ABC News Studios Honors Juneteenth and Black Music Month With a One-Hour Primetime Special Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop

ABC News Studios’ Emmy® and GLAAD Award-winning series “Soul of a Nation” will celebrate hip-hop’s 50th anniversary with a one-hour special, “Hip-Hop @ 50: Rhythms, Rhymes & Reflections,” featuring thought-provoking conversations with artists, producers, executives and changemakers in the industry.

Honoring Juneteenth and Black Music Month, the primetime special, airing Monday, June 19, will detail the history of hip-hop, providing insight into its origins, growth and evolution over the last 50 years and where things stand today. 

ABC News’ fourth Juneteenth primetime special includes four roundtable conversations focusing on financial literacy, mental health, social justice and women’s empowerment hosted by hip-hop radio icon Angie Martinez, with rappers Master P, The Lox, E-40, Lola Brooke, Coi Leray, Joey Bada$$, Fat Joe and MC Lyte; radio and television host Charlamagne tha God; activists Michael Eric Dyson, Wes Jackson and Chelsea Miller; media personality Melyssa Ford; PUMA creative director and designer June Ambrose; Roc Nation co-president Shari Bryant; and “Earn Your Leisure”’s Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings. 

“It is an honor to be an executive producer and partner with ABC on “Hip-Hop @ 50: Rhythms, Rhymes & Reflections,” Martinez said. “Storytelling and hip-hop have always been at the core of my DNA and are the foundation for my company In Real Life Productions. It’s been a privilege to witness this international phenomenon from its inception and live through its constant evolution. This ABC NEWS SPECIAL will reflect on hip hop’s growth and cultural effects over the past 50 years.” 

ABC News contributors and entertainment experts Kelley Carter, Rocsi Diaz and Mike Muse will also be featured throughout the special. “Hip-Hop @ 50: Rhythms, Rhymes & Reflections” airs Monday, June 19, at 10:00 p.m. EDT on ABC, next day on Hulu.  

“Hip-Hop @ 50: Rhythms, Rhymes & Reflections – A SOUL OF A NATION Presentation” is executive produced by Catherine McKenzie and Martinez, in conjunction with In Real Life Productions. Tine is the series director. David Sloan is the senior executive producer of ABC News Studios. ABC News Studios is led by Mike Kelley. 

Art by Charlie Doves | ABC News*