LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) – Warner Music Group (WMG) has announced the launch of Hip-Hop Fifty, a yearlong, global celebration of the groundbreaking genre that turned the world on its head during the last half-century. The Hip-Hop Fifty campaign will bring together the worlds of art, fashion, sports, and more to honor every facet of one of America’s most popular musical genres.
The festivities kicked off at the Official 2023 Grammy House in Los Angeles during Grammy week. The Grammy House was an immersive event space designed to spotlight five decades of hip-hop music and culture. Legendary hip-hop records from WMG’s catalog were featured throughout the exhibition.
WMG will be joining forces with several partners for initiatives around the celebration, including Dolby, LGND Music, New York Red Bulls, Peloton, and Vinyl Me, Please, with additional partnerships TBA.
WMG will celebrate the anniversary through Dolby Atmos re-releases featuring artists from its iconic hip-hop catalog. Fans will be able to enjoy these albums like never before with unparalleled clarity and depth through their favorite Dolby Atmos-enabled streaming service. Warner Music and Dolby will also host listening events throughout the year to showcase these new immersive Dolby Atmos mixes in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and London.
The celebration’s official Web3 partner, LGND Music, is set to create Hip-Hop Fifty digital collectibles known as “Virtual Vinyl” for some of WMG’s pioneering hip-hop artists. Available through tiered passes or as standalone collectibles, the platform will provide fans an opportunity to enjoy quality audio both in-app and on their desktop platform, while also granting access to exclusive Hip-Hop Fifty content, merchandise, physical vinyl, NFTs, and upcoming events.
The New York Red Bulls, one of the ten charter clubs of Major League Soccer (MLS), will honor a proud NY Metro area anniversary with Hip-Hop Fifty. The first of many collaborations throughout the year was the 2023 season jersey launch at the Hard Rock Hotel New York featuring Brooklyn-based female rap duo, Girll Codee.
Peloton is releasing a second iteration of its wildly popular Bad Boy Artist Series ride on February 23, first introduced in 2021. The 2.0 version will include a first-of-its-kind 2-For-1 Run with instructors Alex Toussaint and Marcel Dinkins, as well as the first ever Live Member Bad Boy, classes with Members in-studio.
Vinyl Me, Please will produce limited-edition, vinyl versions of select hip-hop albums from the WMG catalog, starting with Earl Sweatshirt’s 2022 album Sick!
News and updates about Hip-Hop Fifty will be announced throughout the year. The campaign will be spearheaded by WMG’s Global Catalog Division, with collaboration across many other WMG entities including frontline labels, Warner Chappell Music (WCM), WMX, and ADA.
You can listen to the official Hip-Hop Fifty playlist from WMG’s catalog HERE.
