Even ‘Sesame Street’ Is Getting In On The Hip-Hop 50 Celebrations With B-Boy Grover, MC Elmo, And More

The 50th birthday of hip-hop is bringing out all kinds of celebrations, from the Yankee Stadium takeover in New York to a slew of “Hip-Hop 50”-related editorials from just about every publication that covers the genre (including Uproxx: Check us out here). Even the long-running children’s program Sesame Street paid homage with a tweet nodding to hip-hop’s global impact and artwork depicting the various characters engaging in activities like breakdancing, DJing, and rapping.

“Sesame Street celebrates 50 years of Hip-Hop,” it reads. “From music to dance and beyond, its culture and influence spans generations and crosses the globe. Join us in celebrating and honoring the originators, artists, and contributions of Hip-Hop. Hip-Hop Hooray!” In the foreground, a pair of fuzzy hands (likely belonging to Telly The Two-Headed Monster) scratches records, while B-boy Grover and MC Elmo entertain their friends Abby Cadabby, Bert, Cookie Monster, and new Muppet, Gabrielle.

The artwork is done by alt comics artist Ed Piskor, who is best-known for the Eisner Award-winning graphic novel series, Hip Hop Family Tree, which recounts the history of hip-hop through vibrant illustrations of pioneers like DJ Kool Herc, Fab Five Freddy, Beastie Boys, Slick Rick, Will Smith, and more. His expertise definitely lends authenticity to Sesame’s celebration of hip-hop, but the show has long had its “street” cred certified, with appearances from a slew of stars such as Anderson .Paak, Chance The Rapper, Common, Ice Cube, LL Cool J, MC Lyte, Queen Latifah, Warren G, and more.

Three years ago, Black Thought joined Jimmy Fallon to salute Sesame Street on its 50th anniversary (check out the video above), so it’s cool to see the show return the favor.