Mass Appeal’s Hip-Hop 50 celebration continues with a new EP, this one produced and curated by Swizz Beatz. The Hip Hop 50: The Soundtrack series kicked off last year with DJ Premier‘s Hip-Hop 50 Vol. 1 featuring the “Beat Breaks” with Nas and “Remy Rap” with Remy Ma and Rapsody. Now, Swizz Beatz presents six new tracks showing off the span of talent hip-hop offers, from old-schoolers like Jadakiss to current stars like Benny The Butcher, Fivio Foreign, and Jay Electronica, as well as future ones like Bandmanrill and Scar Lip.
Swizz has been working hard to celebrate hip-hop history even before teaming up with Mass Appeal for Hip-Hop 50. His and Timbaland’s Verzuz hits battles were a way to highlight the legends of yesteryear and bring their contributions to the hip-hop canon to the fore for younger generations who might not remember the era. However, their efforts were nearly derailed after partnering with Triller, prompting them to sue the streaming platform’s parent company for $28 million. A settlement was reached last September in which Swizz and Tim will receive a greater ownership stake, giving it to the artists who appear on the platform. However, there haven’t been any Verzuz events announced since then.
Meanwhile, the Hip-Hop 50 celebrations continue, with the Grammys producing a massive tribute performance and outlets like BET joining the fun with the help of rappers like Black Thought. Uproxx’s own coverage so far includes interviews with DJ Premier and Just Blaze.
Hip-Hop 50: Vol. 2 is out now via Mass Appeal. Check it out below.