Mayor Eric Adams hosts the biggest names in hip-hop at City Hall on the eve of rap’s 50th anniversary

Mayor Eric Adams caused a trill on Monday, inviting some of hip-hop’s biggest names to City Hall to celebrate the genre’s upcoming 50th anniversary next year.

Hizzoner, wearing a Run-DMC style tracksuit, stood shoulder to shoulder with Grandmaster Flash, Slick Rick, Master Gee of the Sugarhill Gang, founding member of Run-DMC Darryl McDaniels, and others, part of a fundraiser in partnership with Universal Hip Hop Museum.

“There was no way I thought when I was in the studio editing ‘Rapper’s Delight’ that I would be sitting here at City Hall with the mayor and all,” Master Gee told the audience.

“And the fact that we’re turning 50, the fact that we’re going to be doing this celebration, the fact that we’re here with so many incredible people — that’s just so deeply, phenomenally wonderful,” he said.

The City Hall press conference kicks off a year-long series of events and fundraisers leading up to the Bronx-based museum’s official opening next year.

“When they first came up to me and said, ‘Listen, what we’re going to do, 50 events, 50 days celebrating 50 years of hip-hop,’ I thought, ‘That’s a lot of 50s.'” , rapper Roxanne Shante told the crowd.

“But I’m honored to be able to participate,” she said.

Adams, meanwhile, said listening to hip-hop energized him as he rose through the ranks of the NYPD before entering politics.

“I remember running home to see ‘Video Music Box,'” Adams said. “[The show’s co-creater] Ralph [McDaniels] and I went to high school together. And he had this vision that when other networks didn’t want the artists to perform, Ralph McDaniels would allow Ralph McDaniels to put the platform down and make it a conversation.

“And what we’re saying, hip-hop is 50, is that hip-hop has grown in a way that they’re not being taken advantage of,” Adams said.

McDaniels, a legendary hip-hop DJ and VJ, said education had to be part of the endeavor.

“It took a long time,” he said. “We’re very fortunate to have all of these entertainers here, but I’m here to talk a little bit about some of the educational institutions involved, from all the libraries in New York City to the museums.

“Just so you know, education is the fifth element of hip-hop and that’s going to be represented at this celebration, too,” he added.