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Celebrating 50 years of hip-hop in Nashville ahead of city's New Year's Eve celebration

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — We’re just several days away from one of the city’s biggest celebrations, Nashville’s Big Bash, which will ring in 2024. The show will feature a lot of amazing artists as well as a tribute to the 50th anniversary of hip-hop.

The 50-minute family-friendly segment is great for the whole family and will kick off the nightly celebrations. Gates will open at the park at 4:30 p.m. and the tribute will start at 5:15 p.m.

The Music City Hip-Hop 50 is being put on by the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp and will feature some amazing local artists like Jason Eskridge, Tim Gent and Daisha McBride.

There’s even a special guest DJ set in the line up featuring none other than Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell, who believe it or not has a music degree and did a DJ set during his campaign.

Local leaders said this is all planned to honor the roots, rhymes, creators and collaborations that have found inspiration right here in Music City.

O’Connell is excited to highlight the diversity of Nashville’s music scene and looks forward to the challenge of performing next to some special names.

The tribute will also help mark the 20th anniversary of The Lovenoise Group, an urban promoter that provides performance platforms for local urban artists and a community hub where black music lovers can come together to experience the power of culture.

The segment is being curated by Eric Holt who is part of Lovenoise and an assistant professor at Belmont.

The NYE celebrations are free and open to the public! Just make sure to arrive early for a good spot. Once the tribute is over, the crowd will gear up for the Big Bash which starts at 6:30 p.m.

Plan on heading to Nashville's Big Bash as well? Here's what you need to know.

As Channel 5 turns 70, we remember 1960s RnB showcase Night Train

For people of my generation, in our younger days we spent part of our weekends watching music shows like American Bandstand and Soul Train. That was before the age of music videos. Several years before Soul Train was syndicated out of Chicago, another syndicated R&B show was taped in Nashville at NewsChannel 5. Night Train aired in the 60s and included what may have been the first TV appearance for legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix. Forrest Sanders has another great look back at station history.

-Lelan Statom