He was a part of the Sugarhill Gang in 1979 when it had hip-hop's first hit with "Rapper's Delight." The song was released as hip-hop music started to emerge as a genre, and it landed in the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.

Atlanta TV news anchor Fred Blankenship grew up in California where the group formed and raised to prominence. Friday, he honored Big Hank with a rap of his own in the WSB-TV studios.

"When I was a kid I would go to my father's record player and put it on and this music would take me to a different world," Blankenship says.

Check out the Facebook video below:

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