We have already seen Warner Music go heavy on hip-hop’s half century earlier in the year with the launch of its rolling Hip-Hop Fifty site, with 1973 generally taken as the starting point for the genre (although some in the scene will argue against this). With one major music company getting involved, it is inevitable that others will follow. So 50 years it is.

Hence the launch of Amazon Music’s 50 & Forever, which will involve a series of livestreams from New York in July and August. There is also, naturally, a sponsor in the shape of a confectionary brand instead of the alcohol, clothing, car, soft drinks and sneaker brands more typically associated with the genre over the years. We guess M&Ms feel qualified here because Eminem’s name is a pun on its name. Or something.

The live performances from acts such as Wale, Rick Ross and Clipse will take place at The Rooftop at Pier 17 in Manhattan and tickets for shows, sold via Ticketmaster, cost just $10 each and all proceeds will be donated to charities nominated by each performing act.

There are also slots for emerging acts as well as panel discussions on the genre’s history and where it can go next.

This being an Amazon-led event, it will naturally feature heavily across its properties, most notably the Amazon Music channel on Twitch. This will include the live performances and panel discussions as well as special episodes of Rotation Roundtable (described as “a hybrid Twitch livestream and 60-minute podcast”). There will also be content pushes on Audible, Prime Video and Amp, ensuring this is maximised across as many Amazon-owned platforms as possible.

While New York was the birthplace of hip-hop, other major US cities also lay claim to having driven important evolutions in the form. To that end, there will also be a special event in Atlanta in early August (although hip-hop acts from LA, Miami, Detroit, Philadelphia, Chicago, Houston, New Orleans and more will wonder why they have been skipped over).

It is a major undertaking and one that looks to the future as much as it celebrates the past. Inevitably purists will argue that a brand like Amazon is a late arrival to the genre and that it is only covering part of what hip-hop is. Even so, the fact the genre came from the margins and swallowed the mainstream, having endured as long as it has without running out of road, should not go unmarked and uncelebrated.