All Rap is Local: The Playlist
![All Rap is Local map](https://cdn.statically.io/img/media.npr.org/assets/img/2023/08/10/hiphop50_promoimage-all2_wide-2f776b5995271e73439894bc788ce6261a5c26dc.jpg?s=1100&c=85&f=jpeg)
Jackie Lay & Connie Hanzhang Jin/NPR
Stream the playlist via Spotify or YouTube.
As it celebrates its 50th birthday, hip-hop is a global phenomenon. But to map the music's true impact, you have to look closer. Here's a playlist guide to rap history, charted across more than a dozen cities.
More on the story of hip-hop at 50:
- All Rap Is Local: A city-by-city guide to hip-hop's first half-century
- Rap at the Tiny Desk: Every hip-hop concert in our long-running series
- Code Switch looks at how hip-hop has gone from "fight the power" to advertising for the power
- The story of hip-hop's first night: How a party in the Bronx gave birth to the genre