It’s been a half-century since DJ Kool Herc energized a West Bronx rec room and invented the most popular musical genre on the planet. Now the celebration is going primetime.
The Recording Academy said today that it will honor the legends of the game with A Grammy Salute to 50 Years of Hip Hop, a concert special that will air in December on CBS and stream on Paramount+.
The two-hour program will showcase and celebrate the genre’s profound history and monumental cultural impact around the world. Among the first announced performers are Black Thought, Bun B, Common, De La Soul, Jermaine Dupri, J.J. Fad, Talib Kweli, The Lady Of Rage, LL COOL J, MC Sha-Rock, Monie Love, The Pharcyde, Queen Latifah, Questlove, Rakim, Remy Ma, Uncle Luke, and Yo-Yo, with many more promised to be added.
A Grammy Salute to 50 Years of Hip Hop
The show will be taped November 8 at the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles, and CBS and Paramount+ will carry A Grammy Salute to 50 Years of Hip Hop from 8:30-10:30 p.m. ET/8-10 p.m. PT on Sunday, December 10.
The special will be produced by Jesse Collins Entertainment, with Jesse Collins, Shawn Gee and Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Dionne Harmon, Claudine Joseph, LL Cool J, Fatima Robinson, and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay serving as executive producers. Marcello Gamma will direct the show.
