Nas‘ Mass Appeal and Sony Music Entertainment launched their Hip Hop 50 campaign last year. It premiered of the documentaries You’re Watching Video Music Box, Ricky Powell: The Individualist and Rolling Like Thunder. With the 50th anniversary of hip-hop approaching, the two companies are continuing the rollout in April with three new docs: Cypress Hill: Insane in The Brain, Bushwick Bill: Geto Boy and The Savage Life of Lorine Padilla.
More about Nas’ Project
The project was kicked off by Showtime in collaboration with Nas and Viacom/CBS. It looks to celebrate the 50 years of hip-hop’s history and development into a force of mainstream culture.
Nas spoke with Variety about what the anniversary means, as well as what viewers can expect from the programming.
“There are so many stories,” Nas said. “I’m opening up with this, but Hip Hop 50 is a multi-tier initiative, created by Mass Appeal [in partnership with CBS Viacom], and we built this platform to ensure the anniversary of hip hop is celebrated in a real iconic way and that everybody should be involved with this. This is something that’s coming up that we don’t want to just pass by like it’s small. This is the biggest birthday in the world. You’re going to see the stories from every element of hip-hop, whether it’s the street stories, whether it’s the MCing. Whatever it is, we want to celebrate and push this birthday party to the max.”
Hip Hop 50’s rollout for 2022
Premiering on April 20, Insane in The Brain tells the story of the groundbreaking Latin hip-hop group Cypress Hill. The film, directed by Estevan Orio, explains how the group’s Latin roots shaped their musical journey while exploring their passion for the cannabis movement.
As for Bushwick Bill: Geto Boy, that film details the late rapper’s early life in Jamaica, along with his years in Houston as a member of the Geto Boys and the shooting which left him nearly blind in one eye. Directed by Gregy Roman, the doc premieres on April 29 via Showtime.
Finally, the third doc, La Madrina: The Savage Life of Lorine Padilla, depicts a “beloved South Bronx matriarch who struggles to remain visible in a rapidly gentrifying community she helped rebuild in the 1980s,” according to Showtime’s synopsis. The film airs on April 15.
Hip-Hop will celebrate its 50th birthday on Aug. 11, 2023.
Written by Olan Bryant
