Though most argue it hasn’t ever left, Hip Hop officially came home to 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Morris Heights section of The Bronx with a special free block party and concert, marking its 50th anniversary at its birthplace on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023. Performers included KRS One, Flavor Flav of Public Enemy, The Sugar Hill Gang, Slick Rick, Talib Kweli of Black Starr, the Cold Crush Brothers, Chuck D, C.L. Smooth, Hakim Green, Wise Intelligent, Peter Gunz, and many more.

 

The previous evening, on the official 50^th anniversary of the now-famous inaugural party held on Aug. 11, 1973, on Sedgwick, saw a star-studded line-up of Hip Hop artists perform at nearby Yankee Stadium, including a surprise appearance by ex-Fugee, Ms. Lauryn Hill, to the ecstasy of the packed crowd.

 

Other artists and guests on the night included Snoop Dog, Ralph McDaniels, DJ Kool Herc, the latter credited with creating Hip Hop music by isolating the “break,” Cindy Campbell, the latter credited with organizing the Bronx block party in 1973 which launched Hip Hop, Kurtis Blow, Roxanne Shanté, Fat Joe, Ashanti, lil Wayne, Ice Cube, Wiz Khalifa, Nas, Run-D.M.C. and U.S. Senate Majority Speaker Chuck Schumer, among others.

Some of the attendees we spoke to at the Sedgwick Avenue concert had also attended the ticketed show the previous evening. Despite some drizzly rain, the vibe the next day was familiar, celebratory, and one of relaxed pride.

 

Food trucks and stands selling commemorative T-shirts lined the route to the stage and there were plenty of residents hanging out on their stoops soaking up the party atmosphere.

 

Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson later took to the stage with local District 14 City Council Member Pierina Sanchez to address the crowd. “What a night!” Gibson said, adding, in part, “We’ve been celebrating the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop but guess what? It started right here – 1520 Sedgwick Avenue! They never thought that Hip Hop could take it this far, right? Well, if you don’t know, then now you know!”

 

Gibson said she was grateful to KRS-One and the whole team who planned the concert. “We want to make sure that ALL our residents enjoy good music, take it back to the basics, and what Hip Hop means,” she said.

“When our little kids were listening to music on a boom box 50 years ago, no-one believed in what Hip Hop can do – this billion-dollar industry that we’re celebrating here tonight.”

 

She later paid homage to Herc, credited with creating Hip Hop music by isolating the “break,” Campbell, credited with organizing the Sedgwick Avenue block party in 1973 that launched Hip Hop, Rocky Bucano of the Universal Hip Hop Museum, currently under construction in Bronx Point as part of a $30 million investment, and former Bronx Borough President Ruben Díaz Jr., who championed the initiative.

 

Gibson concluded, “To all the residents and families of 1520 [Sedgwick Avenue], Tenants Association President Gloria Robinson, and everyone who has done so much to keep this building alive, John Crauty and the team, we say thank you!”

 

Proclamations were then presented by Gibson and Sanchez, including one on behalf of State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, who Gibson said had dedicated $11 million to the Universal Hip Hop Museum.

There were plenty of light moments from the artists during the show including a comical rap performance about anyone found stealing “lyrics from friends” who would “never MC again!”

 

After the show, we spoke to “Twin David” from Riverpark Towers, in Morris Heights, together with his twin brother, who had reunited with old friends for the concert. “So long overdue! Long overdue…” he said. “I grew up in this area, so this was a homecoming for a lot of us. This brought back a lot of memories of when we would meet here, so it was like the best thing that happened!”

 

David continued, “This is hip hop! Hip hop was the crowd! It wasn’t just the artist; it was the crowd!  Somebody had to watch them before so we supported the hip hop thing. Somebody had to come to the parties! They used to party up in the thing over there and bring the speakers out the windows. Yeah, so we just wanted to put that out to hip hop. Welcome home! Welcome to our home! This is our home! These guys was born here, so to see this happening like this… Wow! Incredible! Thank you for coming!”

Meanwhile, LaTicia Thompson, who said she was born a little further up on Sedgwick Avenue and who attended the event with one of her sons who is 9, smiled as she said, “He doesn’t know anything about this [history] but now he does.” Of the show, she said, in part, “It was awesome! This is the culture, this is us. It was something positive – that’s what it was started as. I hope we live long enough to do the hundred!”

 

As reported, Bedford Park’s Lehman Center for the Performing Arts was the chosen Bronx venue for an earlier 50th anniversary celebration of the birth of Hip Hop on Saturday, May 6, when the Hip Hop Fever 2023 concert kicked off in conjunction with Sal Abbatiello of Fever Records.

 

For a few short videos of the Bedford Park show, click here and here.

 

The Aug. 11^th concert at Yankee Stadium can be watched on YouTube here.

 

Check out just some of our other previous Hip Hop coverage here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.