**With five decades of shaping culture, music and history, the Grammy Recording Academy is set to culminate this milestone year with a two-hour concert special.**The salute to 50 years of hip-hop shows dozens of rap legends including Queen Latifah, Will Smith, Chuck D, LL Cool J and more on-stage.
Recording Academy's Grammy Salute Concert to 50 Years of Hip-Hop’ airs Sunday
An attendee wears a “Hip Hop 50” jacket during a 50th Anniversary of Hip Hop event at the residence of the US Vice President in Washington, DC, on September 9, 2023.
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"I mean, it was an incredible feeling because, you know, so many of those people have you know, I've been friends with them for years. And for others, you know, I've been listening to their music for years" says LL Cool J about his experience.
...So, you know, doing the tour was amazing, working with all these artists on the tour. Queen Latifah, so many different ones. And then bringing it to life on the stage for this Grammy salute is going to be - I think the fans are in for a real treat. I think it was a great night. And when I look at the broadcast back now that we it's been edited and I'm looking back at it, I mean, it's exciting and it translates off the screen the same way it was in the room. It feels good" the rap legend added.
The concert was recorded several weeks ago at the YouTube Theatre in Inglewood, Calif . It also shows the Recording Academy addressing its fraught relationship with hip-hop. Its president Harvey Mason Jr gave a speech acknowledging this and work done in recent years to recognize the genre more fully-
LL Cool J, recording artist-actor:
"I think that in the past. You know, quite frankly, you know, hip-hop has not been happy with how hip-hop artists have been treated by the Grammys. That said, I think Harvey, the leadership that he brings is totally different. I mean, you know, when we went to him, when myself and Jesse Collins and Quest - when we talked to Harvey, he was all in on celebrating hip-hop. And if you look at that show, it isn't just the LL Cool Js and the Queen Latifahs, you know, all of that, whatever that higher level. It's artists of all caliber and all across the whole - they span the whole spectrum of hip-hop culture. And that's important right. So I think that you can't let your past hold your future hostage."
The concert recorded several weeks ago at the YouTube Theatre in Inglewood, Calif airs Sunday on CBS and Paramount+