2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the creation of hip-hop as a genre. The Grammys’ honored this monumental occasion with a hip-hop reunion for the history books, featuring artists such as Grandmaster Flash, Missy Elliott, Public Enemy, Salt-n-Pepa, and many more legendary artists on one stage. While it was probably extremely difficult for The Recording Academy to include every single well-known hip-hop artist into this one feature, there were definitely some notable names missing from the stage. Here are some artists who I think should’ve been included, plus some honorable mentions.
- MC Sha-rock
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If this name doesn’t sound familiar to you, it’s about time to do some research. MC Sha-Rock is THEE first female emcee in hip-hop. Yes, you read that correctly. She said herself in a 2021 ABC 20/20 Special segment that she was “the blueprint of female emcees on the microphone” and had the bars to back it up. Sha-Rock first got into hip-hop as a b-girl (female breakdancer) in the late 1970’s as breakdancing became a popular style of dance in the Bronx. After nailing an audition in 1977, she became a member of The Funky 4+1 More, which later became the first hip-hop group to perform on Saturday Night Live in 1981. Over the course of her career, Sha-Rock paved the way for women to succeed in the game and continues to be an advocate for women on the mic. The Recording Academy leaving her out of this tribute performance was highly disrespectful.
- MC lyte
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While we’re on the topic of early pioneers in hip-hop, we can’t forget about MC Lyte, the first female rapper to release a solo album AND the first solo female rapper to achieve a Gold certification from the RIAA. Lyte first came up in 1988 at 16 years old, just almost 10 years after Sha-Rock started up, and released her first album Lyte as a Rock a year later at 17. Her pen is one of, if not, the strongest in the game and she proved to the world that being an emcee was more than just rapping and rhyming words over a beat. Lyte has a celebrated career full of firsts, including being the first Grammy-nominated female rapper for “Best Solo Rap Performance” with Ruffneck at the 36th Grammy Awards in 1994. She still makes music today and is a tireless advocate for the preservation of hip-hop culture, which is all the more reason as to why she should’ve been on the Grammy stage.
- wu-tang clan
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As my father likes to say, “Wu-Tang is forever”. Made up of RZA, GZA, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Method Man, Masta Killah, and formerly ODB (RIP), The Wu-Tang Clan took the hip-hop world by storm after their 1993 debut and have since been highly regarded as one of the best hip-hop groups of all time by many in the industry. Their first album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), sold almost 3.5 million copies overall and was certified triple platinum in 2018. In a 2005 review of the Legend of The Wu-Tang – Greatest Hits album, NME referred to the group as “the greatest collective of rap lunatics who ever walked the Earth”. Wu-Tang boasts a roster of versatile members who have found success outside of the group with individual solo careers. The group even launched a social network for hip-hop fanatics that also loved playing chess in 2008—this site is no longer active. Nowadays, the word “icon” seems to get thrown around, but Wu-Tang embodies what it means to be a true icon in hip-hop.
Method Man was a part of the Grammys’ tribute performance, but what about the rest of the group…?
- André 3000
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Riddle me this: how was the Recording Academy gonna include Big Boi, but NOT André 3000???????????? Make it make sense!!!!!! As a group, OutKast debuted in 1994 with the Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik album, which was certified platinum in 1995. Their 2003 double album Speakerboxx/The Love Below was certified 11x platinum in 2006 The group gained notoriety for their seamless blending of hip-hop and funk. On his own, André 3000 has spent much of his solo career doing guest features with various artists—Beyoncé’s Party, Frank Ocean’s Pink Matter, Gorillaz DoYaThing to name a few—while also producing for both music and television and dipping his toes into fashion. André 3000 is a man of many talents highly respected by many across the music industry and 100% deserved to be on the Grammys’ stage with Big Boi.
- Honorable mentions
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Here are some other artists that deserve to be considered:
N.W.A. (or just Ice Cube by himself), Megan Thee Stallion, Terror Squad (or at least Fat Joe and Remy Ma), J.Cole, Foxy Brown, Lil’ Kim, The Sugarhill Gang, Kendrick Lamar, Janelle Monaé (I consider her to be hip-hop adjacent), Snoop Dogg, Pharrell Williams, Timbaland, Lauryn Hill (and/or The Fugees), Three 6 Mafia, 2 Live Crew, Eve, Jay-Z (because why was he only in the audience???), the Young Money collective, T-Pain, and SO MANY MORE!!!!!