A star-studded lineup of hip-hop pioneers is set to hit Radio City Music Hall in celebration of the art form’s 50th birthday.
On Monday, DJ Cassidy unveiled the lineup for “Pass The Mic Live!” coming to the birthplace of hip hop on July 21, Billboard reported. The one-night-only event will feature 25 hip-hop icons including Big Daddy Kane, Doug E. Fresh, Rakim, and Slick Rick, among many others.
Roxanne Shante, The Sugarhill Gang, Monie Love, Kurtis Blow, and Kid ‘N Play
are also set to perform at the live show made in partnership with the Black Promoters Collective (BPC) and presented by Martell Cognac. There will also be a number of special guest appearances as part of the show.DJ Cassidy is elated to spearhead the live show, as a student of hip-hop and a fan of the acts who will be hitting the stage.
“As a 10-year-old DJ, I grew up idolizing every single one of these legendary hip-hop heavyweights,” DJ Cassidy said.
“Their records were my first pieces of vinyl. Their posters were on my wall. Their tapes were in my Walkman. Together, they laid the foundation for what was to transform the world musically, culturally and beyond.”
With the concert coming just weeks ahead of hip-hop’s 50th birthday on August 11, DJ Cassidy thinks the live show will serve as the perfect pre-birthday celebration.
“I am truly grateful to be celebrating them and their profound impact on the culture, just days from the 50th birthday of hip-hop [Aug. 11] and minutes away from where Kool Herc DJ’d the first hip-hop party in 1973,” he continued.
“Uniting 25 native New York icons of hip-hop’s golden age on one stage for one night in the birthplace of hip-hop, also my hometown, will be the greatest honor of my life.”
He explained his excitement in a lengthy Instagram caption promoting the upcoming show.
“When I premiered ‘Pass The Mic’ in the heat of the pandemic on July 7th, 2020, I could have never imagined my little living room series transforming into a series of primetime television specials, let alone a series of live one-night-only concerts,” he wrote.
The July show will be the second
“Pass The Mic Live!” event of the year, following DJ Cassidy’s show at Prudential Center arena in Newark, NJ on May 12 that will feature another star-studded lineup including Ashanti, Fabolous, Ja Rule, Lil Kim, Ma$e, Ne-Yo, Robin Thicke, 112, and more surprise guests.