Hey Young World,
This is the August 2023 edition of 1520’s Record Report, our series of monthly articles in which we recommend things we’re currently into.
We’ve picked the name Record Report in honor of Hip Hop magazine The Source, which’s album review section went under that name and, when we were growing up, told us what was worth copping and what wasn’t. In our own small way, we hope to do the same.
Zach Bryan - Zach Bryan (Album)
We highly recommended country singer Zach Bryan’s previous album ‘American Heartbreak’ last year, and his new one might be even better. We could go on, but this time we’ve decided to let him to the talking.
The Wonder Years (TV Series)
We’re currently watching the second season of the sitcom ‘The Wonder Years’, which is a remake of the sitcom - you guessed it - ‘The Wonder Years’. The original, of course, is a classic that needs no recommending. We are however here to tell you that the remake, about a Black family from Montgomery, Alabama in the 1960s, is a treasure as well. Like some of the best sitcoms of history, it perfectly balances levity and (occasionally grim) reality. The actors and the setpieces are great too, which is not always a given anymore in sitcoms.
On Growing Up With Hip Hop (Article)
In celebartion of Hip Hop’s 50th birthday, Marius wrote a long, personal piece about growing up with Hip Hop.
Today is Hip Hop's official 50th birthday (which has been celebrated all year under the banner #HipHop50), marking the now mythical day on which DJ Kool Herc first used two turntables to loop the very dance-friendly drum breaks of the funk songs he played, thereby inventing the breakbeat, during a back-to-school jam his sister organized in the basement of their apartment building 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx, New York City.
Whenever someone asks me where the name 1520 comes from, I always recount said story, and explain that Millennials, which were our exclusive focus when we started 1520, are also known as the Hip Hop generation. Usually, that's enough to make people understand. That is not the whole story, however. Not even close. In truth, Hip Hop fundamentally shaped who I am as a person and, through that, the way we do business at 1520. So for Hip Hop’s 50th birthday, let me take you all the way back.
We’d appreciate the read, if you haven’t yet.
One Love,
Marius | 1520