Park Jams - A Juneteenth Celebration Of Hip Hop at Central Park SummerStage
DJ Premier, DJ Grandmaster Flash, Kid Capri, DJ SpinKing, Diamond Kuts, and DJ Nyla.
June 19. 4PM. $35-75. Event is Rain or Shine.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of hip hop. The song, “The Message,” was recorded in 1982 by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, so it doesn’t go all the way back to hip hop’s origins in the house parties of the South Bronx, but still, it’s hard to overstate the song’s importance. “The Message” presented an unflinching look at life on the margins of society, and pointed to the social commentary that would become so essential to later artists like Public Enemy, Mos Def, and Common. The June 19 Central Park Summerstage concert celebrates both Juneteenth and 50 years of hip hop and Grandmaster Flash will be a part of it. The show starts at 4PM, rain or shine.