As hip-hop prepares to show 50 in 2023, US rapper Nas desires to ensure the world understands its historical past, relevance and affect.
By his firm, Mass Attraction, the native New Yorker is spearheading quite a few occasions main as much as the anniversary. On August 11, 1973, Clive Campbell, often known as DJ Kool Herc, performed at a New York Metropolis block social gathering and was credited with beginning the music style.
Tributes will embody a collection of documentary movies produced along side TV community Showtime, in addition to 10 EP soundtracks produced by Swizz Beatz, The-Dream, Hit-Boy and others.
“Hip-Hop was by no means simply music,” mentioned Nas, including it has all the time included components of deejaying, dancing, style and different artwork varieties.
It has been a “voice for the unvoiced,” he mentioned.
“Now extra of the unvoiced have a platform, and the individuals really feel like they could be a a part of it.”
Mass Attraction CEO Peter Bittenbender mentioned they needed to create one thing to make individuals acknowledge how impactful hip-hop tradition has been globally.
Hip-hop was born within the south part of the New York Metropolis borough of the Bronx within the late Seventies. The dancing, rapping and deejaying components grew out of an inner-city setting but it surely has since developed right into a multi-billion greenback a part of mainstream world tradition.
When requested the place he thinks hip-hop goes within the subsequent 50 years, Nas was optimistic.
“I hope that it’s nonetheless thriving and staying revolutionary,” he mentioned. “And individuals are united by means of hip-hop and awaken in regards to the issues which might be unsuitable in our societies by means of the phrases of hip-hop.”
