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New York City lit up with Hip Hop 50 events in celebration of August 11, the same date in 1973 when DJ Kool Herc and Cindy Campbell their their infamous Back to School Jam at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx. It’s a date many consider to be the birthdate of the culture so naturally, the Hip Hop pioneers and architects came out in droves. At Mill Pond Park on Friday (August 11), Chuck D, Flavor Flav, Melle Mel, Scorpio, Rahiem and many others convened for Van Silk’s RAPAMANIA showcase.

Co-sponsored by the Universal Hip-Hop Museum and Red Bull, the event represented all elements with DJs, graffiti legends like Lady Pink (who appeared in Style Wars), photography icons such as Glen E. Friedman, Martha Cooper and Ernie Paniccioli, Red Bull BC One b-boy cypher and, of course, a

The third annual Together Forever event is going down at Adam Yauch Park in Brooklyn on Sunday (August 6) in honor of the late Beastie Boy, Adam "MCA" Yauch, and Run-DMC legend Jason "Jam Master Jay" Mizell, who was killed in 2002. 

Organizer Dave Sussman calls it simply, "a celebration of the life and accomplishments of Adam 'MCA' Yauch of the Beastie Boys and Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC." The event also includes special honors for iconic street photographer Ricky Powell—aka the 'Individualist'—and the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop.

The free event boasts music, live performances and surprise guests. Longtime Beastie Boys DJ Hurricane, Philly's DJ Too Tuff, Schoolly D, The Fat Boys' Kool Rock Ski and Lil Dee are among the confirmed guests. 

"Together Forever" s

ITSALL BLACK MUSIC PRESENTS has announced the Brooklyn, Queens and Bronx lineups for the 5x5 Block Party Series taking place in New York City on August 5-6 and August 11-13. With the help of the city and Mayor Eric Adams, the Hip Hop 50 celebration will reach all five boroughs with performances by Prince Paul, KRS-One, Chuck D, Kool G Rap, dead prez, Jungle Brothers and Dres from Black Sheep.

The free block parties are reminiscent of the 1970s and early '80s when hip-hop was first beginning to crawl. Park jams were springing up all over the Big Apple, especially in the Bronx. On August 11, 1973, DJ Kool Herc and his sister, Cindy Campbell, threw a Back To School party at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue. Since then, the modest Bronx apartment building has been widely considered the official