A Grammy Salute To 50 Years Of Hip-Hop

Which Rappers Turned Down Hip-Hop 50 Invitations?

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A Grammy Salute To 50 Years Of Hip-Hop aired on Sunday, December 10 after the live show in November, and once it was out in the open, executive producer Questlove answered fans’ questions on Twitter. In addition to allegeding that the stress of producing the show cost him a couple of teeth, he also revealed which rap star’s declined invitation “hurt the most.”

The pick might be a surprise for fans whoo weren’t around for that artist’s dominant run in the ’90s, but that’s why we have the Hip-Hop 50 celebration in the first place: to teach or remind younger fans where the culture came from from and how it’s evolved. “Of all the ‘No’s,’” the Roots drummer wrote. “Hammer hurt the most. We really wanted him to have his flowers.”

Although Quest didn’t go into details about why any of the invited artists turned down the show (most likely did so due to scheduling conflicts), Quest also confirmed that 50 Cent, Ice Cube, Run-DMC, Salt-N-Pepa, and Wu-Tang Clan were all asked. And while there are clearly fans who were disappointed, the producer called it a “blessing in disguise.”

“Got a gazillion ‘no’s’ but mid edit we were like this was a blessing in disguise,” he explained. “The reason this is dope is because ‘Normally’ we only celebrate ‘the winners’ & ignore ‘the loved.’ This changes all of that.” He’s not wrong; the full list of performers includes some oft-overlooked names in the rap discussion, from DJ Quik and Yo-Yo to Three 6 Mafia and everyone in between. For a full list of performers, see below.

Who Performed At The Grammys’ Hip-Hop 50 Tribute?

LADIES FIRST
With Spinderella as DJ:

Queen Latifah and Monie Love — “Ladies First”
MC Sha-Rock — “It’s The Joint”
Roxanne Shanté — “Roxanne’s Revenge”
J.J. Fad — “Supersonic”
MC Lyte — “Cha Cha Cha”
Remy Ma — “All The Way Up”
Latto — “Put It On Da Floor”
Ensemble Finale — “U.N.I.T.Y.”

HIP-HOP SOUTH

Jeezy — “Put On”
T.I. — “What You Know”
Bun B — “Int’l Players Anthem (I Choose You)”
GloRilla — “Tomorrow 2”
Three 6 Mafia — “Stay Fly”
Jermaine Dupri — “Welcome to ATL”
Boosie Badazz — “Wipe Me Down”
Uncle Luke — “Scarred” / I Wanna Rock (Doo Doo Brown)”

PUBLIC ENEMY

“Don’t Believe the Hype”
“Fight the Power / Welcome To The Terrordome”
“Bring The Noise”

WEST COAST
With Battlecat as DJ, and Mustard as hypeman:

Warren G — “Regulate”
The Luniz — “5 On It”
The Lady of Rage — “Afro Puffs”
YG — “Who Do You Love”
Tyga — “Rack City”
Roddy Ricch — “Ballin’”
DJ Quik — “Tonite”
Yo-Yo — “You Can’t Play With My Yo-Yo”
Cypress Hill — “Hand On The Pump” / “How I Could Just Kill A Man”
Too $hort — “Blow The Whistle”
E-40 — “Tell Me When To Go”

INTERNATIONAL

Akon & Styles P — “Mama Africa” / “Locked Up (Remix)”
Blaqbonez — “Like Ice Spice”
Akon — “I Wanna Love You” / “Smack That”
Akon & Jeezy — “Soul Survivor”

LYRICISM

Big Daddy Kane — “Raw”
Black Thought — “Freestyle #087 (Freestyles On Flex)”
Rakim — “My Melody,” “I Ain’t No Joke”

CLUB BANGERS

2 Chainz — “Birthday Song”
Gunna — “Hot”
Coi LeRay — “Players”
Nelly — “E.I.”
Rick Ross — “Hustlin”/”B.M.F.”
Chance The Rapper feat. 2 Chainz — “No Problem”

DJ JAZZY JEFF & THE FRESH PRINCE

“Brand New Funk”
“Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It”
“Welcome To Miami”
Mashup: “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” / “Switch”
“Summertime”

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

When Will The ‘A Grammy Salute To 50 Years Of Hip-Hop’ Special Air?

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The Grammys will again pay tribute to hip-hop’s 50th anniversary with A Grammy Salute To 50 Years Of Hip-Hop. The two-hour special will expand on the 50-year tribute from this year’s Grammy ceremony, which included performers like Grandmaster Flash, LL Cool J, Queen Latifah, Method Man, Missy Elliott, Lil Baby, GloRilla, and more. The new special will expand the lineup to include Big Daddy Kane, Gunna, MC Lyte, Too $hort, T.I., Warren G, and YG.

While the special will tape on November 8 in Inglewood, you will be able to catch it on CBS when it airs on Sunday, December 10.

According to Billboard, the special’s executive producers are Questlove and LL Cool J. After complaints that the original performance was too short and overlooked important figures in hip-hop history, Questlove explained, “I asked like 10 legends so….sometimes you gotta go with the one who wants you. again might not be your preference but most of hip hop has side gigs. Acting was the main issue. lotta movies being shot.”

Afterward, the Recording Academy CEO, Harvey Mason Jr., hinted at some more celebrations later in the year. “For five decades, Hip Hop has not only been a defining force in music, but a major influence on our culture,” he said. “Its contributions to art, fashion, sport, politics, and society cannot be overstated. I’m so proud that we are honoring it in such a spectacular way on the Grammy stage. It is just the beginning of our year-long celebration of this essential genre of music.”

Who Is Performing At The ‘A Grammy Salute To 50 Years Of Hip-Hop’ Special?

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Back in February, the Grammys celebrated the 50th anniversary of hip-hop with a tribute performance during the awards ceremony featuring over twenty acts playing hits from across five decades of hip-hop history (give or take).

But one of the complaints about the tribute was that it was too short and ignored some rather pivotal moments and acts from hip-hop (especially the late-aughts and 2010s). At the time, the Grammys promised that a longer special would be recorded and aired later in the year. Earlier this month, the Grammys announced when the show would take place, and today, we learned more about which artists would be performing at the Grammy Salute To 50 Years Of Hip-Hop.

According to Billboard, the second round of acts added to the lineup includes Arrested Development, Big Daddy Kane, Black Sheep, Cypress Hill, Digable Planets, DJ Quik, E-40, GloRilla, Gunna, Jeezy, Juvenile, Latto, Luniz, MC Lyte, Roxanne Shanté, Spinderella, Three 6 Mafia, Too $hort, T.I., 2 Chainz, Warren G, and YG.

They’ll be added to the existing lineup of Black Thought, Bun B, Common, De La Soul, Jermaine Dupri, J.J. Fad, Lady of Rage, LL Cool J, C Sha-Rock, Monie Love, The Pharcyde, Queen Latifah, Questlove, Rakim, Remy Ma, Uncle Luke and Yo-Yo, many of whom played at the tribute earlier this year.

A Grammy Salute To 50 Years Of Hip-Hop tapes on November 8 at the YouTube Theater in Inglewood, CA, and airs on Sunday, December 10 on CBS.