One of hip-hop’s most influential yet often overlooked pioneers, Coke La Rock, will appear live in Atlanta for a rare public interview and meet & greet. Known as the first MC in hip-hop history, La Rock helped lay the foundation for a cultural movement that would eventually take over the globe.
As hip-hop continues to celebrate over 50 years of global influence, events like this provide a valuable opportunity to hear from those who were there at the very beginning. For fans, students of music history, and lovers of culture, this event promises a rare moment of connection with one of the genre’s earliest voices.
The event takes place on July 18th at The Atlanta Theater offering a rare intimate setting for fans and cultural historians alike.
Doors open at 6:30 PM, with the program beginning at 7:00 PM.
The event will feature:
- Live on-stage interview covering La Rock’s early days in the Bronx, his work with Kool Herc, and the cultural explosion of hip-hop
- Audience Q&A offering attendees a chance to ask direct questions
- Personal meet & greet for photos and conversation
Open to all ages and includes free on-site parking. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased via Eventbrite.
The Legacy of Coke La Rock
Coke La Rock emerged from the Bronx in the early 1970s alongside DJ Kool Herc, widely credited as the originator of hip-hop DJing. While Kool Herc spun breakbeats, Coke La Rock provided the live commentary with spontaneous rhymes, crowd interaction, and the earliest iterations of what would become rap lyrics. Though he never recorded commercially during hip-hop’s formative years, his influence is felt in countless early MCs, and he is cited by artists such as KRS-One as a true founding father of the genre.
La Rock is best known for his signature crowd lines like, “You rock and you don’t stop,” and his presence at the genre’s first parties helped shape what is now a multi-billion-dollar global industry.
As highlighted in a recent NewsNation article, Coke La Rock is hailed as an unsung hero of hip-hop, the man who was there at the very beginning, spitting rhymes before rap even had a name. At a time when segregation and systemic racism were still deeply woven into American life, La Rock helped break racial barriers by bringing Black and Latino youth together through music, setting the stage for hip-hop’s rise as a unifying cultural force. (Read the article here for more info on Coke La Rock)
Find tickets to the event here
