New York City – Hip Hop It all went to celebrate his fiftieth birthday.
Hip-hop stars lit up music Hip Hop 50 Live concert stage on Friday and electrified the crowd at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, home of the musical genre and cultural movement, which has transcended its beginnings and continues to prove that everything black culture touches turns to gold (and triple platinum, and diamond).
Featuring offers from peopleAnd Snoop DoggAnd Lil WayneAnd Lil’ KimAnd Wu Tang clan and Fat Joe, the concert brought together artists from all regions and each of the five decades and spotlighted those who paved the way for the next generation of rap, some of whom made it to the stage.
The show also marked the end of an era: the last time Run-DMC ever performed together. But it wasn’t too hard for the 40-year-old rap warriors to rock a rhyme, close the show and be delivered by an extraordinary producer. Jermaine Dupri.
The roster of artists on the night’s bill somehow wasn’t enough, with special guests from hip-hop godfather DJ Kool Herc (and her godmother, Cindy Campbell, who spawned the gig that gave birth to the genre in 1973) to The Fugees fronted by fashion ( and latecomer to fashion) Lauryn Hill, who put together a surprise collection alongside Nas.
Hip-hop is the great unifier. People from every borough of New York, all walks of life and multiple generations joined in unison, as rap giants past and present brought their biggest hits (and crowd favorites) on stage.
Trying to name every solo act that graced the stage during a six-hour-plus marathon show would be a laundry list (eg T.I., Cam’ron, Common, Roxanne Shante, Slick Rick, Trina, etc.), just skimming hip-hop’s most notable contributors . But on a noisy stadium, these moments climbed to legendary heights.
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When a New Yorker took the stage, it was evident even before they opened their mouths, rocking Yankees jerseys, the best of all. Bling bling, Timberland And some popular pairs of Adidas sneakers.
For their final performance together, headlining in their signature black fedora, Joseph “Run” Simmons and Darryl “DMC” McDaniels of Run-DMC rocked through their biggest hits of the decade. “take this path” and “Here We Go” to “My Adidas” (as the crowd on the floor lifted Adidas shoes in the air), and took out the mics after 1 a.m.
While Nas is a legend in his own right, performing “NY State of Mind” and “One Mic” among others, he paid tribute to his fellow musicians and the man behind it all: The Fugees and DJ Kool Herc. Nas shared a hug with DJ Kool Herc on stage, and bowed to the hip-hop “innovator”. Lauryn Hill He appeared on stage in a hot pink tulle gown alongside The Fugees for a rousing performance, including “Killing Me Softly With His Song”, “Doo-Wop (That Thing)” and “If I Ruled the World”.
Fat Joewho may also be the mayor of the Bronx, joined the best of New York, incl Remy Ma for “Lean Back” and “All The Way Up” plus Ashanti for “What’s Luv?” and KRS-One for “Bronx Tale” (honorable reference to b-boy Crazy legswho opened up about his dance on set).
Wu-Tang Clan members Ghostface Killah, Method Man, Cappadonna, and the Inspectah Deck are back in action with a raucous mix of classics like “CREAM” (preceded by a chorus from “Cheers” “Where Everybody Knows Your Name”) and “The Wu-Tang Clan Don’t Feed On intelligence.”
DJ Kid Capri played a whole bunch, briefly taking it to the new age before giving people what they came for, scratching old school hits. Surprise: get it New York baseball legend Derek Jeter Returning to his home career at Yankee Stadium for a stellar debut.
Lil’ Kim hits her fan-favorite side-by-side dance move as she flips through her groundbreaking verse, from “Crush On You” to “The Jump Off,” making the debate over who holds the crown as Queen of New York.
Preceded by Mobb Deep, Cam’ron worked by sampling his hit singles (“Hey Ma” and “Oh Boy”) and his days with The Diplomats (“I Really Mean It”), while A Boogie Wit da Hoodie sported the biggest grin on his face (and a sparkling diamond chain around his neck) during his set before being presented with a plaque by New York City Councilman Kevin Riley.
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It was none other than a G thang when Snoop Dogg hit the stage.
Getting into his element, Doggfather unleashed his smooth, edgy flow on “Drop It Like It Hot,” “The Next Episode,” and “Gin and Juice.”
Snoop called out his Bay Area brother Too Short for “Blow the Whistle” (he also enlisted Flo Milli to rap off the song “BTW”), Hollywood DJs to bring it back to the old school and Scar Lip to bring it back to the future.
In homage to “Those Who Contributed More Than Me” to hip-hop, Snoop Dogg brought his muse and collaborators, human beatbox Doug E. Fresh and lead rapper Slick Rick onstage for “Lodi Dodi”. Moving his mouth in a feat that had his jaw on the floor, Doug E.
Collaborator and fellow marijuana aficionado Wiz Khalifa She also rolled out on stage for the song “Young, Wild and Free”.
for my lovers ice Cube“It Was a Good Day” as rapper N.W.A takes him back to the 90s, performing “Straight Outta Compton” and “Check Yo Self” among others.
TI, Lil Wayne proves the South still has something to say
On stage, Lil Wayne made it clear that he’s nothing without his fans — but rap just wouldn’t be the same without him.
Although the concert immediately sounded like a Lil Wayne show, the Louisiana rapper has barely scratched the surface of his song catalog, picking the big tracks (“A Milli,” “6 Foot 7 Foot,” and “Fireman”) as his main features. (“Pop That”, “HYFR”).
“I appreciate that love,” he told the spirited crowd.
T.I Cast in Atlanta, he’s one of an endless string of hip-hop artists to come out of town in the new millennium, but he’s one of the few to make a name for himself through music, films and work.
New York gave a shout-out by way of a Jay-Z sample on “Bring Em Out,” slowed it down for the ladies with “Whatever You Like” and brought it back to the start with “24.”
The late rappers Bob Smoke and Big Pun are commemorated
“Let’s do it once for the King,” said Fat Joe, while “Forever Big Pun” flashes across the screen with an image of the rapper, who died in 2000. Hip-hop itself, oscillates from a sudden celebration to a more emotional inflection point. New York Giants DJ Clark Kent has authored a tribute set to those whose music has transcended their lives, including Bob Smoke (who A Boogie Too), Shawty Lo, Eazy E, Heavy D, Biz Markie, Pimp C, Phife Dawg, ODB, Nipsey HussleAnd DMX2Pac, Notorious BIG, and more.
For a more typical part in the anniversary, Wiz Khalifa performed his sad song “See You Again” as the names and faces of fallen rappers flashed across the screen, including fellow Pittsburgh native Mac Miller, who passed away in 2018.
How to watch: Hip Hop 50 Live at Yankee Stadium with Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube and Run-DMC
This article originally appeared in the USA TODAY: Hip Hop 50’s Live Concert: Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, Run DMC and more perform