Last year, hip hop turned 50 years old. And over this half century, it has utterly transformed U.S. culture: look around, and it’s hard to see or hear something that hasn’t been influenced by the young people of color who fashioned, developed, and championed hip hop culture. Join Amy Coddington as she analyzes the critical role commercial radio stations had in this transformation. The American Musicological Society and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF) in Cleveland, Ohio, collaborate on a lecture series that brings scholarly work to a broader audience and showcases the musicological work of the top scholars in the field. The AMS / Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Lectures provide a public forum that brings music research to a broader audience.