Hip-hop was born 50 years ago at a party held by teenagers in the Bronx, NY, and the influence of the culture has been widespread for decades since. One place where hip-hop has had lots of impact? Television.
During hip-hop’s golden age (roughly from 1988 to 1995), the genre started to take up major space on television screens. Fox’s sketch comedy series “In Living Color” – which featured a majority Black cast – was infused with hip-hop culture and featured some of the world’s biggest hip-hop acts as musical guests. Then Will Smith took hip-hop culture straight to primetime with his sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.”
In more recent decades, multiple TV series have dramatized the rise of hip-hop and the different aspects of life it touches. Netflix’s “The Get Down” headed back to the ’70s in a fictionalized version of the genre’s birth, while Fox’s mega-hit series “Empire” imagined a fictional family with a sprawling musical empire. Other series like ABC’s “Queens” and FX’s “Atlanta” looked at what being a rap figure in the hip-hop industry can be like. Ahead, these are eight hip-hop TV shows to celebrate the culture’s anniversary.
Everett Collection / Courtesy of Netflix
"The Get Down"
“The Get Down” is a fictional series created by Baz Luhrmann and Stephen Adly Guirgis that tells, in part, the story of the birth of hip-hop. Set in the 1970s, it follows a group of teens as they dream of becoming musical artists, and even includes some real people, like Grandmaster Flash. The Netflix series only had one season (released in two parts in 2016 and 2017), but it’s a very good one. The cast includes Justice Smith, Shameik Moore, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jimmy Smits, Jaden Smith, Daveed Diggs, and Giancarlo Esposito.
Everett Collection / Hulu/Courtesy Everett Collection
"Wu-Tang: An American Saga"
“Wu-Tang: An American Saga” aired for three seasons on Hulu and showed a fictionalized version of the origins of the Wu-Tang Clan. The cast includes Ashton Sanders as RZA, Shameik Moore as Raekwon, Siddiq Saunderson as Ghostface Killah, TJ Atoms as Ol’ Dirty Bastard, and David Brewster, aka Dave East, as Method Man. The beloved series ends with the group in 1997, when they released their second studio album, “Wu-Tang Forever.” The series itself premiered in 2019 before wrapping up in early 2023.
Everett Collection / Matt Dinerstein
"Empire"
“Empire” became a massive hit for Fox when it premiered in 2015. The series was about the fictional Lyon family, led by Lucius (Terrence Howard), a hip-hop mogul who’s trying to decide which of his three sons will take over his company upon his death. Andre (Trai Byers) is the company’s CFO, Jamal (Jussie Smollett) is an R&B singer, and Hakeem (Bryshere Y. Gray) is a rapper. Taraji P. Henson steals scenes are their mother, Cookie. The show also featured tons of guest appearances and cameos from real rappers, including Ludacris, Da Brat, Queen Latifah, Snoop Dogg, Pitbull, Timbaland, Xzibit, and DJ Funkmaster Flex. The series ended in 2020.
Everett Collection / Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection
"Entergalactic"
“Entergalactic” is a musical TV special created by Kid Cudi as a companion to his 2022 album, also called “Entergalactic.” Both were released in September 2022. The special is a romantic comedy that uses Cudi’s hip-hop tracks as its soundtrack, and Cudi voices the main character, Jabari. There are also other rappers in the voice cast, including Ty Dolla $ign and 070 Shake. “Entergalactic” is nominated for outstanding animated program at the 2023 Emmys.
Everett Collection / FX Networks/Courtesy Everett Collection
"Atlanta"
“Atlanta” (created by Donald Glover, who himself is a rapper under the name Childish Gambino) follows Glover as Earn, music manager for his rapper cousin Paper Boi (Oscar nominee Brian Tyree Henry), who starts to find citywide fame thanks to his eponymous song “Paper Boi.” The series, which premiered in 2016 and ended in 2022, also stars LaKeith Stanfield as their friend Darius and Zazie Beetz as Van, and the inventive series explores all the uniqueness of Atlanta’s hip-hop world. The series features quite a few rappers in guest roles, including an episode where Offset, Quavo, and the late Takeoff pose as the group’s drug dealers. The sprawling series also deals with some issues affecting the music industry, like an episode that imagines a Black Justin Bieber, or in season two when Paper Boi starts to get white fans who start performing acoustic covers.
Everett Collection / 20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection
"In Living Color"
“In Living Color” was a sketch comedy series that ran from 1990 to 1994, and the show was steeped in hip-hop culture. The series had its famous dance troupe, The Fly Girls, often made jokes about hip-hop during sketches, and, starting with the second season, featured a heavy roster of musical performers. They included Queen Latifah, Heavy D, Public Enemy, Eazy-E, and A Tribe Called Quest.
Everett Collection / NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection
"The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air"
“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” isn’t about hip-hop, but the influence of rap in the series, which ran for six seasons, can’t be understated. Before the series, Will Smith and Jeff Townes were DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, and they were a thriving hip-hop duo throughout the 1980s and early ’90s. Then “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” premiered in 1990, with Smith as the start but frequent appearances from Townes as his best friend Jazz. Smith, of course, also rapped the iconic theme song. The show also had many appearances from famous faces in the world of hip-hop and R&B like Queen Latifah (pictured above), Heavy D, Bell Biv DeVoe, Boyz II Men, and legendary producer Quincy Jones.
HBO
"Rap Sh!t"
Max’s “Rap Sh!t,” premiered in 2022 and introduced us to Aida Osman as Shawna and KaMillion as Mia, two estranged friends trying to make it as rappers in Miami. As Shawna and Mia release a viral hit, they try to come out of the music industry on the other side, but the chaos of their lives rages on. Plus, the show features cameos from hip-hop stars including Guapdad 4000, Maliibu Miitch, and Timbaland. “Rap Sh!t” was created by “Insecure” star Issa Rae and is set to return for season two this fall.
Everett Collection / VH1/Courtesy Everett Collection
"The Breaks"
VH1’s “The Breaks” started as a 2016 TV movie about three friends living in the 1990s hip-hop scene. The network picked up the movie to become a full series, released in 2017, starring Afton Williamson, Wood Harris, and Tristan Mack Wilds. “The Breaks” was inspired by Dan Charnas’s 2011 book, “The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip-Hop,” and focused on the friends trying to find their footing on the business side of the industry. The show was renewed for season two on BET but was ultimately canceled despite a strong fanbase.
