An official Grammy celebration of 50 years of hip-hop will close out the year on CBS.
On November 8, hip-hop legends Queen Latifah, LL Cool J, and Black Thought will take to the YouTube Theater in Inglewood, California to tape “A Grammy Salute to 50 Years of Hip Hop” special, Billboard reports.
The two-hour special will air Sunday, Dec. 10, and continue the “50 Years of Hip Hop” segment that was featured in the 65th annual Grammy Awards.
Renowned acts
slated to hit the stage include Big Daddy Kane, Cypress Hill, DJ Quik, and Warren G. Other history makers on the lineup include Arrested Development, the first hip-hop group to win the Grammy for best new artist, and Three 6 Mafia, the first hip-hop act to perform a nominated song on the Academy Awards and win an Oscar for their Hustle & Flow theme song, “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp.”Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson of Two One Five Entertainment and LL Cool J are executive producing
the special that includes appearances from Bun B, Common, De La Soul, and Jermaine Dupri.Questlove is adding to the curator role he took when organizing the acclaimed 15-minute Grammy segment.
“For five decades, hip-hop has not only been a defining force in music, but a major influence on our culture,” Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy said. “Its contributions to art, fashion, sport, politics, and society cannot be overstated.”
The special highlights
how long hip-hop has come since D.J. Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince’s hit “Parents Just Don’t Understand” became the first hip-hop recording to win a Grammy for best rap performance. However, Will Smith, Jazzy Jeff, and other rap acts boycotted the Grammys in 1989 after learning the category would not be televised.A year later, Fresh Prince and Jazzy Jeff became the first hip-hop act to perform on the Grammys.
“We’d like to dedicate this performance to all the rappers last year that stood with us and helped us to earn the right to be on this stage tonight,” Smith said at the start of the performance.
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