Black Thought’s “A Love Letter To Hip Hop” Honors The Culture’s 50th Anniversary
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Black Thought is continuing the celebrations for Hip-Hop’s 50th anniversary, sharing a freestyle titled “A Love Letter To Hip Hop” this week.
The Benny Boom-directed video aired on BET on Tuesday (Feb. 21) and shows the Philadelphia rapper, 51, chronicling Hip-Hop’s storied history fully acapella. He shows love to Grand Wizzard Theodore, Grandmaster Flash, Jay-Z, Diddy, Kanye West, Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest, and the late Takeoff. Notably, The Roots member also shows love to women such as Lauryn Hill, Queen Latifah, Lil Kim, Nicki Minaj, and Cardi B.
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“We rose to become entire ecosystems / It’s wild to think about how long the people have listened / 50 years down the line we could spark this / My eternal beloved Hip Hop/ Is where our hearts live and that’s word,” Thought spits.
“This is a Love Letter to Hip Hop for me because Hip Hop is the love of my life,” The Tonight Show performer told Rolling Stone. “No matter what medium that it is that you’re working in, if you’re painting a picture, if you’re writing a book, if you’re writing a song, those works of art that resonate the most are when you actually pour your true self into it.”
This freestyle video comes just over two weeks after Black Thought blazed the GRAMMYs stage alongside many of Hip-Hop’s greats for a tribute performance during the show’s broadcast. The performance featured LL Cool J, Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliott, The LOX, Lil Baby, Lil Uzi Vert, GloRilla, and many more.
