Vice President Kamala Harris Hosts Star-Studded Celebration Marking Hip-Hop's 50th Anniversary

Vice President Kamala Harris hosted a celebration of hip-hop's 50th anniversary recently. The milestone event featured appearances by some of the music genre's pioneering artists and current stars, including Common, Jeezy, MC Lyte, and Roxanne Shante. Highlighting the significance of the art form Harris shared her views on the celebration.

Many enthusiasts trace the genre's inception to an August 11, 1973, back-to-school party in a Bronx apartment building in New York City, where 18-year-old Clive Campbell, known as DJ Kool Herc, pioneered the art of deejaying. Hip-hop has not only helped in building stronger cultural relations but also in creating strong cultural forces worldwide. It has even played a key role in setting up a multibillion-dollar industry. It also opened avenues for rapping, emceeing, deejaying, breaking, and graffiti artists to climb the ladder of success with its growing popularity worldwide.

According to AP News, Vice President Harris emphasized the cultural significance of hip-hop, saying, “Hip-hop culture is American culture. It has always channeled the voices of the people. It tells the stories that don’t make the news,” she told the crowd. In her insightful perspective, she claimed that hip-hop has consistently amplified the voices of the marginalized internationally. She called it a new form of expression and storytelling among artists.

The celebration was a collaborative effort between the Recording Academy's Black Music Collective and Live Nation Urban, reflecting the industry's recognition of hip-hop's enduring impact. It brought together artists, enthusiasts, and policymakers in a shared appreciation of the genre's evolution and contributions to American culture. Kamala Harris's involvement in the celebration further underscores the significance of hip-hop's cultural legacy.

The Vice President of the United States' participation in the event symbolized her strong affiliation and commitment to bridging the generational and political void in the country. Harris' husband, Doug Emhoff, also joined her at the event, lending his support to the cause and enjoying the performance. Emhoff also emphasized this by saying, "This is a hip-hop household!" His words resonated with the crowd as it cheered. The celebration of hip-hop's 50th anniversary by American dignitaries sends a strong message that the genre has a stronghold among the American masses and serves as their unifying element.

Recently Harris shared a post in support of union workers with a picture that is captioned, "Union workers make our middle class and our entire economy stronger. President @JoeBiden and I have reduced barriers to unionization in both the private and public sectors, announced we are giving more than a million workers on federal contracts a raise, and more." As people talked about racial discrimination and recent events that must be addressed swiftly by the government, while others expressed displeasure with the incumbent President Biden's administration.