With the 50th anniversary of hip-hop quickly looming, New York City continues to show its appreciation for the genre after announcing four new commemorative MetroCards honoring LL Cool J, the late Pop Smoke, Rakim and Cam’ron.
The special edition MetroCards are available on a first-come, first-served basis at various vending machines from the artist’s birthplace. Cards for LL are public in Queens at the Forest Hills-71st Avenue station on the E, F, M and R subway lines, while those for Brooklyn-born rapper Pop Smoke are on sale at the Canarsie-Rockaway Parkway station on the L line. They are also available at the New Lots Avenue station on the 3 line. New York’s MTA system distributed 40,000 cards of LL and Pop for sale this past Saturday (Aug. 5), while an additional 40,000 for Long Island-bred Rakim and Harlem-born Cam’ron will arrive systemwide later this month.
Over the weekend, LL Cool J celebrated the genre with his annual concert Rock The Bells, at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens. The stacked lineup featured the Radio MC, Queen Latifah, Ludacris, Swizz Beatz, Method Man & Redman, and more. On the genre’s official birthday this Friday (Aug. 11), LL will embark on his F.O.R.C.E. featuring The Roots, Queen Latifah, De La Soul, Common, Rick Ross, Juvenile, Method Man & Redman and more.
“People should know that the names you see there aren’t the only names,” LL told Billboard last April ahead of the tour announcement. “There’ll be special guests. There’ll be other announcements coming. There’ll be other people added. The bill will get better and bigger and different. Just come. If you a hip-hop fan and you love the culture and you really wanna celebrate 50 years of hip-hop, come to that F.O.R.C.E. Live. Come check us out. Because myself, Quest, [Black] Thought, like all of us, we’re bringing it. It’s gonna be a lot of fun. It’s gonna be a lot of hip-hop. Lot of beats. Lot of surprises. Musical changes. I mean, the goal is to come out there and have fun. It’s not really about me, it’s about the culture.
Check out the special-edition MetroCards below.
