Rap royalty to celebrate Island’s epic hip-hop history

By GREGORY ZELLER //

Live performances and a panel discussion among all-time greats will jazz up LIMEHOF’s celebration of hip-hop’s unofficial 50th birthday.

The Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame will welcome some of the hottest DJs and smoothest rappers from 50 years of hip-hop music – many with distinct Long Island connections – to a special June 11 event marking the genre’s golden anniversary.

For those keeping score, “rapping” as a musical form has been around for centuries. Many historians trace the distinct communication art to the dark days of U.S. slavery – others follow it back thousands of years in various African cultures.

But according to legend, a party in the Bronx on Aug. 11, 1973, was the birthplace of hip-hop music, making 2023 a year-long “50th anniversary” celebration of the distinctive sound and style.

Ernie Canadeo: Hip-hop to it.

Stony Brook-based LIMEHOF is getting on track with an event that’s part live concert, part historical review and, ultimately, “a testament to Long Island’s prominent and continuing role in hip-hop’s legacy,” according to LIMEHOF Chairman Ernie Canadeo.

Among the legendary artists scheduled to perform in the free-with-museum-admission concert are genre pioneer John “Jazzy Jay” Byas, unparalleled MC Damon Wimbley (known best as Kool Rock-Ski of the Fat Boys), iconic hip-hop group Son of Bazerk and Emmy-nominated composer, producer and master turntablist John Rosado, dba DJ Johnny Juice.

Also on the agenda is a panel discussion moderated by LIMEHOF Vice Chairman Tom Needham, featuring Dinco D and Milo in de Dance – both members of Uniondale-based Leaders of the New School – along with A.J. Rock of J.V.C. F.O.R.C.E. and Ralph McDaniels of Video Music Box, a Brooklyn-based video vault chronicling hip-hop’s epic journey.

Son shines: Popular hip-hop group Son of Bazerk is slated to perform live at LIMEHOF June 11.

The June 11 celebration continues LIMEHOF’s long-running salute to Long Island’s defining role in the genre. Many rap-music superstars known for their New York City motifs actually hailed from Long Island, and the regional Hall of Fame has previously fêted several hip-hop megastars, including LL Cool J, Big Daddy Kane and the members of Run-DMC, Salt-N-Pepa and Public Enemy, among others.

Welcoming some of hip-hop’s most influential pioneers for a jam session and roundtable discussion is the ideal way to mark the art form’s unofficial 50th birthday – and to honor Long Island’s unique role in its continuing evolution, according to Canadeo.

“We are honored to pay tribute to the 50th anniversary of hip-hop with a live concert performed by some of hip hop’s most influential artists,” the chairman added.