1950s Hip-Hop
Rare hip-hop footage from the 1950s — interviews, studio sessions, and behind-the-scenes clips. We're actively searching for footage — check back soon.
Music in the 1950s
The 1950s saw the birth of rock and roll, the explosion of bebop jazz, and the rise of electric blues. Artists like Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and Miles Davis were reshaping popular music, while behind the scenes, Sam Phillips was experimenting at Sun Studio and Atlantic Records was capturing the raw energy of rhythm and blues. Footage from this era is exceptionally rare — most of what survives comes from early television appearances, newsreels, and the occasional home movie.
About Hip-Hop
Hip-hop (also known as rap music or simply rap) is a genre of popular music that emerged in the early 1970s alongside an associated subculture in the African-American and Caribbean immigrants communities of New York City. The musical style is characterized by the synthesis of a wide range of techniques, but rapping is frequent enough that it has become a defining characteristic. Other key markers of the genre are the disc jockey (DJ), turntablism, scratching, beatboxing, and instrumental tracks....
All Hip-Hopfootage →No 1950s hip-hop clips yet — we're working on it.