50 Years of Hip-Hop

Rap music has articulated a black aesthetic that is influencing pop culture around the world. But does it also promote violence, misogyny, and crime? This program featuring rap master Melle Mel describes the history of rap and hip-hop from its roots in earlier oral and musical traditions to its full flowering in the mid-1990s. Commentary by Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa, rap’s early innovators; music critic Nelson George, author of hiphopamerica; radical jazz poet Gil Scott-Heron; movie star and rapper Ice Cube; former gangsta rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg; members of Public Enemy, Arrested Development, and the jazz/hip-hop fusion group UFO; and others speak out about the urban African-American experience, civil rights, social responsibility, and other pressing topics. Clips from music videos provide a visual perspective on the genre. Some images and lyrics may be objectionable. (53 minutes)

Rolling Stone asked 33 artists and experts – from Rick Rubin to Big Boi, Mike D to Chuck D – to vote for their favorite hip-hop songs.

There would be no hip-hop without women. From the start, women scratched the vinyl, grabbed the mic, and pressed record on what would become one of the most dynamic and influential genres in African American culture. Furthermore, women participated in and influenced one of the main pillars of hip-hop culture: fashion and style.

Hip-hop culture comprises five primary elements. DJing is the manipulation of prerecorded music. The original hip-hop DJs used vinyl records and turntables, but hip-hop artists have largely transitioned to digital recordings, mixing software, and other electronic tools to manipulate sounds. Rap is a performance style that involves rhythmic rhyming and is the element most commonly identified with hip-hop music.

Explore hip-hop and rap-related collections from across the Smithsonian that offer perspective on the African American experience and its impact on American culture.

Hip hop is global, lapping on every shore and landing at every airport. But what does hip hop mean? Is it the music with a chest-thumping beat? The rapid-fire lyrics rapped into a handheld mic? Gravity-defying dance steps? Writers turning walls into canvases with larger-than-life letters and illustrations?

The Hip Hop Museum preserves the past, celebrates the present and leads the global future of Hip Hop, inspiring, educating and empowering all.

We celebrate Hip-Hop's 50th birthday by discussing the history of the genre and what its future could look like.