2023-08-07 07:00:00
Wu-Tang Clan performs on stage on the final night of the “New York State of Mind Tour” at PETCO Park on October 6, 2022 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Daniel Knighton/Getty Images)
Wu-Tang Clan, Run DMC, Snoop Dogg, Fat Joe, Eve, Lil Kim and Queen Latifah are some of the pioneers of hip hop who will take to the stages and streets of New York in the coming days to celebrate 50 years of this musical genre that was born in The Bronx.
At the epicenter of the celebrations is 1520 Sedwick Avenue, a public housing building where, on August 11, 1973, a young Jamaican immigrant, Clive Campbell, known as DJ Kool Herc and today considered the “father of hip hop” , decided to make innovations that turned out to be transcendental while playing records at a party.
In front of that cradle of hip hop in the Bronx, which with its humble red brick façade enjoys the same historic heritage status as the Empire State Building, there will be a street party or “block party” on August 12, the culmination of a cycle free that will make the five districts of the Big Apple dance.
The street parties, which will feature graffiti, DJs and, of course, MCs, begin on August 5 in Brooklyn, a block from the house where one of its most illustrious rappers, The Notorious BIG, grew up; and on August 6 it will be in Queens, near where two others, Nas and Mobb Depp, grew up.
DJ Kool Herc, padre del Hip Hop
The two remaining parties for Staten Island and Manhattan have not yet been announced in this initiative that was announced with joy by the mayor, Eric Adams, a confessed fan of this music, along with the rapper KRS One, one of the most respected voices in old school hip hop and is dedicated to preserving its legacy.
A summer of concerts
There are more free events scheduled for the 50th anniversary, such as a festival headlined by Wu-Tang Clan at Knockdown Center (Queens) on August 10, which had a waiting list shortly following it became available, and another concert starring a member of that group, Raekwon, in Stapleton Park (Staten Island) on August 11.
In addition, the selective Lincoln Center (Manhattan) hosts a hiphop week, which on August 9 will feature a “mixtape” session by DJ J.PERIOD along with rappers Rakim and Big Daddy Kane.
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Although, without a doubt, the greatest expectation is aroused by the mega-concert “Hip Hop 50 Live” at Yankee Stadium (The Bronx) on August 11, with tickets starting at $95, which will bring together Run DMC, Snoop Dogg and Fat Joe , to “hip hop queens” like Eve and Lil Kim or DJ Kool Herc himself and his sister Cindy Campbell.
Also notable is the Rock The Bells festival at Forest Hills Stadium (Queens) on August 5, with tickets starting at $92, which also features Run DMC along with LL Cool J, Queen Latifah, Ludacris, Method Mand and Redman or De La Soul.
Run DMC (REUTERS/Adrees Latif/File Photo)
And at the Barclays Center (Brooklyn) several icons will stop this month to celebrate their own anniversaries, such as rapper 50 Cent, with Busta Rhymes and Jeremih (August 9), Chance the rapper (August 26) and Soulja Boy (August 31). .
Art, above all
Not everything is music: the city has promoted an initiative to create 50 murals spread throughout its districts as a “tribute to the pioneers of hip hop” through graffiti”, and whose authors will be selected by a non-profit organization.
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In different institutions, such as the Bronx Museum of The Arts, or the Museum of the Moving Image, there are exhibitions planned, and also in the Brooklyn Public Library, which has dedicated an ambitious exhibition to a famous neighbor, the rapper Jay-Z, with recordings, clothing, awards and photos of the businessman and composer as well.
A street in the Bronx (EFE)
Apart from that, the media company Mass Appeal, which encompasses the record label of the same name owned by rapper Nas, has organized an immersive experience called “Hip Hop til infinity” (to infinity) at the Hall des Lumières (Brooklyn) that makes a journey through the genre, from “the park, to the stage, to the internet.”
That company was responsible for a popular photography exhibition that recently closed at the Fotografiska center, and which followed the evolution of the genre through its characters, places and symbols, from the street and violence to being a multimillion-dollar business.
Although, as KRS One claimed almost 30 years ago in his famous “Step into a world”, the essence of hiphop is simple: “Stop spending your money on marketing / and pretty packaging that pushes dreams towards the devil / an MC well he’s a good MC / with or without a record deal, everyone can see it / and that’s KRS, son.”
Source: EFE
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