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Hip-Hop Takes the Grammys: A Celebration of the Genre’s Continued Influence

  • Culture.org
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  • June 12, 2023
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  • 4 minute read
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Hip-Hop Takes the Grammys: A Celebration of the Genre’s Continued Influence

Fresh off the heels of the Grammy’s 50th-anniversary tribute to hip-hop, another major celebration is on the way.

On August 11th, a two-hour Grammy-branded special will be taped in the Bronx to commemorate the official 50th anniversary of hip-hop, which CBS will later broadcast.

Billboard reports that Questlove, who curated the Grammy tribute, and Jesse Collins, an executive producer of the Grammys, will be involved.

A source claimed that the tribute was already being planned before the Grammys show. LL COOL J, who helped to host the tribute, hinted that there was more to come even before it began, as did Harvey Mason Jr., the CEO of the Recording Academy.

Mason acknowledged that Hip Hop has had a significant impact on our culture for over five decades, not just in music but also in art, fashion, sport, politics, and society.

Mason acknowledged that Hip Hop has had a significant impact on our culture for over five decades, not just in music but also in art, fashion, sport, politics, and society. He expressed his pride in honoring this essential genre of music on the Grammy stage, and noted that it was just the beginning of a year-long celebration of Hip Hop’s contributions.

While names of hip-hop acts were prominently featured in the backdrop of the star-studded set, Questlove has confirmed that there will be more. When asked about artists who were excluded from the Grammy Awards tribute, he replied that some acts were already booked, declined the offer, or would be included in the two-hour taping in August.

As of now, there’s no official word on who will be featured in the August taping, but it promises to be an all-star salute to the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. The August special will be broadcast by CBS, adding to the year-long celebration of this essential genre of music.

If the Grammy Awards tribute to hip-hop left you wanting more, you’re in luck. A two-hour, Grammy-branded special will tape on August 11, which marks the 50th anniversary of the birth of hip-hop culture.

The show will be produced by Jesse Collins, an executive producer of the Grammy Awards, and Questlove, who curated the 15-minute spot during the Grammy Awards. Later this year, CBS will broadcast a special.

An anonymous source claims that the special was already in the works before the Grammy Awards telecast. The head of the Recording Academy, Harvey Mason Jr., alluded to the upcoming special in a statement he made regarding the telecast segment.

He emphasized the significance of hip hop, stating that it has been a defining force in music and a major influence on culture, contributing to art, fashion, sport, politics, and society.

Mason expressed his joy about the upcoming special and the beginning of a year-long celebration of hip-hop on the Grammy stage.

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Questlove also referred to the upcoming special in his tweets after the Grammy Awards. He talked about why certain artists were booked for the hip-hop tribute and others weren’t.

The hip-hop segment on the Grammy Awards telecast, which featured three dozen rap acts, was widely praised.

According to Joe Lynch from Billboard, it was the top performance on the telecast. In the past, the Grammy Awards didn’t give much support to hip-hop. It wasn’t until the 1988 awards, presented on February 22, 1989, that a dedicated category for rap or hip-hop was introduced.

The first hip-hop Grammy was awarded to D.J. Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince for “Parents Just Don’t Understand” in the Best Rap Performance category.However, they weren’t invited to perform on the show that year.

A year later, on February 20, 1990, the Grammy Awards did feature a hip-hop performance for the first time, when LL Cool J took the stage to perform “Mama Said Knock You Out.”

This marked a significant moment for the genre, as it demonstrated that the Grammys were starting to recognize and incorporate hip-hop into their programming.

Since then, hip-hop has become a major force at the Grammy Awards. In 1995, the Best Rap Album category was introduced, and since then, numerous hip-hop artists have won major awards at the ceremony, including Outkast, Kendrick Lamar, Jay-Z, Eminem, and many others.

Although some people have criticized the Grammys for not always giving hip-hop and other genres the recognition they deserve, the ceremony has become an important stage for hip-hop artists, which shows how the genre is still culturally significant and influential.

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