HOUSE RESOLUTION NO.169
Reps. McKinney, Hood, Hoskins, Liberati, Snyder, McFall,
Edwards, Andrews, Puri, Scott, Tyrone Carter, Haadsma, Witwer, Brenda
Carter, Young, Wilson, Neeley, Paiz, Koleszar, O'Neal, Brabec,
Wegela, Martus, Churches, Aiyash, Breen, Farhat, Whitsett,
Fitzgerald, Hill and Rheingans offered the following resolution:
1 A resolution to commemorate the 50th anniversary of hip hop.
2 On August 11, 1973, Clive "DJ Kool Herc" and his sister Cindy
3 Campbell threw a "Back to School Jam" to raise money for new school
4 clothes in the recreation room of their apartment on 1520 Sedgwick
5 Avenue in the Bronx, New York; and
6 Whereas "DJ Kool Herc" introduced an innovative style of disk
7 jockeying called the Merry Go Round that engaged the b-boys and b-
8 girls (Breakers) with the master of ceremonies; and
Hip Hop 50th Anniversary 23H
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1 Whereas, This style would inspire the quick mix theory created
2 by GrandMaster Flash which engaged the “Emcees” in those elements
3 along with Graffiti and knowledge of self, the desire for peace in
4 the notorious gang riddled streets of the Bronx NY cobbled together
5 and presented by Afrika Bambaataa and the Zulu Nation formed what
6 was later to be known as "Hip-Hop" and the titles of "disk jockey"
7 and "master of ceremonies" would be abbreviated to "DJ" and "MC"
8 respectively; and
9 Whereas, Over the past 50 years, hip hop has become a culture,
10 a life-style, woven into American culture not only through music,
11 but also fashion, art, film, and dance; and
12 Whereas, Hip-hop as an art form was created through Black
13 ingenuity and is a part of not only African-American culture, but
14 American culture; and
15 Whereas, Blues from the Mississippi Delta to Memphis,
16 Tennessee, jazz from New Orleans, Louisiana, gospel from Chicago,
17 Illinois, and soul from Detroit, Michigan, created the foundation
18 from which hip-hop emerged; and
19 Whereas, Since its origins, hip-hHop has evolved and grown
20 over half a century because of its ability to adapt to the people
21 and region in which it is reimagined; and
22 Whereas, In New York City, hip-hop’s birthplace, east coast
23 hip-hop has produced artists and personalities such as the Run-
24 D.M.C, Dougie Fresh, Fab 5 Freddie, LL Cool J, Grandmaster Caz, Sha
25 Rock, Krs One, Rakim, Public Enemy, Notorious B.I.G., Nas, Jay-Z,
26 50 Cent, A Tribe Called Quest and the Wu-Tang Clan; and
27 Whereas, Artists like Ice T, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube,
28 Tupac, and more recently Nipsey Hussle emerged in California’s west
29 coast with G-Funk, which originally spurred out of the Watts riots
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1 in the late 1960s; and
2 Whereas, Bass and trap music originated in southern cities
3 like Atlanta, Georgia, and Memphis, Tennessee with artists such as
4 Project Pat, Three 6 Mafia, Outkast, T.I., Ludacris and Future; and
5 Whereas, Midwestern cities like Chicago, Illinois, and St.
6 Louis, Missouri, have produced artists such as Nelly and Common,
7 Michigan has produced Jeffrey Daniel, Slum Village, MC Breed,
8 Eminem, New Concept, Dj Spinny Spin, The Other Brothers, Leroy
9 J.Barrett lll, Head Debiase, Steven Malcolm, Proof and D12, Black
10 Cal, Pofani, Scoot B, ”O.W.”, Funk Mont, Wizdom Selah, Melinda
11 Still MsNana Lara, Macaroni Davis, AGO, Kash Doll, Piper Carter,
12 Jaime “Addverse" Wilkins, Ozay Moore, Mr.1204, Dj Butter, Dave “Unk
13 Funk" Cain, Tony “Tempo T” Tate, Hardcore Detroit, 616 Teknique,
14 Circle Junkeez, Esham, Detroits Most Wanted, Prince Vince, Insane
15 Clown Posse, Merciless Amir, Athletic Mic League, Man Wolf, Dj
16 Eminent, Rick Chyme, Clear Soul Forces, Chilla Pertilla, Brady
17 Gozza, Supa Emcee, Miz Korona, Detroit Dj Rush, Hatari Brooks, Mike
18 Fresh, Pastor Moe, TC Real, Marcus “Jack Frost” Dunham, Jessica
19 Care Moore, The Black Opera, The Honorable CNote, Helluva, Rick
20 Wiliams,Ty Mopkins, Elzhi, Joe Walker, Sid Swift, Iceman JA,
21 Awesome Dre, The KMC Cru, Jumbo, Tekh Togo, Shadow, The Dayton
22 Family, Ro Spit, One Be Lo, Shorty Ty, Ben “Showtime" Mcliechey,
23 Lee Cadena, Dj Gooset Brown Hornet, Dj Tony Funkmaster Jackson, Moe
24 Mccoy, Wayne 616, Dj Len Swann, Dj Butcher, Dj Los, D.A. the
25 Grandvillain, Pastor Troy Evans, Izy Dope, Dirt Sound, Dj Rush The
26 Guillotine, Troy Ceaser, Queen Koffee, Rhun Girl Run, Smiley,
27 Bronze Nazereth, Sixman, Euro K, Royce Da 5’9, Apollo Brown, Guilty
28 Simpson, Phat Kat, 5Ela, Mr. Cliffnotes, Brian Piccolo, Alex “The
29 Promoter” Thomas, Jerry Flynn, Julius Justice, Jeffrey Valantine,
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1 Dr.Khalid El-Hakim, Mike Gagliardo, Black Milk, Gunrule TV, Willie
2 The Kid, La the Darkman, Governor Slugwell HipHop and HellRazor
3 Robert S who have brought their respective regional influences to
4 the mainstream; and
5 Whereas, Hip-hop’s spread has mixed cultures and traditions
6 from the slowed down style of Texas artists like UGK and Scarface,
7 to the rhythmic beats of Miami, Florida, bass made popular by Uncle
8 Luke and The 2 Live Crew, to the Latin influence and energy of
9 artists like Pitbull; and
10 Whereas, Bounce originated in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the
11 1980s, and has elevated thanks to artists such as Juve- nile,
12 Magnolia Shorty, and Big Freedia who is recognized as the "Queen of
13 Bounce" and has helped to elevate the subgenre to the national
14 stage thanks to collaborations with Beyonc e
́ and other mainstream
15 artists like Rihanna incorporating the fast tempo sound into their
16 work; and
17 Whereas, New school hip-hop continues to dominate the music
18 industry selling out concert venues and stadiums with artists like
19 Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Megan Thee Stal- lion, Nicki Minaj, Cardi
20 B, Lil Wayne, Migos, Big Sean, 2 Chainz, Drake, Lotto, GloRilla,
21 and Ice Spice; and
22 Whereas, Artists like Sha Rock, Roxanne Shante, Sparky D, MC
23 Lyte, Queen Latifah, Lil’ Kim, Foxy Brown, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes,
24 Salt-N-Pepa, Lauryn Hill, and Missy Elliot pioneered female rap,
25 moving hip-hop away from being a male-dominated genre; and
26 Whereas, Music producers such as, J. Dilla, Timbaland, and
27 Kanye West (YE) have transcended Hip-Hop with their own styles of
28 creativity, instrumentation, and deep musical knowledge; Whereas
29 film directors and producers like John Singleton, Spike Lee, Rick
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1 Famuyiwa, and Yvette Lee Bowser have brought Hip-Hop and Black
2 culture to the big screen with hit movies and TV shows like Poetic
3 Justice, Boyz n the Hood, School Daze, Brown Sugar, and A Different
4 World; and
5 Whereas, Fashion designers like Dapper Dan, Maurice Malone,
6 April Walker(Walker Wear), Sean Combs(Sean John), Kanye
7 West(Yeezy), and Virgil Abloh(Off-White) have brought hip-hop and
8 Black culture to the runways of New York, Paris, and Milan; and
9 Whereas, Hip-hop has always been about telling a story,
10 whether it be a story of pain and struggle, love and romance,
11 religion, or politics; and
12 Whereas, Hip-hop has always been a creative mouthpiece for all
13 people to share their own individual realities; and
14 Whereas, Hip-hop has provided outlets for people all over the
15 world to include extracurricular activities, youth counseling,
16 analytical thinking, entertainment, employment; and
17 Whereas, Hip-hop has had an immense economic impact, and, as
18 an industry, generates more than a billion dollars annually,
19 further creating opportunities for economic mobility and wealth
20 creation for Black people in the United States; and
21 Whereas, Hip-hop has evolved as a platform to advocate for
22 social, political, and economic needs of all people, including
23 environmental justice, education, healthcare, and voting rights;
24 now, therefore, be it
25 Resolved by the House of Representatives, That the members of
26 this legislative body commemorate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop.