Gwendolyn Chisolm, who performed as Blondy in The Sequence, the first female rap group to score a commercial hit, died April 6 in Atlanta at 66. The South Carolina native had been working at a grocery store before a chance encounter at a Sugarhill Gang concert transformed her into a pioneering artist.

"Funk You Up" became the first female rap song to go gold, reaching No. 15 on the Billboard Hot Soul singles chart — only the third rap single ever to crack the Top 50. The group, which also included Angela Brown (later Angie Stone) and Cheryl Cook, recorded their hit just a week after an impromptu audition with Sylvia Robinson, the founder of Sugar Hill Records.

Their success predated Salt-N-Pepa, Queen Latifah and MC Lyte by nearly a decade. The Sequence released two more Top 40 R&B singles before disbanding in 1985 over royalty disputes. "We are the original queens of rap," Chisolm said in a 2017 interview. Their music has been sampled by Dr. Dre, En Vogue and Ice Cube.