RESPECT. Interview: ‘First Family of Hip Hop’-Darnell Robinson

darnell robinson first family of hip hop

FIRST FAMILY OF HIP HOP — Season:1 — Pictured: Darnell Robinson — (Photo by: Virginia Sherwood/Bravo)

Last week, we had Antonio Jordan answering question for us about Bravo’s new hit reality series First Family of Hip Hop, which follows the next generation of the Robinson family who created the first hip hop label of Sugarhill Records. Now we have the answers to our questions from Darnell Robinson.

The first question that we had asked regarded the history of the family and label, and if that would be a large focus or if the present and future has more importance during the filming of this series. Darnell answered that, “Personally I still deal with the history of the company, as I handle bookings for our Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s the Sugar Hill Gang, and Grandmaster Melle Mel as well as Scorpio of the Furious 5. I’m always around the legends and consistently learning. I believe in the future of Sugarhill and would like to contribute more through my creativity. We’re the leaders and it’s as simple as that. I’ve been blessed to be able to exist in both worlds, and now my focus is on the here and now”.

Given that Darnell and his family is “always around the legends” as he said, we were very interested in how he would answer our question about outside influences and if they had any effect on how he personally would think to run the label. His reply in response to the question was, “Not really, I have seen my family do this for years and at an elite level. My family are the ones that make me want to run a successful company/label”. Between the family loyalty and history and the business itself, there is a solid base going towards building up the label. Given this, it isn’t too surprising that he also said that, “Artists will come to us, and we will break that fire talent out there. This is all I know,” when we asked about the series drawing more attention to the label.

One a more personal note, when we asked what the most difficult part of filming the series was, it again brought back to family. “The most difficult part of filming this series was probably talking out certain things with my pops, he and I did not have a strong bond on an emotional level, so it was cool to start building that bridge in our relationship,” he responded. It follows that when asked if the series was an experience in bonding or a test of patience, he said that, “This experience has definitely been a bonding experience. Almost like therapy,” which can only be a good thing.

We had two final questions for Darnell. The first was regarding the future and if filming the series had made him rethink his future plans or strengthen his current convictions. His reply was that it added to what he wanted to do, saying, “Filming has definitely made me want to do so much more in life”. Finally, we had to know if there was anything that he may have regretted being filmed. His answers was a simple “Nope, this is my life. Hate it or love it.”

You can catch up on First Family of Hip Hop on Bravo, and be sure to look out for our next interview with the cast members.