Initially created for the In tha Beginning…There Was Rap hip-hop covers compilation released through Priority Records in 1997, the Def Squad put their spin on the 1979 hit “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugarhill Gang and put it on their group album El Niño the following year. Erick Sermon said the following about the track:

That came from whatever that Priority album was that went Platinum. We were a part of that, where everybody had to do [classic] songs from other people. They told us to do a song, and we picked that. It was the fact that we had three people, and that was the first thing that came to mind. Like, ‘Yo, let’s do “Rapper’s Delight”.’

We didn’t take that record seriously. We were doing a favor by remixing a record. That’s what they told us to do. We didn’t know if was going to blow up like that, and go No. 1 on MTV. We had no idea that they were going to ask us to make a video. Hell no.