There was a brief moment during Hip Hop 50 Live — an epic celebration of the golden anniversary of hip-hop that stretched from Friday night into Saturday morning at New York’s Yankee Stadium— that provided a quick reality check.
In between Kid Capri’s DJ set and a breakdancing segment featuring Rock Steady Crew legend Crazy Legs, Yankee legend Derek Jeter crashed what felt like the world’s biggest block party and reminded you that it was actually the home of the Bronx Bombers.
But on this unforgettable night, the stadium belonged to hip-hop — the music and the game-changing culture that was fathered by DJ Kool Herc at a party in the South Bronx 50 years ago 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 Cube) and new-millennium masters (Lil Wayne, T.I.), the marathon, seven-hour-plus concert felt like the Live Aid of hip-hop. It was that historic.
In a genre known for its hype, it exceeded it.
And if there had to be one MVP in this all-star extravaganza, it was New York’s own Nas. Taking the stage after midnight as the penultimate performer, he launched into his “Illmatic” classic “N.Y. State of Mind” and completely embodied the power of “One Mic” before closing with that “Stillmatic” hit.
Nas also brought out the night’s biggest — and best — surprise guest in Lauryn Hill, who joined him for their 1996 joint “If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)” before delighting the crowd with “Doo Wop (That Thing)” and Fugees faves such as “Killing Me Softly with His Song” and “Fu-Gee-La.”
And it was Nas’ Mass Appeal company that co-produced the event. It’s certainly a testament to the respect and juice he has as an elder statesman now — as he pointed out, he’ll be 50 himself next month — that so many generation-spanning giants came together for a once-in-a-lifetime moment.
In a night that felt like one long highlight reel, other standouts included Fat Joe, who turned the crowd all the way up with hits such as “Lean Back” and surprise guests including Ashanti (“What’s Luv?”) and legendary rapper KRS-One (“Bronx Tale”). And the Bronx-born MC, who has shed some 200 pounds, even went shirtless to show off his weight loss.
Then there was Snoop Dogg, who, 30 years after releasing his classic “Doggystyle” debut, had fans puffing and passing out in the open to “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” “The Next Episode” and “Nothing But a ‘G’ Thang.”
And when he brought out Slick Rick and a beatboxing Doug E. Fresh to do “Lodi Dodi,” there were chills in the air on this perfect summer night.