Hip-Hop 50
Thursday, August 10, 2023 from 6 to 7 p.m.
NPR presents Hip-Hop 50, marking a half-century of one of the biggest driving forces in popular culture.
Host Juana Summers takes us to the Bronx community room where it all got started — where DJ Kool Herc became known for spinning records focusing on percussive “breaks” in the music (hence “break dancing”). With his friend “Coke La Rock” shouting out rhymes on the microphone over the beat, their parties gave way to rap.
Interviews in this special include DJ Kool Herc who was at the center of the first party where hip hop was born. Also featured: Debora Hooper, DJ Jazzy Jeff, and Moses Edinborough, director and producer of Yo! MTV Raps. Interviews also feature authors and music historians Jeff Chang, Jay Quan, Nelson George and Dan Charnas.
Juana Summers is a political correspondent for NPR covering race, justice and politics. She has covered politics since 2010 for publications including Politico, CNN and The Associated Press. She got her start in public radio at KBIA in Columbia, Mo., and also previously covered Congress for NPR.