NEWARK, NJ – Redman, Queen Latifah, Treach, and other New Jersey Hip Hop royalty will be part of a special MTV Unplugged celebration of Hip Hop, the network has announced.
According to Billboard, MTV Unplugged Presents: A Hip-Hop 50th Celebration of Jersey’s Finest will air on Thursday, December 14, at 9 p.m. ET/PT
The show took place at Newark’s Symphony Hall on November 15. In addition to Redman, Latifah, and Treach, the bill included Wyclef Jean, The Sugarhill Gang, Poor Righteous Teachers, Heather B, Nikki D, Lady Luck, and Lords of the Underground.
The band was led by Adam Blackstone, the Emmy-winning music director who has worked with Eminem, Rihanna and Janet Jackson, among others.
You can see a promo for the show below.
Those that miss the special’s first airing will have other chances. BET will show it on Friday, December 15, at 8 p.m. ET/PT. On Tuesday, December 19, it will be on VH1 at the same time.
MTV Unplugged, New Jersey and Hip Hop have intersected before, most famously at Newark native Lauryn Hill‘s 2001 performance for the franchise, which was released as an album the following year.
Queen Latifah, who is an executive producer on the new special, has been celebrating Hip Hop’s half-century mark in other ways as well.
She and Whoopi Goldberg teamed up back in August to curate a unique exhibit that celebrates the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop.
Hypebeast reported that the two women co-curated the exhibition, which was held at the Morrison Hotel Gallery Sunset Marquis in Los Angeles and Morrison Hotel Gallery 116 Prince Street in New York City.
The exhibit featured 50 iconic images from the Hip Hop scene, per the outlet. And each image “create[d] a visual odyssey that captures the essence of Hip Hop’s evolution from its birth in the Bronx to its global prominence
Icons such as Run-DMC, 2Pac, JAY-Z, and Eminem were all included, and works by Lynn Goldsmith, Josh Cheuse, and Mike Miller were prominently featured
