Overview
A departure from prior events, I had the rare opportunity to stand in the presence of hip-hop pioneers at Level 13’s 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop celebration in Orlando, Florida.
The 50th Anniversary celebration featured a packed lineup of hip-hop greats throughout the eclectic history of the culture:
- The Rising KIngs Crew
- DJ Casper
- DJ Nunya
- DJ Eclipse
- Positive K
- MC Serch
- Grandmaster Melle Mel
- Scorpio
- 69 Boyz
- Black Sheep
- Onyx
- Chubb Rock
With invitation by New York’s own DJ Eclipse — co-host of Sirius XM’s “Rap is Outta Control” mix show on Shade 45 and traveling DJ for MC Serch — I was able to immerse myself in a unique backstage experience witnessing pillars of the culture that defined both my and my father’s generation of artists.
Being backstage for the event was a particularly memorable experience too, given the recent 50th anniversary milestone and 1-year anniversary of my foray into live DJ performances. As I got to play observer to several architects of the culture, I too was able to reflect on my current journey and goal of preserving the culture of old while infusing the new directions I seek to take in my own journey. You can read more about that in my reflection, “50-to-1,” in which I go into more detail about the occasion.
I want to give a special shout out to DJ Eclipse, who both provided me with the opportunity to watch the concert backstage AND performed with 3rd Bass frontman MC Serch during the event. As a dear friend of the family and increasingly important influence in my own DJ journey, this experience was an impactful, necessary step to witness as the story continues.
* You can follow all of the artists who performed by visiting their respective websites or social accounts in the Credits section below.
