Sporting massive beer bellies and looking like fun-loving linebackers gone to seed, the original Sugarhill Gang -- Wonder Mike, Big Bank Hank, and Master Gee -- still have whatever magic they spun back in 1979. To see these guys up there kickin' it live and rubbin' booties with the ladies 20 years after their heyday was a beautiful thing.

These are the men who -- depending on who you ask -- either created hip-hop or simply launched it into the stratosphere. No matter how you see it, they deserve their props, and tonight, Athens gave it to 'em. The Gang played their most recognizable songs -- "Apache" and "Rapper's Delight" -- pretty early into their 45-minute set, later opting to play bits and pieces of other artists' songs, including Kurtis Blow's "The Breaks," a snippet of Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust," and a nod or two to their labelmates Grandmaster Flash.

Anyone familiar with hip-hop recognized many of the shout-outs the Gang used for audience participation, including the now-requisite "Throw your hands in the air," and the equally effective "Somebody, everybody, SCREEEAAAAM!" If the Gang knows anything, it's how to work an audience, and there were several hundred people there who were putty in their hands.

Wonder Mike's invitation from "Rapper's Delight" calling people of every color and creed to the party was RSVP'd and then some: "Everybody say Hooooah! Everybody say Ho-Ho!" Wide grins spread across the crowd like a tidal wave crashing through the packed room, and the Sugarhill Gang was noticeably taken aback by such a warm response in a town sometimes seen as jaded. Halfway through the set, there were probably 30 people on stage. Dre and Snoop may be most concerned with where the next blunt, 40 oz., or drive-by is coming from, but the Sugarhill Gang is here to have fun.

Sure, the Gang was quick to pat themselves on the back (the phrase "old school" is even on their T-shirts), but that's what rap has been about from word one anyway. The Gang's speech and their raps were steeped in old school-isms, and I had to keep reminding myself that these guys aren't merely sticking to the tried-and-true, they invent