This month, the Living Legends Foundation celebrated 50 years of hip hop!
The foundation celebrated by honoring the unsung heroes making moves in music. The gala was held in Hollywood honoring nine individuals who have impacted the culture outside of being artists. Some of the honorees included Rocky Bucano (executive director of the Universal Hip Hop Museum), Ed Lover (TV and radio personality), Nelson George (filmmaker), Tracy Jordan (co-founder of Jordan/Lazin Productions), and more.
During the red carpet we spoke with some of the honorees and guests in attendance.
“I never thought it would happen. When you have the skill and you’re lucky at the same time it’s a beautiful combination,” said Lover about being honored for his work. The presence of Black media personalities is very important, to make sure the right narrative about our music and culture is put out to the world. Before social media, the job of a Black media personality was to introduce us to new talent. An example of that would be “Yo! MTV Raps” which was hosted by Lover. Back in the day, a TV or radio host could make your career, they were the pulse of the culture.
It is about time those media personalities are recognized for their influence. “Everybody knows the stars, but nobody knows the star makers, and that’s what this organization is about,” said David Linton, board member of the Living Legends Foundation. The organization not only recognizes those who may not be in the public eye as much as artists. They also help to develop new talent behind the scenes. They offer scholarships to those in the field of media and production. A few of their scholarship recipients were in attendance that night taking in what could be their future.
Well-known TV and radio personality Tammi Mac was the host of the gala.
“Celebrating Black people behind the scenes is extremely important because we always seem to get left out of American history. It’s nice to have a space and place where we can go and know that our history is being preserved.”
To learn more livinglegendsfoundation.com
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