YouTube selects 2,000 music videos from its “archival treasury” to celebrate 50 years of hip-hop

2023 marks the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, and YouTube is remembering the big names who have defined the genre since its inception. The leading video platform has launched a campaign called Fifty Deep, which includes an archive of 2,000 music videos that span hip-hop history.

Fifty Deep is bringing several fresh playlists to YouTube Music, including a 50-song survey that includes nearly four hours of hip-hop hits. According to YouTube Director of Black Music and Culture Tuma Basa, the selected songs will celebrate rappers “from Ice T to Ice Spice.”

Basa announced Fifty Deep in a YouTube blog post. “If you’re like me, you watched your favorite music videos on Yo! MTV Raps or BET’s Rap City over and over again. Fast forward to today and YouTube allows us to watch almost any video at any time in almost any place,” Basa wrote. “This year marks a whole half a century of Hip Hop’s existence. YouTube’s only been around about a third of that time but no matter what era of Hip Hop you’re looking for, one thing’s for sure – it lives on YouTube.”

Beyond YouTube Music, the platform-wide hip-hop initiative will reach Google’s Arts & Culture hub. YouTube is also bringing back the Avenues program it launched last year. With visits to cities like Philadelphia, Houston, and Detroit, YouTube provided educational outreach to underserved communities. Upon its return, YouTube Avenues will head to Atlanta, New Orleans, Baltimore, Raleigh/Durham, and Miami.

Though Fifty Deep program will run throughout the month, YouTube has big plans for August 11. That’s when the Hip Hop 50 Live concert will hit Yankee Stadium in New York; YouTube viewers will be able to check out live-streaming coverage of the event.

The Hip Hop 50 Live stream will be active on the official YouTube channel of Mass Appeal. The New York-based music magazine, co-owned by rapper Nas, has long had an active presence on YouTube.