National Celebration of Hip-Hop: Ice-T, Public Enemy among performers

It’s been 50 years since hip-hop was introduced to America and the world and to mark the milestone, the nation’s capital will host a celebration of the genre.

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Washington, D.C. will be the site of The National Celebration of Hip-Hop. It will be two days of free concerts, held at West Potomac Park on Oct. 6 and 7, The Associated Press reported.

The concerts will be full of icons from the hip-hop world including:

• Public Enemy
• Ice-T
• The Sugarhill Gang
• Kurtis Blow
• DJ Hurricane Beastie Boys Tribute Set
• Kid ‘N Play
• Soulsonic Force
• Roxanne Shante
• CL Smooth
• Melle Mel and Scorpio
• Peter Gunz
• DJ Kevie Kev Rockwell
• Mad Skillz
• MC Sha-Rock
• Busy Bee
• Joe Ski Love
• Positive K
• Boogie Black
• Mick Benzo
• Gumbo
• Donald D

But the list of performers isn’t complete, with organizers saying more entertainers will be announced.

“Hip-hop is beyond, not just a musical genre,” Chuck D said in a statement, according to the AP. “It’s a cultural movement that has dominated art, fashion, politics, poetry, academia, film and every corner of the world for the past 50 years. This National Celebration brings it all together in one place for the people, by the people.”

“We are honored to continue to celebrate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop against the backdrop of America’s Capitol with a free event for everyone. I can’t wait to get on stage and do our thing,” Flavor Flav said in a statement, according to the AP.

In addition to the concerts, there will be guest speakers, comedians, public figures, events and exhibits, Billboard reported.

The event is free, but you do need tickets, which can be found at the celebration’s website.

There are also paid VIP events starting Thursday night.

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