RVA Rapper’s Delight: Celebrating 50 years of Richmond Hip-Hop

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) -Boom bap, bass and bars will flow through the Hippodrome on Aug. 11 as they celebrate the 50 years of Richmond hip-hop!

“RVA Rapper’s Delight” is all about paying homage to Central Virginia’s hip-hop trailblazers through the past five decades.

“Not only spotlight hip-hop but hip-hop in the city, which has become a seriously important thing within the culture of Richmond as an entire city,” said Ant the Symbol, the show curator.

“Ant the Symbol” organized this event along with Shockoe Records. They saw other anniversary events popping up in other major cities and decided Richmond needed one of its own.

”We also wanted to spotlight the people who are making major moves right now. We’ve got Noah-O, Radio B, Cane, Reppa Ton and Nickelus F, who will be headlining,” said Ant the Symbol.

Nickelus F has made music for most of his life and even worked with other great legends like Drake. He also competed on the “Freestyle Friday” segment on BET’s 106 & Park and was crowned the champion seven weeks in a row.

He was later inducted into the program’s Hall of Fame in 2007. This event is personal for him because he remembers the times when Richmond’s hip-hop wasn’t celebrated.

”I remember when we didn’t have much of a hip-hop scene out here. we had a few hip-hop artists but there wasn’t much of a scene. The doors weren’t always open for us to do shows,” said Nickelus F.

It took years for the music scene to grow and change the culture of our city.

”I think we took those opportunities, and we helped enrich the city with what we offered. In terms of our music and culture that we’ve built here, “ said Nickelus F.

Mike street will host the event with Hip-Hop Henry keeping the energy flowing through the night. For Noah-O, he thinks this is just the beginning for our river city’s hip-hop scene.

”I feel like our story hasn’t really been told on a national, international level yet. Hopefully myself and as well with again my peers, we can continue to do that so that the next generation feels like someone help pave the way or represent the same place they’re from,” said Noah-O.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 11 and the event goes until 10 p.m. For more information and tickets head over to ShockoeRecords.com.

Copyright 2023 WWBT. All rights reserved.