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Hip hop, according to LL Cool J last night at the Grammys, started in August, 1973 when Dj Kool Herc was DJing a party in the Bronx and “started a global musical revolution.” This morning I watched the tribute to hip hop which aired toward the end of the ceremony. (I did not stay up until the end.) It was incredible and I was so happy to see the women represented, like Salt-N-Pepa, Queen Latifah and Missy Elliot. LL said he wished they could invite more artists, but it was excellent and included a lot of my favorite 90s musicians like Rakim, Run DMC, De la Soul (their music is about to stream next month), Wu Tang Clan, Public Enemy and especially Busta Rhymes. He brought down the house! The camera kept panning to Jay-Z in the audience and his reaction shots were everything. Why wasn’t Jay-Z performing?! He deserved to be up there as much as anyone. Where was Slick Rick?! I only wish that Naughty By Nature and the remaining members of A Tribe Called Quest were invited (maybe they were and they declined) or that deceased and broken up artists were honored (Tupac, Biggie, Pete Rock and CL Smooth, Mobb Deep, Gang Starr). I’m a nearly 50-year-old white woman who grew up with and still listens to 90s rap on Rock the Bells on Sirius, I’m sure I’m missing a lot. Oh and I’m glad Diddy wasn’t involved in any capacity.
That Hip-Hop tribute just now is the best thing the #GRAMMYs have put out in YEARS — and that is not an exaggeration.pic.twitter.com/dVOIIxtKOf
— Festive Owl (@TheFestiveOwl) February 6, 2023
The year of @MissyElliott continues 🏆#grammys #grammys2023 #hiphopdidthat pic.twitter.com/RwtmS9PrZ5
— Rock The Bells (@RockTheBells) February 6, 2023
JAY-Z is all of us watching the #Grammys hip-hop tribute pic.twitter.com/cf4MGHvAvR
— CONSEQUENCE (@consequence) February 6, 2023
Anyway here’s Queen Latifah on the red carpet. I don’t know her designer ID but she wore like a lace sack dress with trailing sleeves and I dig it.
I love QL! 💕
Still miss Tupac.
Queen Latifah was gorgeous. I love her dress, she looks so comfortable. Her hair and makeup were great too! She was beautiful.
She is bringing the fashion to the award shows ….
Looking fab….
Can we get an ID on her earrings? Love them!!
Queen is the only name Ms. Dana.
I am a 50 yo Black woman and that entire set had me forgetting that I am no longer able to drop it like it’s hot anymore… sucha great time in music and the culture.
I will never ever understand why the new generation of hip hop were so poorly represented on that stage…
I have also entered the “setting it down gently like it’s lukewarm” stage of my life.
Best comment ever! 😂
Missy Elliott is an icon and an incredibly talented and influential artist. Lil Wayne has repeatedly said she’s his favorite artist and she thanked him for the props, since women hip hop artists don’t traditionally get recognized a lot by male hip hop artists (or the public). Love Lil Wayne for this and for his music.
Queen Latifah is the only Queen as far as I’m concerned 😉
I can’t image Tribe taking the stage again without Pife Dogg. That would just break me and I’m sure others as we.
You’re right I just miss them. They did perform without Phife at the 2017 Grammys though that’s what I was thinking about. They did shows without him too but couldn’t keep it up because it was too hard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvjb2yNS36U
I know I am older than dirt but I thought hip-hop made it’s break through with Sugar Hill Gang’s “”Rapper’s Delight”.
Sugar Hill Records was the start of the scene and since a Black woman was behind its creation, you can see why that part gets washed. Yes, you are correct.
Queen Latifah looks Amazing .
She really does. Her stylist does right by her all the time.
After decades of boycotting, I finally watched it. It was actually decent.
Yes the women, esp the Queen looked great! I always thought she was a better actress than rapper though. I loved that she rapped the lyric about not calling her out of her name. During that time, rap was initially exclusively male and women fought not just for a seat at the table but to also get accepted, taken seriously and respected. Calling a woman a b*tch or a garden tool were fighting words and a definite diss track or two. The majority of rappers were excellent MCs (Master of Ceremony). Not many male rappers could go toe to toe with a female MC. Despite being at the top of the genre and the charts, these women had to tone down their beautiful faces and bodies to grudgingly get respect and still had their looks disparaged. Then gangsta rap took over hip hop, eliminated all MCs and drastically elevated the levels of misogyny.
I’m surprised Lil Kim and Nicky Minaj weren’t included. I’m not a fan of either but both changed the perception, style and level of respect for female rappers after hip hop went out of vogue. Its so great that MC Lyte (real name Lana Moorer) does so much work as the announcer/narrator of shows like this. She has a very distinctive voice and was also a great female rapper, being the first female rapper to release a full album and the first to go gold. She was also the announcer for last year’s Superbowl halftime show. She’s also a good actress and I loved her in the sitcom Half & Half. I heard she has a show on BET+ but I haven’t gotten that app yet.
The blatant omissions of Tupac and Biggie was criminal and embarrassing. I’m not sure why they were excluded but the oversight was glaring. Run DMC definitely should have performed longer. They redefined rap and went mainstream by being trailblazer when incorporating rock music into their sound. I had hoped New Edition would have been included as the first R&B artists to mix R&B and rap/hip hop. I’m interested to see this show celebrating hip hop that LL referred to. Hopefully it will be more expansive and inclusive.
Not giving the Oscar to QL for Chicago was a big mistake. She was beyond awesome.