Hip Hop 50 Live: Rap icons rock Yankee Stadium to celebrate five decades of hip-hop

There was a short second throughout Hip Hop 50 Reside — an epic celebration of the golden anniversary of hip-hop that stretched from Friday night time into Saturday morning at New York’s Yankee Stadium— that offered a fast actuality verify.

In between Child Capri’s DJ set and a breakdancing section that includes Rock Regular Crew legend Loopy Legs, Yankee legend Derek Jeter crashed what felt just like the world’s greatest block social gathering and reminded you that it was truly the house of the Bronx Bombers.

However on this unforgettable night time, the stadium belonged to hip-hop — the music and the game-changing tradition that was fathered by DJ Kool Herc at a celebration within the South Bronx 50 years in the past on Aug. 11, 1973.

And with a loaded lineup that included golden-age groundbreakers (Run-DMC, Slick Rick), West Coast rap royalty (Snoop Dogg, Ice Dice) and new-millennium masters (Lil Wayne, T.I.), the marathon, seven-hour-plus live performance felt just like the Reside Support of hip-hop. It was that historic.

In a style recognized for its hype, it exceeded it.  

And if there needed to be one MVP on this all-star extravaganza, it was New York’s personal Nas. Taking the stage after midnight because the penultimate performer, he launched into his “Illmatic” basic “N.Y. State of Thoughts” and fully embodied the ability of “One Mic” earlier than closing with that “Stillmatic” hit.

Nas additionally introduced out the night time’s greatest — and finest — shock visitor in Lauryn Hill, who joined him for his or her 1996 joint “If I Dominated the World (Think about That)” earlier than delighting the gang with “Doo Wop (That Factor)” and Fugees faves reminiscent of “Killing Me Softly with His Music” and “Fu-Gee-La.”

And it was Nas’ Mass Attraction firm that co-produced the occasion. It’s actually a testomony to the respect and juice he has as an elder statesman now — as he identified, he’ll be 50 himself subsequent month — that so many generation-spanning giants got here collectively for a once-in-a-lifetime second.

In an evening that felt like one lengthy spotlight reel, different standouts included Fats Joe, who turned the gang all the way in which up with hits reminiscent of “Lean Again” and shock friends together with Ashanti (“What’s Luv?”) and legendary rapper KRS-One (“Bronx Story”). And the Bronx-born MC, who has shed some 200 kilos, even went shirtless to indicate off his weight reduction.

Then there was Snoop Dogg, who, 30 years after releasing his basic “Doggystyle” debut, had followers puffing and passing out within the open to “Drop It Like It’s Sizzling,” “The Subsequent Episode” and “Nothing However a ‘G’ Thang.”

And when he introduced out Slick Rick and a beatboxing Doug E. Contemporary to do “Lodi Dodi,” there have been chills within the air on this excellent summer season night time.