Short answers, pulled from the story.
Rapper's Delight was produced by Sylvia Robinson, a recording artist known for the song Pillow Talk who also owned the studio where it was recorded. Robinson found the three MCs after, by one account, overhearing Big Bank Hank rapping in a pizza parlor.
Rapper's Delight interpolates Chic's Good Times. Chic's Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards threatened to sue Sugar Hill Records for copyright infringement, and a settlement gave both songwriters credit on the track.
In the United States, Rapper's Delight peaked at number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1980. It reached number three on the UK Singles Chart and number one on the Canadian Top Singles chart, also in January 1980.
The Library of Congress preserved Rapper's Delight in the National Recording Registry in 2011 for being culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant. The recording is also considered by many to be the first commercial rap song in history.
A substantial portion of the early stanzas rapped by Big Bank Hank were borrowed from the notebook of Grandmaster Caz, whose full stage name was Casanova Fly. Grandmaster Caz received neither payment nor a writing credit on the record.
Rapper's Delight was recorded in a single take. Session bass player Chip Shearin, who was 17 at the time and was paid $70 for the session, described his job as playing bass for 15 minutes straight with no mistakes, noting it was the era before samplers and drum machines.