Planet Hip Hop: A revolutionary art form turns 50
Rappers Darryl McDaniels, left, and Joseph Simmons of Run DMC perform at Hip-Hop 50 Live, celebrating 50 years of hip-hop at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York, Aug. 11, 2023.
Hip-hop turned 50 this summer. Its influence has been felt in all corners of the globe. The World traveled the landscape and kicked off its Planet Hip Hop series with H. Samy Alim, professor of anthropology and director of the Hip Hop Initiative at UCLA. We also looked at how young Egyptians have used music to push back against the authorities trying to suppress it. And in India, we examined artists using hip-hop to stand up to one of the world’s oldest forms of discrimination: caste. Plus in Myanmar, rappers have been considered the artistic arm of a revolution to bring down the ruling military junta through armed rebellion.
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