​Warner Music commemorates 50 years of hip hop with year-long celebrations

Warner Music has announced its year-long celebration of hip hop to commemorate 50 years since the genre’s origins.

Hip-Hop Fifty pledges to bring together art, fashion, sports, and importantly music, to celebrate half a century of hip hop and its surrounding culture.

The campaign traces back to the very origins of the genre with pioneering artists such as DJ Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash in the early ‘70s, charting its rise through the decades with the emergence of gangsta rap, R&B, and its many offspring genres.

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To honour five decades of hip hop, Warner Music kicked off the celebrations at the GRAMMY Awards in Los Angeles with a pop-up showcase. The three-day series of events included an exhibition of photography and album art, as well as live performances from hip hop’s new ‘brightest producers’.

Later in the year, Warner will join forces with Dolby Atmos to re-release music from its iconic hip hop catalogue, setting up immersive listening experiences and Q&As in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and London.

Celebrations also include a link up with LGND Music, who are set to issue bespoke digital collectables granting fans access to ‘Virtual Vinyl’ through NFTs, merchandise, and more.

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Another collaboration celebrates hip hop and sports, pairing the two together in a partnership with the New York Red Bulls to release a 2023 season jersey kit. Elsewhere, Peloton is set to relaunch the Bad Boy Artist Series in a second iteration following its success in 2021.

Vinyl Me, Please has also joined forces with Warner Music to release limited edition vinyl pulled from Warner's catalogue throughout the course of the year, starting in March with the release of Earl Sweatshirt’s 2022 album ‘Sick!’.

Keep up to date with Hip-Hop Fifty here, and check out a trailer for the year-long celebrations below.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag’s Editorial Assistant, follow her on Twitter