Earlier this week, on August 11, Hip-Hop celebrated its 49th birthday. Now deemed a holiday, August 11 honors the 1973 date that DJ Kool Herc and his sister Cynthia Campbell hosted a Back To School Jam at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue’s rec center in New York’s Bronx borough.

Approaching 50 years later, Hip-Hop continues to be a dominating force in culture. Decades after rapping, DJ’ing, breaking, and graffiti proved to be anything but fads, Hip-Hop’s style, attitude, and message drive movements worldwide.

1984 Was The Year That Changed Everything For Hip-Hop

In celebrating the music that Hip-Hop Heads love, The Rub has compiled the ultimate yearbook. The DJ crew of DJ Eleven and DJ Ayres (celebrating their own 20th anniversary) compiled a year-by-year mix celebrating Hip-Hop’s greatest across regions, styles, messages, and more. These mixes feature cutting, scratching, and top-notch curation. The custom, thoughtful blends begin in 1979 and ran through 2017.

Each year’s mix is embedded and linked below. On the pages, Heads can find full tracklists.

Wonder What A 1977 New York City Park Jam Sounded Like? Press Play… (Mix)

1979 (featuring Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, Lady B, Kurtis Blow, and more):

1980 (featuring Sugarhill Gang, Spoonie G, Funky 4 + 1 More, and more):

1981 (featuring Busy Bee, Treacherous Three, Cold Crush Brothers, and more):

1982 (featuring Fearless Four, Crash Crew, Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force, and more):

1983 (featuring Run-D.M.C., Jimmy Spicer, Double Dee & Steinski, and more):

1984 (featuring LL Cool J, Whodini, Doug E. Fresh, and more):

1985 (featuring Roxanne Shanté, Cool C, Stetsasonic, and more):

1986 (featuring Eric B. & Rakim, Just-Ice, Ultramagnetic MC’s, and more):

1987 (featuring N.W.A., Boogie Down Productions, Big Daddy Kane, and more):

1988 (featuring De La Soul, MC Lyte, 2 Live Crew, and more):

1989 (featuring Public Enemy, Queen Latifah, 3rd Bass, and more):

1990 (featuring A Tribe Called Quest, Above The Law, Too Short, and more):

1991 (featuring Scarface, Del The Funkee Homosapien, Cypress Hill, and more):

1992 (featuring Naughty By Nature, Das EFX, Gang Starr, and more):

(if not playable in your country, visit this link).

1993 (featuring Wu-Tang Clan, Beatnuts, RBL Posse, and more):

1994 (featuring The Notorious B.I.G., O.C., 8Ball & MJG, and more):

1995 (featuring J-Live, The Luniz, Tupac Shakur, and more):

1996 (featuring JAY-Z, M.O.P., Redman, and more):

1997 (featuring OutKast, Capone-N-Noreaga, MF DOOM, and more):

1998 (featuring Slum Village, Gangsta Boo, E-40, and more):

1999 (featuring Pharoahe Monch, Eminem, Yasiin Bey, and more):

2000 (featuring Smif-n-Wessun, Common, Big Pun, and more):

2001 (featuring Ludacris, Mobb Deep, Devin The Dude, and more):

2002 (featuring Snoop Dogg, Clipse, Jean Grae, and more):

2003 (featuring 50 Cent, Freeway, Brother Ali, and more):

2004 (featuring The Game, T.I., The Diplomats, and more):

2005 (featuring AZ, Paul Wall, Zion I, and more):

2006 (featuring Busta Rhymes, Dilated Peoples, Lupe Fiasco, and more):

2007 (featuring UGK, Kanye West, Timbaland, and more):

(if not playable in your country, visit this link).

2008 (featuring Lil Wayne, Three 6 Mafia, The Roots, and more):

2009 (featuring Drake, Jadakiss, Rick Ross, and more):

2010 (featuring Fat Joe, Fabolous, Big K.R.I.T., and more):

(the 2010 mix is only accessible by link)

2011 (featuring Meek Mill, Nas, Wale, and more):

(The 2011 mix is only accessible by link)

2012 (featuring Kendrick Lamar, El-P, Future, and more):

(the 2012 mix is only accessible by link)

2013 (featuring Danny Brown, A$AP Rocky, Talib Kweli, and more):

(The 2013 mix is only accessible by link)

2014 (featuring J. Cole, Jeezy, ScHoolboy Q, and more):

(The 2014 mix is only accessible by link)

2015 (featuring Anderson .Paak, Young Thug, Vic Mensa, and more):

(The 2015 mix is only accessible by link)

2016 (featuring Chance The Rapper, Mac Miller, Travis Scott, and more):

(The 2016 mix is only accessible by link)

2017 (featuring Cardi B, Joey Bada$$, Rapsody, and more):

(The 2017 mix is only accessible by link)

#BonusBeat: For plenty of great Hip-Hop from 2022, make you’re following the official Ambrosia For Heads playlist——even if we can’t mix like The Rub: