‘MTV Unplugged’ Returns With Hip-Hop 50 Special Featuring Queen Latifah, Wyclef Jean & More

2023 might be coming to a close, but MTV has one more blockbuster event to celebrate hip-hop’s 50th anniversary. Billboard can exclusively reveal that the network is set to air the latest addition to its MTV Unplugged franchise — MTV Unplugged Presents: A Hip-Hop 50th Celebration of Jersey’s Finest — on Thursday, Dec. 14, at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The special promises to be a star-studded event featuring performances and appearances by New Jersey hip-hop icons such as Wyclef Jean, Redman and Queen Latifah, who will also serve as an executive producer.

In a year filled with Hip-Hop 50 tributes, concerts and specials, New York has taken up a lot of the focus. While that’s understandable, A Hip-Hop 50th Celebration of Jersey’s Finest provides a space for pivotal New Jersey hip-hop artists to receive their flowers. From Ms. Lauryn Hill and Treach to Coi Leray and Badmanrill, the Garden State has been instrumental in crafting the ever-evolving sound of hip-hop.

A Hip-Hop 50th Celebration of Jersey’s Finest is also slated to include appearances from Naughty By Nature’s Treach, Poor Righteous Teachers, Heather B and The Sugarhill Gang, with additional performances from Lady Luck and Lords of the Underground. Emmy winner Adam Blackstone will handle musical direction for the special, which will be taped at the famed Newark Symphony Hall.

The special is the latest in a string of MTV projects honoring Hip-Hop 50. Back in September, the network spotlighted hip-hop at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards. Countless hip-hop stars graced the stage to perform their latest hits, several female rappers — Ice Spice, Nicki Minaj and Latto, in particular — took home Moonpeople, and two show-stopping medleys celebrated the legacy and longevity of the genre.

Diddy — with special guests Yung Miami and Keyshia Cole — played a smattering of the biggest Bad Boy hits, while a cross-generational lineup of rap icons handled the proper Hip-Hop 50 tribute. Among them were Minaj, DMC, Doug E. Fresh, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Lil Wayne, LL Cool J and Slick Rick. This year, the network also launched Mixtape, a documentary that traced the creation of mixtapes and the formats relationship to both hip-hop history and mainstream pop culture.

A Hip-Hop 50th Celebration of Jersey’s Finest marks the first MTV Unplugged special of 2023. After taking the pandemic year of 2020 to explore at-home concerts, the special returned to its original formats the following year with intimate performances from BTS, and Lady Gaga with Tony Bennett. Twenty One Pilots delivered the band’s own Unplugged session in 2022.

Bruce Gillmer and Vanessa Whitewolf will serve as Executive Producers for MTV, with Queen Latifah, Shakim Compere and Yaneley Arty acting as Executive Producers for Flavor Unit Entertainment. In addition, Alicia Portugal will serve Series Executive in Charge, with Lisa Lauricella taking on the role of Series Music Talent Executive.

Watch the teaser for the new special above.