NEW YORK — On this day 50 years ago, hip-hop was born right here in New York City.
The celebration leads up to a massive concert at Yankee Stadium, featuring some of the biggest stars of the genre.
It’s a big birthday bash in the very borough where hip-hop was born. Superstars on the bill include Run DMC, Fat Joe, Remmy Ma and Sugarhill Gang.
“For the concert to actually happen at Yankee Stadium, I couldn’t think of any better place for it to happen,” said Amadeus, a multi-platform hip-hop producer and Bronx native. “It’s definitely going down. It’s going to be a very, very monumental night in music — very monumental night in hip-hop, very monumental night in the Bronx, very monumental night in New York, period.”
Watch: DJ Cocoa Chanelle on how things have changed
The actual birthplace in the Bronx was a rec room at 1520 Sedgewick Avenue, where on August 11, 1973 DJ Kool Herc and his sister, Cindy Campbell, threw a party and spun some records.
“I said, ‘Herc, you’re going to be the DJ, here’s all the music and the records and everything,'” Campbell said.
“Music ain’t no color, no color. If it’s good, I’m going to play it, no matter what, I’m going to play it,” said DJ Kool Herc.
Watch: Mister Cee breaks down Bronx hip-hop history
From Public Enemy to Jay-Z, from Salt ‘N Pepa to Cardi B, over the next five decades, the genre became a global phenomenon. Artists have reached the top music charts and fanned out in fashion, business and even sports.
“The 50th anniversary means everything to me,” said Chuck Creekmur, founder and CEO of AllHipHop.com, one of the biggest news sites for the genre. “A cultural phenomenon in America, which really started out in the minds of many as a fad, as something that wouldn’t last but a few years, something that would come and go. But I think that at every stage in hip-hop’s development, rappers and artists have always fought for their respect, they fought for the art form. I think they’ve all generally fought to make it bigger and bigger and better and better, and continue to do so to this day.”
Watch: Sneak peek of DMC one-on-one
CBS New York will have special coverage all day, including live reports from Yankee Stadium and a one-on-one interview with DMC himself, Daryl McDaniels.
