REMEMBERING BIG BANK HANK! Today, November 12th, we celebrate the life and times of Henry Lee Jackson (January 11, 1956 – November 11, 2014), known by his stage name, Big Bank Hank; an African-American old school rapper and manager. Also known as Imp the Dimp, he was a member of the trio The Sugarhill Gang, the first hip hop act to have a hit with the cross-over single, Rappers Delight in the pop music charts in 1979. He contributed to many documentaries based on the rap music industry. Hank was born as Henry Lee Jackson in the Bronx, New York City. He graduated from Bronx Community College with an A.S. degree in oceanography. While attending college, he won several championships in wrestling. After graduating from college, Hank found it very hard to attain a position in oceanography,so he worked the doors of a Bronx nightclub, called The Sparkle, where he became a music manager, of Grandmaster Caz and his group The Mighty Force MCs. While managing for a local hip hop group, the Cold Crush Brothers, Hank was discovered by Sylvia Robinson. She was out trying to find an act for the new trend she had discovered through her son, hip hop, and she heard Hank rapping some of the Cold Crush Brothers rhymes. When Robinson asked him to join the group she was forming, Hank went to Grandmaster Caz of the Cold Crush Brothers for rhymes. Caz gladly gave him his notebook, hoping to eventually get something in return. Hank was 22 years old at the time when the Sugarhill Gangs self-titled album was released. Hanks act was known for his competition with the comic book superhero Superman. His verse depicts him meeting Lois Lane and convincing her to drop her boyfriend, Superman. Says Hank: Hes a fairy, I do suppose, flying through the air in pantyhose...He cant satisfy you with his little worm, but I can bust you out with my super sperm. In his three sections of the song, Hank uses his well-known chant: Ho-tel, Mo-tel, what you gonna do today (say what)/Im gonna get a fly girl, gonna get some spank n drive off in a def O.J. (An O.J. refers to a luxury American car, such as a Lincoln Continental. The reference is from popular TV commercials of the 1970s where NFL running back O. J. Simpson was the spokesman for Hertz rental cars.). In the mid-to-late 2000s the term Big Bank Hank was coined meaning a guy who keeps a lot of money in his pocket. Hank died in Englewood, New Jersey on November 11, 2014, from kidney complications due to cancer. He was 58.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 13:10:33 +0000
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