WKCR is proud to announce a 80-hour celebration of the 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop, the genre that revolutionized our societies and minds and remains an unfettered celebration of Black joy, creativity, and liberation. Our broadcast can be found on FM and HD radio and online all day from Wednesday, November 15 to 8am Saturday, November 18, 2023. The festival broadcast will preempt all regularly scheduled shows on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, as well as early Saturday morning programming.

The legacy of Hip-hop is long and storied, but it began fifty years ago–on August 11, 1973–in the South Bronx when DJ Kool Herc extended a beat break by playing two copies of the same record and, in the process, originating what is known today as looping. Hip-hop, both as a musical style and culture, was born.

The birth of hip-hop at WKCR, however, began in 1986 with “We Could Do This Show," hosted by Pete Nice and DJ Clark Kent. Following Nice and DJ Clark Kent came the transformative “The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show,” which first aired on October 25, 1990. Hosted by Adrian Bartos (DJ Stretch Armstrong) and Robert “Bobbito” Garica at WKCR, they introduced the world to Wu-Tang Clan, Fugees, Jay-Z, Eminem, Biggie Smalls, and many other, then underground, hip-hop artists that would rise to fame in the 1990s. Freestyling became an integral aspect of the show, and the late-night time slot they occupied allowed for unrestricted, unapologetic, authentic creativity in their programming–a legacy that WKCR continues today with the shows “Offbeat” and “Notes from Underground.”

With our broadcast ranging from explorations of hip-hop pioneers and sample breakdowns to today’s most abstract and experimental works, listeners are guaranteed an in-depth experience of the genre. Follow WKCR on Instagram (@wkcr) and Twitter (@WKCRFM) for further updates.