Hip-Hop Celebrated at 65th Grammy Awards

Last night at the 65th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles a special performance took place to celebrate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. A 12 minute chronology, introduced by LL Cool J, featured Public Enemy founder and Genesis author Chuck D on stage with Flava Flav and a whole host of hip-hop legends showcasing their own influential styles and sounds, including Ice-T and Run-DMC, whose portraits feature heavily in Chuck D's new book of art, Livin' Loud by Chuck D. 

Harvey Mason Jr, CEO of the Recording Academy said of hip-hop, 'It's contributions to art, fashion, sport, politics, and society cannot be overstated. I'm so proud that we are honoring it in such a spectacular way on the Grammy stage. It is just the beginning of our year-long celebration of this essential genre of music.' 

In Livin' Loud, Chuck D describes the musical figures that shaped him and his voice, sets the scene for the first time he met Flavor Flav, the formation of Public Enemy and his stint with supergroup Prophets of Rage. Copies of Livin' Loud, including the signed limited edition, are available from ChuckDBook.com.

The ceremony also included touching tributes to recently passed music icons such as Jeff Beck and David Crosby, including the closing performance by Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt and Mick Fleetwood to remember Christine McVie with their beautiful rendition of 'Songbird'. 

 

'I think it's a moment to accolade the wonder of a hugely talented, lovely, unsuspecting lady known as Christine McVie. There is a lot of fuss, but we are really happy to be making a fuss of her. It's a celebration and a quiet prayer.' - Mick Fleetwood