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A star-studded lineup of Hip-Hop legends and GRAMMY®-winning artists graced the stage at the special tribute concert celebrating the 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop at the YouTube Theater in Inglewood, California. The concert special showcased and celebrated the genre’s profound history and monumental cultural impact around the world.
Team EBMG was in attendance to mark the special occasion as the night kicked off with respect for the Queens reminding us that its always Ladies First. Queen Latifah and Monie Love with Spinderella as DJ took us back to a time when the genre was balanced and showed admiration for the women that would go on to become legendary Femcees.
Another highlight of the evening brought everything full circle. For those who experienced the birth of Hip-Hop can also recall the skeptics and naysayers who thought the genre was a fad after the trend of disco did not survive the 1980s. There could not have been a better representative to show the Recording Academy® the solidarity of the emerging acts in the early days of Hip-Hop as the GRAMMYs denied the first-ever Rap category the TV time it deserved. In 1989 DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince won the first Hip-Hop GRAMMY Award for Best Rap Performance for their 1988 hit single, “Parents Just Don’t Understand.” Of course, not ever category can be televised for the sake of saving airtime but the new culture would’ve shown a spirit of inclusivity which to the mainstream was as close to sacrilege as they could imagine. As a response to being denied, the powers that be learned the will of the people will always be more power to the people because like its civil rights predecessors, Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff boycotted the entire awards show. Smith would go on to boycott the Academy Awards as well nearly 20 years later before being banned from the Oscars for a wild altercation that is still the talk of Tinsletown. Like the spirit coming from the plight of Black folks, Hip-Hop is just as rebellious as another genre that Black Americans birth which is referred to as jazz. What a way to come full circle as the Recording Academy’s is spearheaded by a Black man with Harvey Mason, JR as CEO who is making sure that healing comes in the form of some time of reparative justice finally giving the sacrifice made by Hip-Hop pioneers a sense of belonging, healing and restitution.
@ladylilabrown TUNE IN ON SUNDAY: A GRAMMY® SALUTE TO 50 YEARS OF HIP-HOP My agency Team EBMG joined the Recording Academy® to honor Hip-Hop’s 50th anniversary with a two-hour tribute special which will air this Sunday, Dec. 10, at 8:30 pm ET / 8:00 pm PT, on CBS and Paramount+. #Grammys @Recording Academy ••• A star-studded lineup of #HipHoplegends and GRAMMY®-winning artists grace the stage at the special tribute concert celebrating the 50th anniversary of #HipHop at the YouTube Theater in Inglewood, California. The concert special showcases and celebrates the genre’s profound history and monumental cultural impact around the world. A #GRAMMY Salute to #50YearsofHipHop is produced by Jesse Collins Entertainment. Jesse Collins, Shawn Gee, Dionne Harmon, Claudine Joseph, LL COOL J, Fatima Robinson, Jeannae Rouzan-Clay, and Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson for Two One Five Entertainment serve as executive producers and Marcelo Gama as director of the special. #FreshPrince #WillSmith #JazzyJeff ♬ original sound – Lila Brown
A GRAMMY Salute to 50 Years of Hip-Hop is produced by Jesse Collins Entertainment. Jesse Collins, Shawn Gee, Dionne Harmon, Claudine Joseph, LL COOL J, Fatima Robinson, Jeannae Rouzan-Clay, and Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson for Two One Five Entertainment serve as executive producers and Marcelo Gama as director of the special.
