Harris Hosts A Star-studded Hip-hop 50th Anniversary House Party

Vice President Kamala Harris celebrated the 50th anniversary of hip-hop with a crowd of artists and more than 400 guests at her home on Saturday.

At the first celebration of its kind, Harris addressed the genre’s impact on the world and its importance to the black community.

“Hip hop is the ultimate American art form,” Harris said. “Born at a back-to-school party in the Bronx, raised on the streets of Philadelphia, Chicago, Oakland and Atlanta, hip hop now shapes nearly every aspect of American popular culture and reflects the incredible diversity and ingenuity of the American people .”

Hip hop originated in New York’s Bronx and has helped highlight the experiences of black, brown and poor people in America for 50 years. It has often brought attention to cases of injustice and police brutality.

“Let’s be clear: hip-hop culture is America’s culture,” Harris said. “It’s music and melody and rhyme. Hip hop is also an ethos of strength and empowerment; from ambition and striving; full of pride, power and purpose. Hip hop is a statement of identity. It means I love who I am. I represent where I come from and I know where I’m going.”

Saturday’s memorial service was held in collaboration with the Recording Academy’s Black Music Collective and Live Nation Urban. Artists Common, D-Nice, Omarion, Jeezy, MC Lyte, Roxanne Shante and many more were present at the celebration.

Meanwhile, members of the Congressional Black Caucus, including Chairman Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) and Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), as well as Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) were also spotted mingling and dancing with the crowd.

Comedian Deon Cole introduced Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. at the start of Saturday’s speech.

Mason shared how hip hop has influenced his career over the years.

“Hip hop changed my world,” Mason said. “I grew up in the 80s when hip-hop was just starting to take off. It was on the radio, it was on MTV, it was in magazines, it was in the culture. It was everything I love about the genre.”

Mason said he is not alone and that hip hop has influenced artists of all genres over the years.

“Today, 50 years later, there isn’t a single genre that hasn’t borrowed something significant from hip hop,” Mason said.

Still, hip-hop has faced criticism over the years, with many often criticizing the genre for being overtly sexual, violent, or misogynistic.

But Harris addressed it in her remarks Saturday.

“[Hip hop] always channeled people’s voices,” she said. “It tells the stories that don’t make the news. But as the great Chuck D once said, rap is America’s black CNN. And by telling the truth, hip hop is calling us to action.”

From Grandmaster Flash to Queen Latifah to Lauryn Hill to Kendrick Lamar, Harris said, “Generations of hip-hop artists have helped elevate the collective consciousness through their voices.”

And these artists have expanded from the streets of New York to countries around the world, including Ghana, France, Japan and Brazil.

“Half a century later, it is clear that hip hop will not be wiped out. Hip hop is here to stay,” Harris said.