Big Bank Hank

Henry Jackson (August 5, 1957 – November 11, 2014), known by his stage name, Big Bank Hank, was an American old school rapper. Also known as Imp the Dimp, he was a member of The Sugarhill Gang, the first hip hopact to have a hit single, "Rapper's Delight" in 1979.

Biography

Hank was born in the Bronx, New York City. He graduated from Bronx Community College with an A.S. degree in oceanography. While attending college, he won several championships in wrestling. After graduating from college, Hank found it very hard to attain a position in oceanography, so he worked at a pizzeria. He did his job so well that when the owner of the shop expanded his business to Englewood, New Jersey, he brought Hank over to head the Crispy Crust store.

While managing for a local hip hop group, the Cold Crush Brothers, Hank was discovered by Sylvia Robinson. She was out trying to find an act for the new trend she had discovered through her son, hip hop, and she heard Hank rapping some of the Cold Crush Brothers' rhymes. When Robinson asked him to join the group she was forming, Hank went to Grandmaster Caz of the Cold Crush Brothers for rhymes. Caz gladly gave him his notebook, hoping to eventually get something in return. Hank was 22 years old at the time when the Sugarhill Gang's self-titled album was released.

Hank's act was known for his competition with the comic book superhero Superman. His verse depicts him meeting Lois Lane and convincing her to drop her boyfriend, Superman. Says Hank: "He's a fairy, I do suppose, flying through the air inpantyhose...He can't satisfy you with his little worm, but I can bust you out with my super sperm". In his three sections of the song, Hank uses his well-known chant: "Ho-tel, Mo-tel, what you gonna do today (say what)/I'm gonna get a fly girl, gonna get some spank n' drive off in a def O.J." (An "O.J." refers to a luxury American car, such as a Lincoln Continental. The reference is from popular TV commercials of the 1970s where NFL running back O. J. Simpson was the spokesman for Hertz rental cars.)

Death

Hank died in New York on November 11, 2014, after a battle with cancer. He was 57.