Mastercard and BuzzFeed collaborated for a pre-Grammy concert that was one for the 80’s and 90’s babies.
The event was TBT Night as an ode to hip-hop legends that paved the way for the current generation, and the lineup consisted of Slick Rick, EPMD, Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie, GZA, Ghostface Killah and Raekwon.
The Master Card House itself was intimate and it brought the crowd closer to the artists that they’ve been listening to since they were teenagers. It was an amazing moment to see an older audience rapping along to the songs that came out more than twenty years ago and having the same energy as if they were still kids rapping back these classic songs. That was able to show how important it is to recognize past artists that have solidified hip-hop to what it has become today. Mastercard was able to set a vintage vibe by also selling vinyls of current albums such as Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN and Childish Gambino’s “Awaken, My Love!” and also selling classics such as Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Nas’s Illmatic. This was a nice touch to add to the vibe of bringing the past and current together and blending together different generations that love the same music.
Biz Markie, EPMD and Big Daddy Kane performed songs from their immense catalogues and early on set the vibe for the night. Slick Rick came out with his iconic iced out eye patch and easily had the most jewelry on in the building. The star-studded show’s final act were three members of the Wu-Tang Clan, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah and GZA, who emphasized that Wu-Tang is forever. They did their iconic song “C.R.E.A.M.” and there wasn’t one person in the venue that didn’t know the words to that song. They also paid respects to the late ODB by performing “Shimmy Shimmy Ya”. Seeing the energy from these artists who are all legends in hip-hop in their own right, and seeing how this audience reacted to the songs that they might not have heard live in over a decade, was definitely a moment they won’t forget.
Earlier in the evening our reporter Kadeem Lundy was on the scene for another fun event. Macy’s Herald Square and Bulova celebrated Grammy Week with special guest Calum Scott. British breakout star Calum Scott helped Bulova celebrate the upcoming 60th Annual Grammy award ceremony with an intimate cocktail reception at Stella 34 Trattoria in Macy’s Herald Square in New York on January 25th. Scott performed his song “Dancing on My Own”, as well as new single “You Are the Reason”.
