HIP HOP’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY | A Defining Culture That Shaped and Changed Lives

Writer KB Tindal

As I sat looking out of my 16th floor apartment window in the Castle Hill houses in the Bronx NY I saw a DJ setting up his equipment to throw a park jam. I was too young to attend but I watched intently. It would be the first of many jams that I would see and eventually attend. I had previously seen sweatshirts with ironed on stylish letters and cool fashion garments in various colors that guys and girls in my neighborhood wore representing their respective crews. I had to be about 10 years old and as soon as I heard the music I was captivated and when I saw the kids dancing and the emcees moving the crowd, I knew that in some way, shape or form, that I would be connected to this new culture called hip hop for the rest of my life and I would also leave a small portion of a mark on it in my own way, regardless of what it took to do that.  

This all happened after the blackout of 1977 probably around 1978 when sound systems were in great abundance due to, well…the blackout and the looting that happened because of it. I can also recall some of the anarchy that was spewing throughout the city prior to this artform taking over. One night in particular has been embedded in my mind since I was that young kid. There was a male and female couple fighting a group of guys in the lobby of mine or my cousin's building. I can’t remember which building it was in, but my building was 530 Olmstead Ave. and it was right across the playground from my cousin’s building which was on Randall Ave and that is where I usually hung out, usually between the 2 buildings. I could clearly see from the names that the couple and their enemies wore on their leather and denim jackets that they were from different gangs. All I remember is that the girl was being fiercely held by a couple of guys, and the guy who was obviously her man, from the way that she was yelling and crying towards him, was on the floor in the elevator. Two guys had bats and one had a thick biker chain. The guy in the elevator was already on the floor and bleeding from his face and he was screaming like it was the last time he would ever utter a sound. I remember the elevator door closing with all of them inside. I remember the scream as it faded when the elevator rose upward. I remembered the look and tears on the girl's face of uncertainty and fear about what was going to happen to her. I took off and ran up the stairs. I still wonder to this day what happened to that couple but only God knows. I can only sort of imagine that they both suffered an unimaginable fate right there in the projects of the burning down Bronx of the 1970s where no one actually gave a shit. I tell that story to prove the point that hip hop was truly a welcomed savior for kids like myself because the only other option at the time were the gangs. I was fortunate that my parents moved us out to Hollis, Queens in 1979 and even though the Bronx is where I was introduced to hip hop, Queens is where my love for the culture grew. So when I say that hip hop saved my life in more ways than one, starting from an early age, I mean it wholeheartedly because it gave me something else to look up to. 

Now we all know that hip hop actually started on August 11th 1973 when Clive Campbell aka DJ Kool Herc broke out some turntables and threw a jam in the recreation center of his building at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx, because his sister Cindy needed extra money for school clothes. Herc focused on “The Break,” which were little snippets of drum beats in records that dancers loved to dance to, and he created what he called, “The Merry Go Round” where he used 2 turntables and two copies of the same record so he could extend the minimal drum breaks into longer segments by spinning the break over and over between the 2 turntables. 

Little did he know that he would play an integral part of bringing a culture that encompassed deejaying, emceeing, graffiti writing, and breaking and to the masses, which would later be coined hip hop by Keef Cowboy who was an Emcee as part of the group Grandmaster Flash and the Furious 5.

Thousands of artists and creatives from all walks of life embody what hip hop is. It has saved countless lives in the pursuit of exposing the truth about our lives and cultures that stems from our communities. From the Heroin and Crack epidemics of the 70s and 80s, to today's crisis of the Fentanyl infusion, to the neverending and heartbreaking scenarios of Black lives lost at the hands of law enforcement and to Black and brown lives taken by the people that look just like us, which is a conversation that needs to continue to happen until we get it right. 

The stories told by hip hop’s creative minds are not always ones of joy and prosperity, but there are lessons in all of them. If you listen to hip hop closely then you have definitely heard stories about the hustler, the drug dealer, the addict, the scholar, the journalist, the ball player, the  young politically amped individual that wants to inflict change, the lawyer that stayed in the hood to fight for its residents, to the bright eyed kid that just wants to be a part of something bigger than themselves in their quest to leave a mark on the world, to anyone just trying to give their family a better life like the bus driver or the sanitation man, or the  postal worker, to the creative ones that flood the market with music, videos, podcasts, websites, fashion, and tons of other businesses and more. Some are good, some are bad, and some are so deliberately stereotypical that it's excruciating to partake in and even more underwhelming and then…some are absolutely genius.  

Hip Hop has given us the door to a better life while allowing us all to elevate the world through our voices. It can be found in everything that we do. From the entertainment we watch on television, to the food and snacks that are sold to us, to the liquor, water and soft drinks that are consumed, to the clothes that we wear and the slang that we talk, hop hop is the driving cultural force that the naysayers and non believers said would be nothing but a fad. Well guess what? We are still here and now we are running shit! Hip Hop is a multi Billion dollar global culture and don’t get it fucked up, we did that! But there is always more work to be done, more ownership to be had and more legacies to be made and every effort to leave hip hop in even better hands than ours when we leave this earth. 

So how does one put 50 years of this culture into an article without turning it into a book?

I chose to keep it simple. 5 decades. 5 eras. And 2 picks from some of the most influential artists from those eras. This article is not the be all and end all to what hip hop is. It is simply my recollection of things I witnessed growing up through the eyes of the culture that raised me, and what I consider to be some of the artists that need acknowledgement for inspiring myself and others.

1970s

The Cold Crush Brothers

For me, The Cold Crush Brothers spoke volumes through taped recordings from the 70s that spanned far and wide well into the 80s garnering new fans every step of the way. There were multiple members of the group that changed numerous times and intertwined with other groups of the era, but the final line up that I was introduced to was Grandmaster Caz, Almighty Kay Gee, Easy A.D., JDL, DJ Tony Tone, and DJ Charlie Chase. Cold Crush was also featured in the classic hip hop film by Charlie Ahearn, Wild Style. The group known for their harmonizing and rapping rocked countless jams back in the day but Caz was clearly the group's standout in my opinion, and to this day his rap “Yvette” is still one of the dopest storytelling raps ever. Caz is also credited for penning Big Bank Hank’s verses on the first hip hop record that would literally introduce hip hop to the world, The Sugarhill Gang’s 1979 single, “Rappers Delight.” But the first recorded hip hop record was actually the Fatback Band’s “King Tim III,” which dropped a few months prior.

Grandmaster Flash 

Grandmaster Flash has been defined as one of the DJ’s in hip hop’s history due to his elite turntable skills, and inventing what is known as the Quick Mix Theory which allowed him to determine the revolutions of a record and get back to the breakbeat more effectively and quicker, which in turn opened the door for everything that followed in the world of deejaying from blending, scratching, phasing and more. Grandmaster Melle Mel and Duke Bootee penned "The Message,” which was released in 1982 but is still looked at today as the quintessential rap record that depicts the everyday plight of life in the ghetto. The song has made several “Greatest of All Time” lists and has also been sampled by artis like Diddy and Ice Cube, but technically some of the lines in the song “The Message" was actually taken from Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s 1979 song “Superrappin.” So even though Flash and the Furious Five released the bulk of their hit songs in the 1980s, they were already a staple in hip hop during the 1970s.

1970s Honorable Mentions: DJ Kool Herc, Funky 4 Plus 1, Jazzy Jay, Jazzy 5 MC’s, Rock Steady Crew, Coke La Rock, DJ Hollywood, DJ Grand Wizzard Theodore, The Fantastic Romantic Freaks, Master Don & The Death Committee, Chiefrocker Busy Bee, DJ Disco Wiz, Afrika Bambatta, Prince Whipper Whip,The Treacherous 3, Kurtis Blow, and The Sugarhill Gang.

1980s

Run-DMC

Being from Hollis, Queens I am admittedly biased when I say that Run-DMC is and always will be the epitome of what a rap group should be, and their recent ‘Walk Off’ at Yankee stadium for Hip Hop 50 show just solidifies that after 40 years Run-DMC can still tear down a stage properly with showmanship, aggression and a multitude of hit songs. The only thing that was missing was probably the most integral piece of the group in Jam Master Jay. But Jay was there in spirit.

Run-DMC sprang on the scene in 1983 with "It's Like That/Sucker MC’s” where they brilliantly talked about the plight of the world and all of its crisis’ on one side of the 12 inch record and then boisterously bragged their way into the hearts and minds of the few hip hop fans there were at that time on the other side of the record. I can remember hearing “Sucker MC’s” on Mr. Magic’s Rap Attack show late one night on FM radio, and as soon as I heard they were from Hollis, Queens and I lost my mind. I had been listening to Mr. Magic since he was on 105.9 WHBI which was a pay to play-for-time radio station where he came on late nights around 2 am during the week and was the first DJ to play hip hop on the radio, so when he made the transition to 107.5 WBLS, I was right there too. I also auditioned for him and Monica Lynch from Tommy Boy Records and actually got a callback for a second audition that myself and the group I was in never went to. That’s another story for another time. It saddens me that I have not heard one tribute to Mr. Magic in this 50th year of hip hop because he is beyond deserving of the recognition and if it wasn't for him kicking in the door to terrestrial radio there’s no telling where hip hop would be or if it would even be here at all.  

Run-DMC were hugely responsible for the love and passion that I still hold for this genre and culture today.  After numerous hits Run-DMC would eventually go on to become the first rap group to successfully put a rock group that had all but fallen off, back on the map with Aerosmith on “Walk This Way” from their classic 1986 album Raising Hell, and in turn crossed over to a whole new global audience and also became the first rap group to go Platinum. If it wasn’t for Run-DMC’s powerful recordings and exhilarating stage show, and Jam Master Jay for influencing their style of dress and just being a dope ass DJ, hip hop would not be what it is today. They were the first rappers to get a sneaker endorsement deal from Adidas and they gave rap artists the freedom to be themselves and to talk their shit and influenced a whole generation of kids that are now adults who still represent hip hop. During all of this, they proudly wore Hollis, Queens on their backs and represented it unapologetically across the globe. 

LL Cool J 

LL Cool J or Ladies Love Cool James, hails from the St. Albans, Farmers Blvd. section of Queens. He bombarded the hip hop scene in 1984 as the flagship artist for Russell Simmons’ and Rick Rubin's Def Jam Records when he released his single “I Need A Beat,” and had a movie stealing scene in the movie “Krush Groove.”  He then released his debut album Radio in 1985. LL would go on to release Bigger and Deffer in 1987, which spawned the braggadocious monster hit “I’m Bad.”  But also on that album was one of the biggest songs of that year, “I Need Love,” in which LL went to the softer side of hip hop for the ladies, and it was a gamble that paid off hugely as the record is still heralded as hip hop’s first genuine love song and propelled LL into stardom. LL would go on to star in numerous movies and successful TV shows including his incredible 14 year run on CBS’ NCIS: Los Angeles as Sam Hanna and his hit music TV show Lip Synch Battle. He has been one of the most recognizable faces in hip hop and has always been about uplifting the culture. LL was also the first rapper to receive the prestigious Kennedy Center Honor in 2017. In 2023 after curating The Grammys hip hop 50th anniversary performances, LL is set to go on tour after more than 30 years of not being on the road. LL kicked off his F.O.R.C.E. (Frequencies of Real Creative Energy) Tour this year, and the tour boasts a hip hop lineup of who's who from the golden era of hip hop in every city that the tour touches down in. LL also created Rock The Bells in the form of a Sirius XM radio station, a yearly music festival, a website, a clothing line and a brand in that has seamlessly woven hip hop legends into the fold and given them the opportunity to tell their stories on their own terms, and own the rights to their creative vision and sustain their careers on their own terms and by having equity in the company. LL Cool J aka James Todd Smith has built a legacy that will forever go down as one of the best in hip hop history. He is the 1st person to use the term G.O.A.T (Greatest of All Time) in hip hop and is the true definition of the G.O.A.T. as well. 

1980s Honorable Mentions: Mr. Magic, Slick Rick, Dougie Fresh, MC Lyte, The Fat Boys, MC Shan, Three Times Dope, Boogie Down Productions, Eric B & Rakim, Public Enemy, Kool G Rap & DJ Polo, NWA, Big Daddy Kane, Ice-T, The Beastie Boys, Marley Marl, Roxanne Shante, Biz Markie, EPMD, Heavy D & The Boyz, Too Short. Salt N Pepa and the Native Tongues.

1990s

Jay-Z

What can be said about Sean “Jay-Z” Carter  that hasn’t already been said or written or documented? In short Jay is probably the most influential rapper to ever touch a microphone. But I think Snoop Dogg is probably the most recognized and loved worldwide. I was a Jay fan way before the massive fame and the bandwagon arrived. From “The Originators” with Jaz-O to the original “In My Lifetime,” to shows that he did under Big Daddy Kane’s umbrella to his growth at Maria Davis’ Mad Wednesdays to the release of Reasonable Doubt in 1996. I still have the original cassette tape of “Dead Presidents,” which was the lead single that started the traction for his debut album Reasonable Doubt even though “Aint No Nigga” was the song that caught the ears of the industry for him. I just always felt that Hov would be one of the best to ever do it. 13 number 1 albums, first rapper inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, first solo living rapper inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 24 time Grammy Award winner, owner of two of the most successful spirits brands in Ace of Spade and Dusse, hip hop’s 1st Billionaire, the face and one of the minds behind bringing the Barclays Center and the Brooklyn Nets to Brooklyn, to his most recent endeavor, The Book of Hov: A celebration of the life and work of Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter exhibition at the Brooklyn Library. Jay continues to chop down trees and make more envelopes to push as he relentlessly defines what hip hop is and can be. There is no blueprint for what hip hop looks like at 100 years old. We are still building that bridge, and with contributors like Jay, that design will last forever once it’s constructed. Jay has dispelled ageism in hip hop by continuing to be one of the sharpest MC’s ever and winning the hearts and minds of the OG’s and the newest generation when it comes to getting a bag and keeping it by flipping the money multiple ways without putting your soul on the auction block for the highest bidder. He has come to more humans, artists and organizations aid than he cares to mention publicly as he revels in being a humanitarian for our people and our culture. And yes he’s still over charging niggas for what they did to The Cold Crush. I could write a book about what Hov has done for hip hop via his words and more importantly his actions. He is what hip hop is and should be proud to be. From the block to the boardroom no one has done it quite like Jay-Z.  

The Notorious B.I.G.

I doubt that any rapper dead or alive has a bigger connection to the people than Christopher Wallace aka Biggie Smalls aka The Notorious B.I.G. Sadly when you talk about Big, you are always left with the feeling of wishing that there was so much more to talk about when it concerns him. We just didn’t have enough time with him. I have rarely heard of any rappers taking shots at Big except for 2 Pac. His legacy is so strong that sometimes it feels like Big is still here with us. With only 2 critically acclaimed albums recorded in his lifetime, Ready To Die and Life After Death, Big left an ingrained mark on the culture. His bars, storytelling abilities and most of all his loving and comedic persona are timeless and his skills as an artist continue to inspire and dominate current rappers flows, images and the stories that they tell. The Cuban link chain is more prevalent today than it has ever been and Big was talking about it almost 30 years ago as a statement piece in the jewelry space for hip hop artists.  You can hear Big in so many lines, from so many artists, that he has got to be one of the strongest reference points that the game has ever seen. His limitless flows and styles have been sampled across the globe. His spiritual energy still engulfs the air in any room that his name comes up in. He is a Diamond selling artist and his love for Brooklyn was unmatched and always on display for the world to see. We could only wish that we had more of Big. He was taken away from us way too early but his legacy remains as strong as ever, his family and friends have done an unprecedented job of keeping his name and legacy alive. 

Honorable Mentions: DMX, 2 Pac, Mobb Deep, Lil Kim, Wu-Tang Clan, Blackstarr, Common, Busta Rhymes, UGK, A Tribe Called Quest, Snoop Dogg, OutKast, Missy Elliott, Nas, Dr, Dre, Fat Joe, Big Pun, Nate Dogg, Ras Kass, Eminem, Black Thought, Kurupt, Big L, Queen Latifah, Naughty By Nature, Lauryn Hill, The Fugees, Scarface, Canibus, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, D.I.TC., Brand Nubian, The Lost Boyz, Heiroglyphics, Ice Cube, Boot Camp Clik, Kid Capri, DJ Clue, DJ Doo Wop, and E-40.

2000s

50 Cent

Anyone that says that 50 didn't make one of the biggest splashes out of any rapper in the early 2000’s is sadly mistaken or they’re just buggin’ and being a hater. Fif’s poetic street stories of money murder and mayhem captivated the country. I was working in a record shop in NJ at the time when Get Rich Or Die Trying dropped in February of 2003, and the amount of little white kids that were coming into that store to purchase GRODT was astounding. I could only imagine the looks on those parents' faces when they heard 50 talk his shit. I still find it amusing to this day. I have never seen pandemonium quite like that in hip hop before, except for the Eminem craze a few years earlier. What 50 did was beyond incredible. If you were in any city in America for the most part, and witnessed cars driving by when 50 dropped, that was all you heard emanating from speakers everywhere.By basic statistics 50 was not supposed to be here. He was not supposed to be able to bounce back the way he did after being shot 9 times. Fif was supposed to die in the streets selling crack in Southside Jamaica, Queens or end up in prison for a long stretch. He was not supposed to make another album after Power Of The Dollar and his failed record deal with Columbia Records. But he not only did he defeat the odds, he obliterated them at every turn. He was not supposed to sell millions of records and then years later take over Hollywood with his Green Light Gang, by producing multiple hit television shows, but he did. 50 is currently on his The Final Lap Tour and he’s sharing the stage with everyone from Fat Joe to Bobby Shmurda and J. Cole. It’s only befitting that the tour takes place 20 years after his timeless Interscope Records debut album was released. 50 is the radiating example of what the hood produces in individuals and he is also a voice for hip hop that shows no signs of being suppressed, ever. 

Lil Wayne

What can you say about Weezy and the way he came into his own in the 2000s? Here is an MC that literally had Jay-Z questioning his own abilities to still deliver raps that competed with the best of the best, bar for bar, when he rapped over Jigga’s “Show me What You Got.” When Weezy took notes from Big & Hov, and put his pen down, he augmented his cognitive pen game with the release of a slew of mixtapes in the 2000’s and became known as Mixtape Weezy because he was literally killin’ everything he spit on as he was coming for the crown of “greatest rapper of all time.” He was willing to take off the head of anyone in his path to get to the top. His The Carter III album sold 423,000 copies on its opening day June 10, 2008, and 1,005,545 copies in its first week and reigned over radio with songs that are still in heavy rotation to this day. Weezy left his heart and soul on every track on the album and solidified himself as one of the best of his generation. He literally changed the game, which is a rare feat only accomplished by a few artists in the 50 year history of hip hop. Wayne ushered in the era of face tattoos and dreadlocks and suddenly everyone wanted to rap without writing rhymes, which wasn’t and still isn’t necessarily a good thing. Wayne went on and created Young Money which deposited the likes of Drake and Nikki Minaj into the spotlight and with a boss like Wayne they had no choice but to step their game up or get left behind. As the youngest member of Cash Money and the one out of the crew whose brain was probably the most soaked with hip hop knowledge on how to be the best MC, Wayne transformed himself into an Icon. Say what you want about Weezy F. but don’t forget the Baby! And in this case the F stands for the fortitude to put in the work to be one of the greatest of all time. 

Honorable Mentions: Nelly, Dipset, The Game, Rick Ross, Ja Rule, Eve, Pitbull, Method Man, Redman, TI, Jeezy, Ludacris, Beanie Sigel, Don Cannon, DJ Drama, Jeezy, Memphis Bleek, Lloyd Banks, Sean Price, Busta Rhymes, The LOX, Scarface, The Clipse, Lupe Fiasco, MF Doom, Ghostface, Andre 3000, Big K.R.I.T., Royce Da 5’9”, Joell Ortiz, Joe Budden, Kxng Crooked, Fred Da Godson, and Fabolous.

2010s

Kendrick Lamar

If there has ever been an artist that wears his blackness, his hood and his West coast, and his art on his sleeve Kendrick is that dude. His evolution through albums like Section 80, To Pimp A Butterfly, all the way through to Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers has been a joy to witness. Someone had to take the reins and walk hip hop into a new decade where the old ways of consuming music had all but died. Reaching your fan base became much easier and more complex than ever due to oversaturation. Someone had to become the voice of the struggle without downplaying the feelings of the people or sugar coating real issues when they’re presented to the people. In the same way Public Enemy put on for my generation, Kendrick put on for his generation. “Alright” is the anthem for Millenials and for everyone that believes in the Black Lives Matter movement, safety for all, and equal rights without judgment of how you define yourself. Kendrick’s introduction on a worldwide scale was orchestrated by Dr. Dre and the masterpiece was his second album, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City which infiltrated the hip hop scene with supremacy and spent an astonishing 550 weeks on the billboard 200 making it the longest-charting hip hop studio album in history as of May 16, 2023. Kendrick’s stage show is heralded as the definition of optimal in the space that he occupies. And his most recent tour for his last album 2022’s,  Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers is nothing short of galvanizing and puts Kendrick on pace to be mentioned in the 2020s as well. The winsome thing about Kendrick is that he was not delusional about his confidence or his mission when he entered the league. He wanted to be the best rapper of his generation and short of J. Cole right beside him, I believe he has accomplished that mission and will leave a legacy like none other, and he’s just getting started.

Drake

The Toronto born Champagne Papi has been considered one of hip hop’s best artists since he entered the hip hop game. He immediately grabbed the heart of every girl under the age of 25 and that has expanded to women in their 40s and older. His work ethic is remarkable and his discography reads like a living legends discography should read. From day one he’s been bridging the gap between singing and rapping for his generation without the major use of autotune. He has weathered the storm through battles with Meek Mill and elite lyricists like Pusha T. He confidently picked up where his mentor Lil Wayne left off and put Young Money on his back along with Nikki and made it a household name. He released an album in every year of the 2010s except for 2012, 2014 and 2019 and not because he couldn't, but rather because the albums that he put out prior to those years held up so well that he didn’t need to drop another project. His accolades are hall of fame worthy. 5 Grammys, 7 AMA’s, 3 MTV Video Awards and 29 Billboard Awards including, Artist of the Decade. He has won over 193 awards globally and has sold over 173 Million records so it's only right that he closes out my choices for some of the most influential artists in hip hop’s 50 year run. Drake's next hoorah will probably be in the acting space as he is not new to that realm from his Degrassi: The Next Generation days from 2001-2008. His 17 year run in the music industry is unprecedented as he has broken too many records to name, and influenced an entire generation of bag-getting artists and young entrepreneurs. It is truly a pleasure to see the evolution of Drizzy as an artist and a businessman white holding firm to the core values of a hip hop MC. Say what you want to about Aubrey but he has definitely run the 2010s on his own terms and I look forward to seeing what he will do next.

Honorable Mentions: Tyler The Creator, Big Sean, ANoyd, Travis Scott, Future, Mac Miller, Nicki Minaj, Meek Mill, J. Cole, Joyner Lucas, Wiz Khalifa, Cardi B, Megan The Stallion, Pusha T, The Migos, 2 Chainz, YG, Jay Rock, Schoolboy Q, Nipsey Hussle, A$AP Rocky, Joey Bada$$, Benny The Butcher, Conway The Machine, Westside Gunn, Young Thug, Millyz, and Vic Mensa.

As a generation 1.5 hip hop head and journalist, it’s always been a pleasure to have my words read, absorbed, enjoyed and critiqued. Hip hop is a forever learning culture and without dialogue we can't excel. We are all continuously growing and anything that I can do to shine even a little flicker of my light and love of hip hop to the abundance of people that love it the way that I do is always a jubilation. I will always be on a quest to leave my little marks on this culture that I love unconditionally because when I say hip hop saved my life, once again I mean that with my soul, wholeheartedly. Thanks for tapping in and being a part of my vibe for hip hop’s 50th anniversary. You are appreciated.