50 photos that showcase the evolution of hip-hop over the past 50 years

The Notorious B.I.G.Getty/Clarence Davis

• Hip-hop is now 50 years old.
• The genre was born in The Bronx, New York City, in 1973.

An invite to DJ Kool Herc's 1973 party at which hip-hop is said to have been born.

Hip-hop was birthed in 1973.      Rock The Bells

Hip-hop's birthplace, The Bronx, New York City, circa 1974.

The Bronx, New York City.      AP

Hip-hop fans in New York City in 1975.

Smurftastic.      Getty

A New York subway cart covered in graffiti in 1976.

Graffiti art was one of the four original elements of hip-hop alongside emceeing, DJing, and breakdancing.      Getty/Donaldson Collection/Michael Ochs Archives

The 1977 New York City blackout and subsequent riots are credited with helping jump-start the hip-hop movement.

Looters raid a shop in New York City in 1977.      Getty

The Fatback Band, creators of the first commercially-released rap song, in 1978.

The Fatback Band's 1979 song "King Tim III (Personality Jock)" is regarded as the first commercially-released rap song.      Getty/Gilles Petard

The Sugar Hill Gang in 1979.

The Sugar Hill Gang are most famous for their song "Rapper's Delight."      Getty/Michael Ochs Archives

Afrika Bambaataa in 1980.

Afrika Bambaataa was the leader of the Universal Zulu Nation.      Getty/Michael Ochs Archives

"The Breaks" rapper Kurtis Blow in 1981.

Kurtis Blow.      Getty/Michael Ochs Archives

Melle Mel of Grandmaster Flash amd The Furious Five in 1982.

Melle Mel.      Getty/Michael Ochs Archives

A group of breakdancers in London in 1983.

Breaking it down.      Getty/Clare Muller

Run-DMC performing in Chicago in 1984.

Run-DMC was made up of Joseph "Run" Simmons and Darryl "DMC" McDaniels.      Getty/Raymond Boyd

Grandmaster Flash, one of the pioneers of DJ culture, in 1985.

Grandmaster Flash.      Getty/Raymond Boyd

DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince in London in 1986.

Jeff Townes, Will Smith.      Getty/David Corio

Ad-Rock of the Beastie Boys in 1987.

Ad-Rock fought for his right to party.      Getty/Michael Ochs Archives

Ice-T, the forefather of gangsta rap, in 1988.

Ice-T.      Getty/Raymond Boyd

KRS-One and the rest of Boogie Down Productions in 1989.

Boogie Down Productions.      Getty/Raymond Boyd

LL Cool J in 1990.

LL Cool J stands for "Ladies Love Cool James."      Getty/Rita Barros

Ice Cube, one of the founding members of N.W.A, in 1991.

Cube left N.W.A in 1989.      Getty/Al Pereira

Sir Mix-a-Lot performing "Baby Got Back" in 1992.

Sir Mix-a-Lot.      Getty/Tim Mosenfelder

The Notorious B.I.G., 2Pac, and Redman in 1993.

That's some lineup.      Getty/Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives

Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre at a party in New York City in 1994.

Snoop and Dre are one of hip-hop's most iconic duos.      Getty/Mark Peterson.

D'Angelo and Busta Rhymes together in a New York studio in 1995.

D'Angelo, Busta Rhymes.      Getty/Steve Eichner

Pras, Lauryn Hill, and Wyclef Jean – better known as Fugees – in 1996.

Fugees released their critically acclaimed sophomore album "The Score" in 1996.      Getty/Raymond Boyd

Wu-Tang Clan's Ol' Dirty Bastard in 1997.

ODB.      Getty/Bob Berg

Gang Starr in 1998.

Gang Starr was made up of rapper Guru and DJ Premier.      Getty/Raymond Boyd

DMX performing at Woodstock 1999.

DMX's Woodstock '99 show is the stuff of legend.      Getty/KMazu

Eminem in 2000.

Eminem.      Getty/Michel Linssen

Trick Daddy on the set of his "I'm a Thug" music video in 2001.

Tricky Daddy.      Getty/Scott Gries

Missy Elliott in 2002.

Misdemeanor's in the house.      Getty/Gregory Bojoquez

Lil Wayne in 2003.

Weezy F. Baby.      Getty/Gregory Bojorquez

The Game, real name Jayceon Terrell Taylor, in 2004.

The Game.      Getty/Gregory Bojorquez

50 Cent in 2005, shortly after the release of his sophomore album "The Massacre."

50 Cent.      Getty/Gregory Bojorquez

Lupe Fiasco on the set of his "Daydreamin'" music video in 2006.

Lupe!      Getty/Johnny Nunez

Lil' Kim in 2007.

Lil' Kim.      Getty/Paul Redmond

Redman and Method Man, widely regarded as one of the best duos in rap history, on stage together in 2008.

Redman and Method Man.      Getty/FilmMagic

MF Doom performing in Chicago in 2009.

MF Doom.      Getty/Roger Kisby

Big Boi of Outkast in 2010.

Big Boi is also known as Daddy Fat Sax.      Getty/Don Arnold

Tyler, the Creator and fellow Odd Future member Left Brain performing at SXSW in 2011.

Wolf gang.      Getty/Roger Kisby

Mac Miller in 2012.

Mac Miller passed away in September 2018.      Getty/David Wolff

Jay-Z performing in London in 2013.

Allow me to reintroduce myself.      Getty/Neil Lupin

2014 was the year the world met Bobby Shmurda.

Bobby Shmurda.      Getty/Bryan Bedder

A$AP Rocky in 2015.

A$AP Rocky.      Getty/

Drake performing in Chicago in 2016.

Drake.      Getty/Daniel Boczarski

XXXTentacion in 2017.

XXXTentacion was murdered in 2018.      Getty/Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald

Kendrick Lamar performing at the Grammy Awards in 2018.

King Kenny.      Getty/Christopher Polk

Kanye West in 2019.

Kanye West now goes by the name Ye.      Getty/Rich Fury

Rapper YG speaking during a Black Lives Matter demonstration in 2020.

YG, real name Keenon Daequan Ray Jackson.      Getty/Rich Fury

Takeoff of Migos in 2021.

Takeoff was shot dead in November 2022.      Getty/Rich Fury

Eminem in 2022.

Eminem performs at the Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show.      Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Travis Scott performs in London in 2023.

Travis Scott recently released his fourth studio album, "Utopia."      Getty/Simone Joyner