MTV Sets ‘Rock the Bells Festival’ Special to Salute 50 Years of Hip-Hop

Tributes to the 50th anniversary of hip-hop continue with MTV announcing its upcoming special presentation “The Rock The Bells Festival – Celebrating 50 Years of Hip-Hop.”

Premiering Sept. 19 (11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT), the one-hour special will feature performances from a host of hip-hop pioneers. The lineup includes Big Daddy Kane, Method Man & Redman, Monie Love, Queen Latifah, Rakim, Run-D.M.C., Salt-N-Pepa, Swizz Beatz and LL COOL J.

The performances are culled from the 2023 Rock the Bells Festival that took place Aug. 5 at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, New York. The legendary lineup for the second annual festival also boasted rap trailblazers such as The Roots, Ludacris, De La Soul, Slick Rick, Fabolous, MC Lyte, Yo-Yo, Roxanne Shanté, Brand Nubian and the Lost Boyz. 

“This was a special year for the culture and for Rock the Bells in curating this experience, bringing together the icons of hip-hop,” LL COOL J tells Billboard. “It’s always a privilege to play for my hometown crowd in New York City. We really loved putting on this year’s second annual Rock the Bells festival to a sold-out crowd in Queens. Through this special airing on MTV, we’re excited for fans at home around the world to be able to feel some of the great energy from that day.” 

Here’s the list of performances for MTV’s “The Rock the Bells Festival – Celebrating 50 Years of Hip-Hop”:

Big Daddy Kane – “I Get the Job Done”

LL COOL J – “Mama Said Knock You Out,” “4,3,2,1” and “Rock the Bells”

Method Man & Redman – “Da Rockwilder” and “Method Man”

Monie Love – “It’s a Shame”

Queen Latifah – “Ladies First”

Rakim – “Eric B Is President” and “Microphone Fiend”

Run-D.M.C. – “Down with the King” and “It’s Tricky”

Salt-N-Pepa – “Push It”

Swizz Beatz – “Party Up”

Co-founded by LL COOL J and Geoff Yang in 2018, the Rock the Bells global platform includes LL COOL J’s Rock the Bells Radio on SiriusXM (channel 43), the Rock the Bells Festival and the Rock the Bells Cruise. In partnership with the firm Sixthman, the cruise will make its inaugural sailing from Miami to the Bahamas on Nov. 13-17, 2023. Along the way, attendees will be treated to performances by Rick Ross, Lil Jon, Big Boi, DJ Jazzy Jeff and DJ Spinderella, among others.

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