The 65th Annual Grammy Awards were filled with Black excellence! There were a plethora of memorable performances from Black artists, but none were more noteworthy than the Grammys’ celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop.
If you missed it live, watch the whole thing here.
Legends such as Grandmaster Flash, Missy Elliot, Run-DMC, LL Cool J, Method Man and many others performed classic hits since the birth of hip-hop. Here’s a rundown of everyone who showed up and showed out.
Black Thought
Black Thought opened the tribute performance by doing a dope spoken word poem, acknowledging hip-hop’s importance in the music industry and all the pioneers who have paved the way for future generations.
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
Grandmaster Flash and the furious five opened the performance by doing a pair of classic records which included “Flash to the Beat” and “The Message.”
Run-DMC
Rev Run and DMC performed their 1985 hit track, “King of Rock.”
LL Cool J
LL Cool J, who introduced the tribute, came out with a Kangol bucket hat and performed “I Can’t Live Without My Radio.”
DJ Jazzy Jeff
The Fresh Prince wasn’t at the Grammys, but his other half was there to perform “Rock the Bells.
Salt-N-Pepa
The Grammys didn’t forget about the ladies. Salt-N-Pepa came out to spit some lines from their 1986 song, “My Mic Sounds Nice.”
Rakim
One of the greatest and most-underappreciated MCs of all time, Rakim, came out to perform his dope song, “Eric B Is President.”
Public Enemy
Chuck D and Flavor Fav kept that same old-school energy with their hard-hitting track, “Rebel Without a Pause.”
Black Thought & LL Cool J
Black Thought and LL Cool J reappeared to perform a “El Shabeez (skit)“ from LL’s 1985 album, Radio.
De La Soul (Posdnuos)
Only one-third of the group showed, but it was still great to see Posdnuos perform their fun track, “Buddy.” Would’ve been dope if everyone from the Native Tongues collective showed up on stage.
Scarface
The Houston legend spit some lines from his track with Geto Boys, “My Mind’s Playing Tricks on Me.”
Ice-T
Veteran actor and MC (people forget) came out to perform his 1991 song, “New Jack Hustler,” from his alum O.G.
Queen Latifah
Queen Latifah may have to get back into rapping, because when she performed her hit, “U.N.I.T.Y.” it made me miss her music.
Method Man
Even though the entire Wu-Tang clan didn’t show, their most popular member came to perform his self-titled banger, “M.E.T.H.O.D. MAN.”
Big Boi
Only half of Outkast came to the Grammys, but Big Boi was more than enough to perform the title track from their 1996 album, “ATLiens.”
Busta Rhymes & Spliff Star
Busta Rhymes came to the Grammys for one reason, to remind everyone that he raps faster than almost anyone in hip-hop history with his performances of “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See” and his quick verse from “Look at Me Now.”
Missy Elliot
As usual, Missy Elliot came out in a colorful and creative outfit and performed her hit track, “Lose Control.”
Nelly
Nelly brought some St. Louis energy to the stage performing his party classic, “Hot in Herre.”
Too $hort
Too $hort doesn’t get the credit or respect he deserves, so it was super dope to see him center stage at the Grammys rapping the party anthem, “Blow the Whistle.”
The Lox
Although some of the groups didn’t come with all of their members, The Lox came with everyone in tow, including Jadakiss, Styles P and Sheek Louch to perform “We Gona Make It.”
Lil Baby
The performance shifted to a more modern tone when Lil Baby rapped some lines from, “Freestyle.”
GloRilla
GloRilla, a young superstar in rap who’s recently seen her popularity grow, performed her trendy track, “F.N.F. (Let’s Go).”
Lil Uzi Vert
To cap the show, Lil Uzi Vert came to the stage to dance and perform his viral track, “Just Wanna Rock.”
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