With a massive 15-minute medley featuring LL Cool J, Ice-T, Public Enemy, Rakim, Queen Latifah, Method Man, and many more, Roots drummer and rap scholar Questlove kicked off hip-hop’s 50th anniversary at the Grammy Awards in February.
The organizers promised that a much larger show would be coming later in the year. The project was placed on hold due to the Hollywood strikes, and Quest refrained from talking about it in interviews.
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 will all be making high-profile appearances as part of “A Grammy Salute to 50 Years of Hip Hop.”
The program will be recorded on November 8 at the 6,000-seat YouTube Theater in Hollywood Park, a nearly 300-acre sports and entertainment complex in Inglewood, California, in Los Angeles. The Hollywood strikes placed the production on hold, but they appear to have resolved issues even if the strike is still ongoing.
The Recording Academy’s A Grammy Salute to 50 Years of Hip Hop will air on CBS and Paramount+ on Sunday, December 10, 2023, from 8:30–10:30 p.m. ET and 8–10 p.m. PT.
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The Recording Academy is an organization that represents the voices of artistes, songwriters, producers, engineers, and all other music professionals. The live concert special, which is being made by Jesse Collins Entertainment, will highlight and honor the genre’s rich history and significant global cultural influence.
Executive producers for the special include Jesse Collins, Shawn Gee, Dionne Harmon, Claudine Joseph, LL Cool J, Fatima Robinson, Jeannae Rouzan-Clay, and Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson of Two One Five Entertainment. Marcelo Gama is the special’s director. The day after the special airs, Paramount+ Essential customers can watch the show on demand.