Last week, we recorded a live podcast in front of a sold-out crowd at Highline Ballroom, celebrating Roc-A-Fella Records. We brought Biggs, Hip-Hop, Chaka, Lenny S, Just Blaze, Young Guru, Freeway, Young Gunz and Jim Jones together on stage to talk all things Roc. To have a spirited, hilarious, nostalgic, gem-filled conversation with some of our musical heroes, was amazing. To share it with you is the best. Full video coming soon; audio up now on iTunes and SoundCloud and the rest! 📸: @calligrafist

A post shared by ItsTheReal (@itsthereal) on Aug 2, 2017 at 5:40am PDT

July 26, 2017 will go down in history as a monumental evening in New York hip hop. 

Hosted by Hip Hop sketch comedy duo ItsTheReal, the founding fathers and mother of one of Hip Hop’s treasured labels, Roc a Fella, came together to discuss how the powerful force came to be in 1996. 

As the audience made its way into the Highline Ballroom, DJ Neil Armstrong fulfilled his duty in setting the mood for the evenings proceedings. Vintage Jay, Camron, and Kanye records seeped through the sound system and I couldn’t be happier. 

The live taping began with Kareem “Biggs” Burke, one of the first who played an instrumental role in shaping Roc a Fella. Later joined by Kyambo “Hip Hop” Joshua and Lenny S, the three gentlemen spoke about how each became involved in what was to become a heroic Hip-Hop label. The entire evening came to be a domino effect, with guests like Young Guru, Just Blaze, Chaka Pilgrim, members of State Property and Jim Jones strolling down Roc a Fella memory lane. 

The entire 2 hours and change couldn’t have been what it was without Jeff and Eric Rosenthal asking all of the right questions. From the makings of ‘The Blueprint’ (it took 3 solid days) to how ‘You Don’t Know’ was first sent to the late Prodigy, timeless gems were dropped and it easily became the hottest evening in New York. Roc a Fella was always deemed as my favorite Hip-Hop label/collective, but this evening heightened my love for the team thanks to the nostalgia and they efforts in making history in the culture.

If you missed the epic listening, stream below.

Photo credit: ItsTheReal/Calligrafist