Vice President Kamala Harris Celebrated 50 Years of Hip Hop With a Celebration at the White House

VP of the United States Kamala Harris (center). Photo/Instagram

The United States Vice President, Kamala Harris, hosted a party celebrating 50 years of Hip-Hop at the White House last weekend. Several hip-hop artists were in attendance, including Fat Joe, M.C. Lyte, Common, Jeezy, Roxanne Shante, Slick Rick, and more. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lil Wayne and Slick Rick performed at the party.

America's VP shares a special appreciation for the genre of music. According to THR, she reminded the audience at the celebration that "Hip-hop is the ultimate American art form. She stated, "Hip-hop now shapes nearly every aspect of America's popular culture, and it reflects the incredible diversity and ingenuity of the American people. It combines rhythms from the continent of Africa, from the Caribbean, from Latin America, with the sounds of soul and gospel and R&B and funk to create something entirely new."

Harris also credited hip-hop with the following statement: "Hip-hop is also an ethos of strength and self-determination, of ambition and aspiration, of pride, power and purpose." DJ Kool Herc is regarded as one of the forefathers of the art form after deejaying a back-to-school party he threw in the Bronx, New York, with a turntable in August of 1973. Rap music (poetry), break dance, graffiti art, emceeing, and deejaying are all considered original components of hip-hop. Current-day hip-hop has evolved so that most of its original tenets are no longer incorporated into the music; rapping is now the main expression of the art.

Hip-hop is a billion-dollar industry and a global phenomenon, with millions of followers, and has influenced other genres of music, culture, sports, entertainment, and mainstream media! To follow this story and other news, click the link to become a Volume 82 site member.