The Sequence’s “Funk You Up” was the first Hip-Hop single by a female group

The Sequence was a female trio from South Carolina consisting of Angie “Angie B” Stone, Cheryl “The Pearl” Cook and Gwendolyn “Blondy” Chisolm.

After being backstage at a Sugarhill Gang concert and impressing Sugar Hill Records founder Sylvia Robinson, The Sequence got signed to Sugar Hill Records and released “Funk You Up” in December 1979, the first hip-hop single by a female group and the second single ever released on the label. “Funk You Up” peaked at No. 15 on Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart.

In 2017, The Sequence sued Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson because “Uptown Funk” sounded too similar to “Funk You Up” their biggest hit.

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