Nas och Mass Appeal firar hiphopkulturens 50-årsjubileum med kommande programserie

"This is the biggest birthday in the world."

Showtime har nu släppt den första trailern för “Hip Hop 50”, ett flerårigt programinitiativ för att hylla kulturens 50-årsjubileum.

Initiativet beskrivs som en “cross-platform series”, som leds av Nas och filmskaparen Sacha Jenkins i samarbete med Mass Appeal. Enligt Variey kommer det innehålla manusförfattade serier, podcasts och dokumentärfilmer som alla kommer utforska nyckelpersoner och kapitel inom hiphopens rika historia. Det innefattar bland annat Estevan Oriols Cypress Hill-dokumentär “Hits From The Bong”, Joshe Swades “Ricky Powell: The Individualist”, om den legendariska hiphopfotografen, Roger Gastmans “Rolling Like Thunder, som utforskar graffitikulturen i New York samt “Push It”, en dokumentär om kvinnors bidrag till genren.

“Women were there from day one, and as we know, women are marginalized in our society. In hip-hop, in some regards, they haven’t always had their fair shake as well. To have the opportunity to have women tell their own stories about their trials and successes, we feel is very important. It’s not about men saying, ‘This is what the hip-hop experience was’ for women. It’s about women having the opportunity to tell their stories and speak their minds and truths”, säger Jenkins i ett uttalande.

Även om alla inte är överens om genrens födelsedatum, brukar de flesta peka på det födelsedagskalas DJ Kool Herc höll för sin syster Cindy i South Bronx den 11 augusti 1973.

“’73 marks the party that Kool Herc threw for his sister in the basement of a building in the Bronx. ‘77 definitely put a battery in some people’s backs who didn’t have the equipment. Still, a little before people were out in the parks, proto-hip-hop was happening as early as ’73, and that’s what is going to commemorate this 50th anniversary in 2023.”

Nas har utlovat att initiativet ska ge en djup inblick i hiphopkulturen och att både old school-artister och nya förmågor kommer att bidra med sina insikter.

“Without the new eyes and new ways to visualize the culture, then it’s not going to be complete. It has to be everyone that loves the culture, that can tell the story, that can really show through their work where we’re headed and why we’re headed there. The new voices are the new stories, and you have to have the beginning and the ‘now’ … This is the biggest birthday in the world. You’re going to see the stories from every element of hip-hop, whether it’s the street stories, whether it’s the MCing. Whatever it is, we want to celebrate and push this birthday party to the max”, säger rapparen.

“Hip Hop 50” kickstartar via Showtime senare i år och kommer att hålla igång till 2023. Se trailern nedan!