Top Black Moments That Happened In Hip-Hop

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 13: Kanye West takes the microphone from Taylor Swift and speaks onstage during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall on September 13
(Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)

As we continue to celebrate Black History Month; the leaders, pioneers, and legends, who have paved the way for us, we have to pay homage to the legends of Hip-Hop and the moments that fans can revisit on a daily basis. From boycotts, and rivalries, and everything in between. Here are some of the top black moments that happened on Hip-Hop. 

Run-DMC Collabs With Aerosmith 

In July of 1986, legendary rap-group Run-DMC collaborated with rock group Aerosmith to release the classic hit ‘Walk This Way.” This collaboration would go on to change the course of hip-hop. 

Dj Jazzy Jeff and Will Smith Boycotts The Grammys

In 1989, when hip-hop was already mainstream and a huge part of the culture, DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince (Will Smith) decided to boycott the Grammys after learning that the rap category will not be televised. The duo had won the award for best rap performance for “Parents Just Don’t Understand.” Smith would not make reference to the boycott until 1998 when he first appeared on the award show, accepting his award from Chris Rock. 

TLC Promotes Safe Sex With Their Clothing

The biggest girl-groups of all time, TLC, didn’t dress as the public thought that they should. Instead of wearing tight dresses and high heels, T-Boz, Left-Eye, and Chili decided to wear bright and colorful oversized clothes and accessorized by wearing condoms instead of jewelry. The idea to wear the condoms came from Left-Eye, as a way to promote safe sex to their fans. 

 

East Coast Vs West Coast Rivalry Begins  

In 1995 during the Source Awards, the rivalry between Death Row Records and Bad Boy Records had begun when Suge Knight, the founder of Death Row Records took the stage to diss Diddy (Puff Daddy) and Bad Boy Records. Puff would later take the stage to say that he is proud of Suge Knight and the entire Death Row family. Death Row opened the show with a medley of their hits. 

Puff Daddy and Snoop Dogg Make Peace On The Steve Harvey Show

On a 1997 episode of The Steve Harvey Show, Puff Daddy and Snoop Dogg made a guest appearance as themselves to publicly squash the beef between the East Coast and West Coast. 

Kanye West Calls Out George Bush During Hurricane Katrina Telethon

In 2005, New Orleans, Louisiana was devastatingly hit by Hurricane Katrina. The category 5 hurricane tore through a lot of parishes and leftover 1,800 people dead and many others displaced. During a televised telethon, many celebrities came together to help raise money and donate to those in need. While speaking about the devastation, Kanye West and Mike Myers were asking viewers to donate anything that they can. While asking for the donations, West said one of his most infamous lines, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people,” leaving not only Myers stunned because viewers as well. 

 

Three 6 Mafia Wins An Oscar

In 2006, Three 6 Mafia made history by becoming the first rap group to win an Oscar. The group was nominated for Best Original Song for their hit “It’s Hard Out Here For A Pimp” from the 2005 movie Hustle And Flow. 

 

Kanye West Interrupts Taylor Swift Speech At The VMAs

The 2009 Video Music Awards will forever go down in history as memorable. Janet Jackson opened the show with a tribute to her late brother, the King of Pop, Michael Jackson and Kanye West took over the show when he infamously interrupted Taylor Swift during her acceptance speech. Swift was on stage after winning Best Female Video, beating Beyonce and as she was speaking Kanye West comes on the stage, takes the mic from the singer, and says “I’m really happy for you, Imma let you finish, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time.” 

https://youtu.be/XF2aMJHplDA

Beyonce, who won video of the year at the end of the night, let Taylor Swift have her moment by calling her on stage to redo her speech.

Lil Mama Crashes Jay-Z and Alicia Keys Performance At The VMAs

Another memorable moment from the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards was when Lil Mama was feeling herself a little bit too much and crashed Jay-Z and Alicia Key’s performance of Empire State Of Mind. The “Lipgloss” rapper left many confused as to why she decided to join them on stage that night. It is a question that she gets asked to this very day.

 

Let us know of some more black moments that you want to remember in hip hop! 

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