It's not everyday that The Sugarhill Gang, Sisqo, and Dru Hill are hanging around a party at a house in D.C.'s Chinatown. The artists were in town yesterday to lobby, not for thongs or hip hopping to hippie, but for the Performance Rights Act, which would give terrestrial broadcast royalties to performers of songs. Currently songwriters and composers get royalties.

The party, held in an ultramodern house, was organized by SoundExchange, a music industry non-profit which collects royalties for performers and supports the bill, H.R. 4789. Currently in the Judiciary Committee, most of the bill's co-sponsors are, not surprisingly, from California and New York.

Sisqo and Dru Hill (Deena Gorland Photography)

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We spoke with Sisqo, who was without the white hair from his album covers, at the event. He said he hoped to raise awareness of the issue, and said that he received no radio royalties for his song "Incomplete", his biggest hit, because he wasn't the producer or songwriter — unlike "Thong Song", which he produced. He said performers were important in how well songs do, and expressed concern that songs written by music executives or labels received more backing than songs written by the performers.

Hendogg of The Sugarhill Gang, carrying a cane topped with bejewled skulls, agreed, saying that artists "care about what we do, and we think we should get what we deserve." He was on the Hill yesterday, along with other artists like Nancy Sinatra and Dan Navarro, speaking with members of Congress and raising awareness with the musicFIRST coalition. "Rapper's Delight", the legendary song credited with putting hip hop on the map, was written by the original Sugarhill members and Sugarhill label head Sylvia Robinson, who also put together the group.

It was a bit surreal to see hip hop legends and hit makers in the flesh, let alone at a modern house in Chinatown. Members of old-school hip hop group Whodini, they of "Freaks Come Out at Night", performed a brief DJ set, and dance music singers Kristine W and Crystal Waters were also at the event, as well as some local artists like DJ Spin. Partygoers certainly enjoyed it, hobnobbing and taking photos with the artists.