Hip Hop music has officially become the first genre of music to produce a song that premiered from outside of the Earth. This milestone was achieved on April 7, 2023, by Detroit rapper Lazarus as his song “Pale Blue Dot” debuted on the International Space Station which hovers 250 miles above our planet.
Hip Hop as both a musical genre and culture formed in the 1970s when block parties were blossoming in New York City. Once thought to be a subculture that would dissipate away, Hip Hop grew and flourished passed boundaries that nobody ever expected it to. In 50 years, it has become the dominant music of the world transcending races, boundaries, cultures and the borders of all countries. Now it has once again elevated beyond all other musical forms to become the first genre to have a song premiere from outer space.
For this groundbreaking task, Dr. James Green, who was the Chief Scientist at NASA for 42 years, was looking for a particular type of rapper who had the skillset to merge the worlds of science and bombastic lyrical precision. In comes Dr. Kamran Rashid Khan, a practicing physician who is also an award-winning Hip-Hop artist. Lazarus asked Dr. James Green, during the live broadcast of this event “Hey Jim, did you ever think that the first song to be played from outer space would be a Hip Hop song?” Dr. Green replied by exclaiming “Never in my wildest dreams!” Dr. Green is not new to the world of mixing science and entertainment as he was also previously chosen for his insights by famous film director Ridley Scott for his film “The Martian” starring Matt Damon. Now he’s collaborated with Lazarus to help him portray a realistic presentation about space.
The song has made world history by becoming the first to premiere from space and is now getting ready to launch on all digital platforms April 21st. A big salute to Hip Hop for continuing to break boundaries and exceeding all possible limits. Where can we expect Hip Hop to go next?
