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HOT 97 has announced a new star-studded concert in honor of Hip-Hop’s 50th anniversary, which will be held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
On Monday (June 12), the iconic radio network announced the Hip-Hop Forever concert to celebrate the anniversary of the culture. The show is organized in partnership with WBLS. The one-day event will be curated by veteran DJ Funk Flex with the Wu-Tang Clan as the headliners. Other artists set to perform are Mary J. Blige, EPMD, Tyrese and Sean Paul. Mariah Carey and Maxwell are also on the bill as special guests, but there is no word yet on if they’ll be performing as well. The Wu-Tang Clan will begin the North American leg of their N.Y. State of Mind Tour with Nas and De La Soul the next evening.
The show is notable as the Wu-Tang Clan and HOT 97 have repaired a once highly-publicized rift that began in 1997 over the group being asked to headline Summer Jam for free. As detailed in the 2019 documentary series Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mice and Men, they were also asked to come to the event without the network paying for it. Ghostface Killah took the stage at that Summer Jam concert, shouting “F**k 97!!” and prompting fans to repeat the message, which resulted in the station banning their music being played for a number of years. Funk Flex also personally apologized to the group, posting a message on his Instagram account earlier this year.
HOT 97’s show marks yet another activation in honor of the birthday of Hip-Hop culture, Aug. 11, 1973. The events include the Hip-Hop 50 Live concert by MassAppeal, which will take place on the actual date at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. The concert will feature Run DMC in their final concert appearance ever, Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, T.I., Lupe Fiasco and others. The concert will be held at Madison Square Garden on Friday, Sept. 15th Pre-sale tickets are through Ticketmaster at this link on Thursday (June 15). The general public will be able to obtain tickets on Friday (June 16).
