AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
For the 50th anniversary of hip-hop's birth, some heavy hitters performed at Yankee Stadium, which is in the Bronx, where hip-hop music was born. Friday's lineup included artists like Run-DMC, Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg, Eve and Nas. NPR cultural correspondent Anastasia Tsioulcas was there.
ANASTASIA TSIOULCAS, BYLINE: Tens of thousands of people pressed into Yankee Stadium to witness what promised to be an epic night. Inside, while artists like The Sugarhill Gang were already performing...
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THE SUGARHILL GANG: (Singing) Jump on it. Now put your hands up, put your hands up...
TSIOULCAS: ...Many fans outside were still waiting for hours to make their way into the ballpark. And folks of many different generations told me what this night meant to them. Audience members declined to give their last names as police and security tried to usher them into the venue as quickly as possible. One brother and sister from the Bronx, Rob and Carmen, were decked out in full Run-DMC style with Kangol bucket hats, Adidas tracksuits, Superstars on their feet. They were far from the only ones dressed in honor of their hip-hop heroes.
ROB: I was born and raised in this area. I was around hip-hop before records was made. I was in the park with all these guys, you know? So to come 50 years later, it's incredible.
TSIOULCAS: One young man, Greg from Harlem, showed up with a friend pretty much because his mama told him it would be an education in hip-hop.
GREG: It was kind of a thing where my mom was like, good, old-fashioned hoopity-hop (ph). And I was like, yeah, sure, why not?
TSIOULCAS: Well, that's exactly what they got. It felt like a royal procession through many areas of this culture. The founding parents of hip-hop were there - DJ Kool Herc and his sister, Cindy Campbell, who threw the block party 50 years ago this week that's now considered a canonical event. Slick Rick performed. So did Kool G Rap, Fat Joe, Lil' Kim, Eve, Ashanti, and members of the Wu-Tang Clan, including Ghostface Killah and Method Man, among many others. While the show was heavy on New York artists, the South got some representation, too, notably with both T.I. from Atlanta, and New Orleans' Lil Wayne.
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LIL WAYNE: (Rapping) OK, excuse my charisma, vodka with a spritzer, my swagger down pat, you could call my [expletive] Patricia, it's Young Money...
TSIOULCAS: Snoop Dogg ruled the stage as a California king.
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SNOOP DOGG: (Rapping) It's S-N-double-O-P D-O-double-G. I can't fake it, just break it. See, when I take it, see, I specialize in making all the girls get naked...
TSIOULCAS: One of the big surprises of the night was a collaboration between Nas, who was expected to do a set, and Lauryn Hill, who was not on the bill.
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LAURYN HILL: (Singing) If I ruled the world...
NAS: Send 'em to Africa. Imagine that, y'all. Imagine that, y'all.
HILL: (Singing) ...I'd free all my sons.
NAS: I'd free 'em all.
HILL: (Singing) I love 'em, love 'em, baby. Black diamonds and pearls...
TSIOULCAS: Nearly eight hours after the night started, the show finally closed with a performance by Run-DMC. in what was billed as the trio's last show ever. By the time they got to "My Adidas," many fans in the crowd were waving pristine white superstars in the air.
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RUN-DMC: (Rapper) My Adidas walk through concert doors and roamed all over coliseum floors, well, I stepped on stage at Live Aid. All the people gave, and the poor got paid.
TSIOULCAS: It was a sweet send-off, and despite being nearly 2 a.m., the crowd was still buzzing. Anastasia Tsioulcas, NPR News, New York.
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RUN-DMC: (Rapping) My Adidas and me, close as can be. We make a mean team, my Adidas and me. We get around together.
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