Aug. 11 marks the unofficial/official 50th anniversary of hip hop.
The music movement started in the Bronx back in 1973, and since then, it has become one of the most popular music genres of all time, just behind pop and rock, according to Prime Sound.
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Detroit has played a big part in the growth of hip hop, especially through the 90s and 2000s. Eminem, raised in the Detroit/Warren area, is one of the best selling artists of all time, with more than 220 million records sold. He was the best selling music article of the 2000s, and the best selling male artist in the U.S. in the 2010s.
Eminem led a movement in the city with the group D12, which included Proof, Bizarre, Mr. Porter, Kuniva and others, bringing Detroit’s hip hop scene to the mainstream. The “band” officially split in 2018.
Outside of Eminem, artists like Big Sean and Royce Da 5′9″ helped carry the torch into the next decades, with major hit albums -- and they never stopped repping Detroit. Others like Danny Brown, Sada Baby, Dej Loaf, Trick Trick, Kash Doll and many more helped carry the underground scene, and continue to do so today.
J Dilla was one of the most influential hip hop producers of all time. He died in 2006 at the age of 32 from a rare blood disease. J Dilla, born and raised in Detroit, is regarded as one of hip hop’s most impactful music minds. He’s widely credited with raising the bar for hip hop instrumental, developing a more complex beat with unique sampling and drums.
Dilla worked with some of the greats, including Janet Jackson, Busta Rhymes, The Pharcyde, Common, Tlaib Kweli, Erykah Badu and A Tribe Called Quest. He was also a founding member of Detroit’s Slum Village, along with Baatin and T3. Questlove is producing a documentary on J Dilla, called “Dilla Time,” which is due out next year.
Happy 50th birthday, hip hop!
---> Hip-hop turns 50, reinventing itself and swaths of the world along the way