Short answers, pulled from the story.
Funky 4 + 1 included Sha-Rock (Sharon Green), K.K. Rockwell (Kevin Smith), Keith Keith (Keith Caesar), Rahiem (Guy Todd Williams), D.J. Breakout (Keith Williams), D.J. Baron (Baron Chappell), Lil' Rodney C (Rodney Stone), and Jazzy Jeff (Jeff Miree). The group formed in the Bronx, New York, in 1977.
Funky 4 + 1 performed on Saturday Night Live on the 14th of February 1981, Valentine's Day. The show was hosted by Debbie Harry of Blondie, and the performance made Funky 4 + 1 the first hip hop group to appear live on national television.
"That's the Joint," released in 1980, is the group's most celebrated record. Music critic Robert Christgau of The Village Voice named it the best song of the 1980s, and VH1 ranked it number 41 on their list of the 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop in 2008.
Sha-Rock, born Sharon Green, was the first woman MC in hip hop. She was a founding member of Funky 4 + 1, joining in 1977, and her presence inspired the "+1" in the group's name.
Sylvia Robinson, the CEO of Sugarhill Records, refused to allow the group to open for Blondie on tour. Debbie Harry had personally asked Funky 4 + 1 to join the tour after hosting them on Saturday Night Live in 1981.
Funky 4 + 1 were signed to Sugarhill Records, whose CEO was Sylvia Robinson. They were the first hip hop group to receive a record deal, and also the first to sell their records commercially.