Summary
Hip hop has grown from a cultural revolution to the dominant global music genre in just forty years. From Executive Producers Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson and Tarik "Black Thought" Trotter, each episode of this new documentary series focuses on a groundbreaking song pivotal to the evolution of American music and culture. Artists deconstruct their composition, revisit the impact the song had on them personally, and dissect the socio-economic and cultural conditions that inspired the landmark work and gave voice to a generation. Part of AMC's Visionaries series and from Oscar and Emmy-winning Jigsaw Productions in association with Two One Five Entertainment, Hip Hop: The Songs That Shook America premieres in 2019 with six episodes: JESUS WALKS by Kanye West | In an era of excess, a Christian rap song challenges the church and changes its own ideals about religion and rap music ALRIGHT by Kendrick Lamar | Making a protest music in the era of Black Lives Matter ROCK BOX by Run-DMC | How one song tore down barriers between rock & rap, race and class in America LADIES FIRST by Queen Latifah | At the height of hip hop's misogynistic themes, the culture bows down to their queens of rap ELEVATORS by OutKast | Hip hop's southern voice breaks through with an unsuspecting song that redefines rap's cultural and geographic boundaries THE BRIDGE by Marley Marl and MC Shan | A song designed to foster community pride, ignites rap's most epic battle
