Hip Hop Hooray: A Wonderful Glimpse Into a Cultural Phenomenon

On Thursday night, the Paley Center in New York City hosted a first look at the upcoming VH1 documentary, The Tanning of America: One Nation Under Hip Hop, that debuts this week. Attendees got to see the first two parts of the four-part series, which covered the early days of the musical genre, putting it into historical context.

The documentary provided insight and analysis from the likes of Dr. Dre, Russell Simmons, Sean Combs, Mariah Carey, Rick Rubin, and more than a dozen others (if not more). They reminisced on days gone by and how they paved the way for the rich music and culture that we see today. For hip-hop lovers and others, this documentary is well worth the watch, and I plan to tune into the latter half of it later this week.

This event, though, was particularly insightful as it drew an eclectic group of panelists to discuss the series and their personal memories. Gayle King did a superb job moderating the discussion between business moguls, hip hop artists, and Rev. Al Sharpton. It perfectly capped off the evening full of recollections and observations.

You can watch the hour-long discussion, below: