Watch the Grammys’ star-studded celebration of 50 years of hip-hop

6 February, 2023

Busta Rhymes Flavor Flav LL Cool J

The Grammys held a star-studded celebration of hip-hop tonight (February 5) in honour of the 50th anniversary of the genre.

The moment was preceded by Dr. Dre being recognised with the Global Impact Award, which has now been renamed the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award.

“I’m extremely moved by this award,” Dre said. “I want to say thank you to the Recording Academy and the Black Music Collective for this honour. I know everybody in here probably knows this already, but this is the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. Where would I be without out? Where would a lot of people be without hip-hop?

“Hip-hop became a lifeline for me growing up as a teenager in Compton and it started with a song called ‘The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel’. Scratching and mixing on the turntables had me hooked and became the entry point to a 40-year career of doing something that I really love.”

After Dre collected the award, Questlove and The Roots took to the stage, bringing with them some of the biggest stars of hip-hop. The performance featured snippets of numerous iconic songs, from the genre’s early days to now.

Among the performances were Run DMC’s ‘King Of Rock’, LL Cool J’s ‘Rock The Bells’, Queen Latifah’s ‘U.N.I.T.Y.’ and Missy Elliott’s ‘Lose Control’. Representing modern-day hip-hop, Lil Baby delivered a clip of ‘Freestyle’, while GloRilla helped bring things to a wrap with ‘F.N.F. (Let’s Go)’.

Elsewhere at the 2023 Grammys, Beyoncé has made history by becoming the most decorated artist at the ceremony. The star surpassed classical musician Georg Solti’s record of 31 Grammys tonight – and could still win more before the show is over.

Bad Bunny opened the show with a vibrant performance of two songs from ‘Un Verano Sin Ti’, while Migos’ Quavo honoured his late bandmate and nephew Takeoff during the In Memoriam segment.

Earlier tonight, Viola Davis achieved EGOT status with her Grammy win, while Kim Petras paid tribute to SOPHIE as she became the first trans woman to win Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Find out how to watch the ceremony here and keep checking back to NME.com for all the action as it happens.

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