Gwendolyn Chisolm
Gwendolyn Chisolm was an American rapper and singer, known as Blondy of the pioneering all‑female hip‑hop group The Sequence.
Particulars
Gwendolyn Chisolm grew up in the Saxon Homes Projects of Columbia, South Carolina, singing in her church choir and competing in local dance contests before graduating from C.A. Johnson High School. By age nineteen she worked at a Super Saver Foods, and a backstage encounter with Sylvia Robinson led to her audition for Sugar Hill Records, where she adopted the stage name Blondy as part of The Sequence.
As Blondy, Chisolm helped launch The Sequence’s historic 1979 single "Funk You Up," one of the first commercially successful rap songs performed by women, and appeared on the group’s debut album Sugarhill Presents The Sequence. The trio continued to record and tour through the early 1980s, releasing two more albums and contributing background vocals and songwriting for other Sugar Hill acts.
After the group disbanded in 1985, Chisolm worked in telemarketing and maintained occasional ties to the music industry before eventually leaving it. She lived out her later years away from the spotlight and passed away at the age of 66.
Compiled from source reports and Wikipedia. Automated record.