvia originally sent Pillow Talk to Al Green but he was singing for the Lord by this time and turned it down. She was a sharp businesswoman, despite dropping out of school at 14, and went on to record the song on her own record label.

She eventually founded Sugar Hill Records. Before that, Sugar Hill was an affluent neighborhood in Harlem where a lot of artists and performers developed a hub for creativity in the 1900s known as the Harlem Renaissance, so it was a fitting name for her vision and what ultimately revolutionized music, what we now know as Hip Hop.

Sylvia is referred to as the Mother of Hip Hop. Keep in mind, a different kind of language and message was highlighted at that time. Those days are gone to what you see now. I’ll leave it there ’cause it can get mighty ugly in the rabbit hole. Let’s just sit in the moment of this woman changing the game in the music industry and creating opportunities for young folk to enter and tell their stories.

Rest in Love, Ms. Sylvia Robinson.