Yesterday was a special day for Hip-hop heads and the music world at large. August 11 marked the 50th anniversary of DJ Kool Herc plugging two turntables into a mixer and figuring out how to create extended drum patterns from classic funk records, someone decided to rhyme over said drum pattern, and thus Hip-hop was born. The genre that has stirred up more controversy and had the upper echelon scoff at it more than your favorite satanist metal band could ever dream of, Hip-hop’s impact can be felt in just about every corner of modern music. To celebrate the birth of the genre, Mass Appeal pieced together a lineup that summoned legendary emcees and iconic DJs to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, the borough where DJ Kool Herc first started scratching vinyl. Hip-hop 50 was an eight-hour party that saw the likes of everyone from Ice Cube to Wiz Khalifa celebrating the birth of their art form.
The magic of the Hip-hop 50 event stems from the acceptance of where the genre was and what it became. The night started off with a string of DJ sets from some of the most iconic turntables masterminds the genre has ever seen. The likes of DJ Battlecat and Hurricane paid homage to the genre’s roots while Mannie Fresh spun early 2000s hits. Yankee Stadium then welcomed Kurtis Blow on the stage where he performed classics like “If I Ruled The World” and the first certified gold record in hip-hop. “The Breaks”. Kurtis Blow kicked off the “Pillars of Hip-hop” portion of the night which also featured Grandmaster Caz, EPMD, and Slick Rick all performing genre-defining tunes. That set capped off with DJ Kool Herc himself receiving his overdue flowers for creating such a magical outlet for artists.
Lupe Fiasco then surprised the crowd with an unannounced appearance where he performed “Kick, Push” and “Hip-hop Saved My Life”. Fiasco was followed by Common who kicked a freestyle dedicated to Hip-hop and its 50th birthday party. This transitioned into the Queens of Hip-hop portion of the night where Lil Kim, Remy Ma, and Trina took the stage by storm to perform classics like “Whuteva”. After a stellar performance from the queens of the genre, Nas tore down the entirety of the Bronx with an unforgettable set. He kicked things off with classics like “N.Y. State of Mind” and “Street Dreams” although it was towards the end of the set where things got crazy. Nas welcomed the legendary Ms. Lauryn Hill and they ran through their own version of “If I Ruled The World”. Hill then took over the set by performing Fugees classics like “Ready or Not” and “Fu-Gee-La” along with cuts from her iconic solo LP like “Doo Wop (That Thing)”.
The night capped off with a legendary performance from Run-D.M.C. who projected some more recent XXL Freshmen freestyles as a nod to their acceptance of what Hip-hop has evolved into. They then launched into a melody of classics like “It’s Tricky”, “Beats to the Rhyme”, and “Mary, Mary”. Their half-an-hour set ran through their iconic discography with pit stops at “King of Rock” and “Run’s House”.
The eight-hour event put on the full spectrum of Hip-hop and celebrated every corner of the genre in the most spectacular way. Honorable mentions include Cam’ron performing “Oh Boy”, T.I. performing his classic “Rubberband Man”, and Havoc performing Mobb Deep classics. Mass Appeal put on a party that only Hip-hop is capable of, check out full setlists, and the full live stream of the event below.
