Hip-hop is turning 50 and DJ Cassidy and some of the genre’s biggest icons will be turning up to celebrate this July at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall.
On Friday, July 21st, Cassidy will be hosting a special “Pass The Mic Live!” concert where he will unite 25 New York native icons of Hip Hop’s Golden Age on the same stage including Big Daddy Kane, Doug E. Fresh, Rakim, and Slick Rick, with Black Sheep, Brand Nubian, CL Smooth, Dana Dane, DoItAll of Lords Of The Underground, EPMD, Fu-Schnickens, Grandmaster Melle Mel & Scorpio, Kid ‘N Play, Kool Moe Dee, Kurtis Blow, MC Serch, MC Shan, Milk Dee of Audio Two, Monie Love, Nice ‘N Smooth, Onyx, Roxanne Shante, Special Ed, The Sugarhill Gang, Treach of Naughty By Nature, and in the tradition of “Pass The Mic,” special surprise guests.
Artists for the historic lineup were personally selected by Cassidy himself. He explains that as a way to celebrate Hip Hop’s 50th Anniversary, he set out on a mission “to unite the most iconic, most comprehensive, most definitive line-up of legendary New York artists who defined the Golden Age of Hip Hop (from the early 1980s to the early 1990s) together on one stage for the first and only time.”
While Radio City Music Hall has hosted hundreds of icons of all genres over the years, Cassidy’s event will be unique because it will combine elements the spirit of his “Pass The Mic” television specials on BET with the added excitement of a live concert experience.
“The music is continuous. The pace is relentless. The performance is interactive. The Radio City show, however, is unique from all other “Pass The Mic Live!” shows by the mere quantity of icons sharing one stage,” Cassidy states.
One of “Pass the Mic’s” defining features is that Cassidy emphasizes the importance of seamlessly blending individual artists’ contributions into a larger performance, like pieces of a puzzle.
“Every song performed will be a piece to a puzzle,” Cassidy explains.
“Together, these emcees laid the foundation for what was to transform global culture. Each of these artists were my childhood idols. Sharing the Radio City stage with twenty-five of my Hip Hop heroes in their hometown, my hometown, and the birthplace of Hip Hop, will be my greatest honor.”
The event, which will be presented by Martell Cognac and Power 105.1, is being produced in partnership with the Black Promoter’s Collective and is one of several upcoming live “Pass the Mic” experiences that the group is putting on.
On May 12th, Cassidy will kick off “Pass The Mic Live!,” a series of one-night-only events, each with one-night-only lineups, at the Prudential Center arena in Newark, Jersey. Expected performers for that event include Ashanti, Fabolous, Ja Rule, Lil Kim, Ma$e, Ne-Yo, Robin Thicke, 112, and special surprise guests. The show at Radio City Music Hall will be the second in the series.
Cassidy explains that he hopes to bring an entirely new spirit to the traditional concert experience. “‘Pass The Mic Live!’ is the real-life manifestation of the series that began in my living on July 2nd, 2020. My dear friend, legendary music mogul, and “Pass The Mic” collaborator, Steve Rifkind, told me then that “Pass The Mic” would change my life. He was right. It’s quite surreal, to say the least,” states Cassidy in explaining what fans can expect at his upcoming events.
Tickets will be on sale to the general public starting Friday, April 14th at 10:00am EST. Tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster.
The event is produced in partnership with the Black Promoters Collective (BPC), a coalition of six of the nation’s top independent concert promotion and event production companies. As a 100% Black-owned business, its mission is to be the world’s leading producer and provider of culturally relevant live entertainment experiences.
The post DJ Cassidy talks Uniting New York Icons for Upcoming 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop “Pass The Mic Live!” Concert Performance at Radio City Music Hall appeared first on The Source.
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