SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT’S CERTIFIED ANNOUNCES OVER 50 PRODUCT RELEASES TO CELEBRATE HIP HOP’S 50^TH ANNIVERSARY

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH MASS APPEAL

NEW TWO-DISC COMPILATION RAISED BY RAP: 50 YEARS OF HIP HOP OUT JULY 28 IN ADDITION TO CLASSIC RE-ISSUES FROM RUN DMC, NAS, & MANY MORE

“MADE BY HIP HOP” ORIGINAL CONTENT SERIES LAUNCHED TODAY, WILL CONTINUE ROLLING OUT ON A WEEKLY BASIS

Paying homage to some of the greatest voices of all-time, Sony Music Entertainment (SME) and Certified, the digital destination platform celebrating SME’s R&B and Hip Hop catalogs, will unveil over 50 product releases via Legacy Recordings, Record Store Day, Vinyl Me, Please, Get On Down, Mobile Fidelity, and Urban Outfitters in 2023 to celebrate, commemorate, and honor the 50^th anniversary of Hip Hop in partnership with entertainment company Mass Appeal. This bevy of titles spans new physical configurations, first-time digital releases, and limited-edition vinyl from the genre’s most influential and indelible icons, including Big Pun, Cypress Hill, Nas, Outkast, Q-Tip, RUN DMC, Three 6 Mafia, Wu-Tang Clan, and more.

Kicking off this celebratory season, the first release will be Nas’s Made You Look: God’s Son Live 2002 as an exclusive Record Store Day vinyl out on April 22. This sought-after live record graces DSPs for the first-time ever on April 21. It notably captured Nas’s historic sold-out headline show at Webster Hall in New York, NY. Fans have clamored for its release for years, and it finally drops on streaming platforms in 2023.

On its heels, RUN DMC’s 1988 classic, Tougher Than Leather, arrives on black vinyl via Legacy Recordings on May 12 just in time to celebrate the monumental 35^th anniversary. In conjunction, Get On Down will be repressing a special edition blue colored vinyl to release on the same day. Both may be pre-ordered now HERE. This fall, it will also be featured in Vinyl Me, Please’s Hip-Hop subscription.

Sony’s HH50 campaign is also partnering with Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab. In the summer and fall, the label will release audiophile-grade versions of RUN DMC’s iconic albums – RUN DMC (1984), King of Rock (1985), and Raising Hell (1986)-on 180g SuperVinyl LPs. Sourced from the original master tapes, the numbered-edition reissues will be pressed at RTI, housed in Stoughton gatefold jackets, and feature liner notes. All LPs are available for preorder now HERE.

Next up, Nas’ fan favorite The Lost Tapes celebrates its 20^th anniversary and gets a vinyl update on May 26 with pre-order available now through Legacy Recordings HERE. To accompany the latter, Get On Down is also releasing Nas’ The Lost Tapes on limited edition double colored-vinyl in a gatefold jacket with numbered OBI limited to 2000 units. The Lost Tapes 20th Anniversary special-colored vinyl edition is available for pre-order now, exclusively at www.getondown.com.

Serving up a fascinating overview and comprehensive history lesson, SME’s Certified will reveal the brand-new compilation, Raised By Rap: 50 Years of Hip Hop, on July 28. It will be available as a double-LP vinyl with exclusive color variants at Target and Urban Outfitters.

It traces a roadmap through rap music, curating and collating decades of hits from legendary acts to newcomers including records by 21 Savage, A Tribe Called Quest, Bia, Doja Cat, Fugees, Future, Mobb Deep, Nas, RUN DMC, Wu-Tang Clan, and more. The pre-order opens on June 1, launching in tandem with Black Music Month.

Mass Appeal and Certified have also developed a new socially driven content series called “Made By Hip Hop” which launched its first video today (watch HERE). The series delves into various Hip Hop subjects through the lens of the SME/Certified repertoire and features influential personalities speaking to Hip Hop’s impact on the culture. Releasing weekly throughout the year with the next video set for release April 18^th, the content series aims to showcase different themes (fashion, science, etc.) and their relationship to Hip Hop.

As part of the program, these luminaries will candidly dive into the legacy of Hip Hop, affirming you can always learn from your favorite rapper.

As part of Sony’s HH50 campaign, multiple albums in Sony’s Hip-Hop catalog will be featured into 2024 as part of Vinyl Me, Please’s Hip-Hop and Essentials Subscriptions. Albums by RUN DMC, Wu-Tang Clan, Boogie Down Productions, Lauryn Hill, Q-Tip, and more will be featured. 

The campaign also includes in-person activations in New York City. Launched in January, Sony Music Entertainment/Certified served as a supporting partner of an exclusive preview event launching the new Fotografiska New York exhibition Hip Hop: Conscious, Unconscious. Featuring over 200 photographs dated 1972 to 2022, the exhibition traces the rise and proliferation of Hip Hop through five decades of work from the trailblazing image-makers who helped codify Hip Hop as the most influential pop culture movement of its generation. Created in partnership with Mass Appeal and presented in collaboration with Chase Marriott Bonvoy credit cards, it opened to the public on January 26 and runs through May 21.

Further collaborations and activations from Mass Appeal and SME related to #HipHop50 will be announced in the coming months.

The partnership is the latest announcement surrounding Mass Appeal’s #HipHop50 initiative – a massive cross-platform initiative that celebrates Hip Hop’s momentous anniversary in the most authentic and globally impactful way possible by acknowledging and recognizing Hip Hop as not only a genre but a movement that has impacted the worldwide community.

About #HipHop50

Hip Hop 50 is Mass Appeal’s love letter to Hip Hop. A manifestation of the company’s commitment to celebrating the culture in the most authentic and globally impactful way possible. Hip Hop 50 is activating through unique storytelling that is realized in timeless content, original music, live experiences, strategic partnerships, custom products and much much more. Every facet of the Hip Hop 50 Universe includes a charitable component connected to the Universal Hip Hop Museum. Find #HipHop50 online, on-air and on the block.

About Mass Appeal

Mass Appeal is an entertainment company dedicated to telling stories from the perspective of those who shape and shift culture. Since 1996, we have documented the emerging movements that influence popular ideas. Today, Mass Appeal is the elevated voice of Hip Hop and its ever-expanding sphere of influence. Integrated offerings in content, music, and creative services stoke Mass Appeal’s ability to maximize the impact of our output. Our diverse school of thought separates us from friends and foes alike. Follow Mass Appeal on all social platforms @massappeal.

About Certified

Certified is dedicated to the history and influence of R&B and Hip-Hop, music that continues to shape the culture. With exclusive access to Sony Music Entertainment’s (SME) archives, Certified provides access to rare and unreleased albums, singles, remixes, photos and video footage from iconic SME labels like Jive, Loud, Ruffhouse, J Records, Arista, LaFace, So So Def, Profile, RCA Records, Epic, and Columbia—all to help tell the stories of undisputed classics of Hip-Hop and R&B.

@thisiscertified

About Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab

The world’s leading audiophile reissue label, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MoFi) is renowned for its commitment to maintaining uncompromising quality and preserving the artist’s original intent. Since its inception in 1977, MoFi has released the definitive-sounding versions of many of the greatest albums in history. Recognizing the importance of getting every detail right, MoFi sources its Original Master Recording releases from the original master tapes. That hallmark — along with a horizontal Original Master Recording stripe on the front cover and numbered-edition stamp on the back — has helped make MoFi recognized around the globe. MoFi’s singularity extends to its incessant efforts to push the limits of sound reproduction via innovations like the UltraDisc One-Step LP. To achieve its goals, the label established its own mastering studio that allows its engineers to execute the cutting process in-house and ensure that no artifacts are added to the final product: the best-sounding vinyl LPs and SACDs available. To learn more, explore mofi.com and follow @mobilefidelityofficial on IG.

About Vinyl Me, Please

VMP (Vinyl Me, Please) is a community of explorers and storytellers who navigate between sounds that are lost and found to create transcendent tangible music experiences. VMP offers customers four different monthly vinyl subscriptions (Essentials, Classics, Hip Hop, and Country), an online record store with exclusive pressings, and a multitude of editorial content, storytelling, and events. In February 2023, VMP also launched a year-long dedicated record club with Dolly Parton titled VMP Limited: Vinyl Me, Parton. Through these offerings we embark on explorations of familiar sounds from our past, and new sounds for our future. To learn more, visit vinylmeplease.com and follow @vinylmeplease on socials.

About Get On Down

Founded in 2010 Get On Down has reissued classic Hip-Hop albums spanning the 80s, 90s and 2000s on vinyl, CD, cassette, 7-inch, and as deluxe box sets and limited edition bundles celebrating landmark releases.  Get On Down continues to support Hip-Hop culture by releasing and distributing albums by independent Hip-Hop artists and producers from the East Coast to the West Coast and Down South. More recently Get On Down has added funk, soul, and jazz albums that were integral to the foundations of Hip-Hop. Visit www.getondown.com and follow on IG @shopgetondown to get new Hip-Hop releases and limited edition reissues.