Season 1
Episode: 1x01 | Airdate: Sep 4, 2016 (48 min)
Bronx-based DJs set Hip-Hop's sonic foundations. MCs, inspired by African American oral traditions, create the modern template for rap music, culminating with the emergence of Hip-Hop's first crew, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.
Episode: 1x02 | Airdate: Sep 11, 2016 (46 min)
Hip-Hop crews in the Bronx and Harlem begin to form around the DJs, but these pioneering groups never record any music. It would take R&B veterans to see the genre's commercial potential and create Hip-Hop's first hit, "Rapper's Delight."
Episode: 1x03 | Airdate: Sep 18, 2016 (49 min)
Run-DMC ushers in a new era of Hip-Hop. Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin build Hip-Hop's first empire, Def Jam. An unknown producer finds a new way to make beats and launches Hip-Hop's Golden Age, culminating in the epic fury of Public Enemy.
Episode: 1x04 | Airdate: Sep 25, 2016 (46 min)
Ice-T uses Hip-Hop to reflect the violence of Los Angeles and inspires a new form of Hip-Hop: Gangsta Rap. N.W.A's first album, Straight Outta Compton, shocks America. After the LA Rebellion, Dr. Dre makes The Chronic, and creates Hip-Hop's first hardcore pop record.
Season 2
Episode: 2x01 | Airdate: Oct 19, 2018 (47 min)
2 Live Crew popularizes the Miami bass sound and scores a victory for free speech. The Geto Boys put Houston on the map, paving the way for UGK
Episode: 2x02 | Airdate: Oct 19, 2018 (46 min)
In the Bay Area, Too $hort channels pimp culture, MC Hammer becomes rap's first pop star, and Digital Underground introduces the world to Tupac Shakur.
Episode: 2x03 | Airdate: Oct 19, 2018 (52 min)
KRS-One makes his mark at New York's legendary Latin Quarter club. A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul cultivate an Afrocentric, jazzy style.
Episode: 2x04 | Airdate: Oct 19, 2018 (42 min)
In the early 1990s, a new wave of hardcore East Coast artists emerges, led by Nas, Wu-Tang Clan and the Notorious B.I.G.
Season 3
Episode: 3x01 | Airdate: Sep 6, 2019 (38 min)
With the rise of N.W.A., gangsta rap and Suge Knight, the East Coast-West Coast rivalry climaxes with a lethal beef ensnaring the great Tupac Shakur.
Episode: 3x02 | Airdate: Sep 6, 2019 (49 min)
In NYC, the Notorious B.I.G. fosters an empowering protégée, Lil' Kim. When the East-West feud claims Biggie, Puff Daddy and Jay-Z vie for the throne.
Episode: 3x03 | Airdate: Sep 6, 2019 (42 min)
Alternative hip-hop bubbles up from the streets: Mos Def spits in NYC, the Freestyle Fellowship chops it up in LA, and Eminem battles on the circuit.
Episode: 3x04 | Airdate: Sep 6, 2019 (46 min)
A hot, sticky music scene is born in Atlanta as the infectious hooks of TLC and Kris Kross yield to the gritty originality of OutKast and Goodie Mob.
Season 4
Episode: 4x01 | Airdate: Jan 17, 2020 (43 min)
Rooted in New Orleans's rich music culture, No Limit mogul Master P and bounce breakouts DJ Jimi and Juvenile shake rap and put twerking on the map.
Episode: 4x02 | Airdate: Jan 17, 2020 (45 min)
Innovators explode out of the South: Houston's DJ Screw slows hip-hop down, Memphis's Three 6 Mafia goes dark, and Atlanta's Lil Jon brings the crunk.
Episode: 4x03 | Airdate: Jan 17, 2020 (44 min)
Auteurs like the Neptunes' Pharrell and Chad expand the sonic palette. Timbaland and Missy Elliott lean forward. Kanye West and J Dilla reimagine rap.
Episode: 4x04 | Airdate: Jan 17, 2020 (36 min)
Mixtapes spread the hottest sounds, infringe copyright and break artists. Among them, 50 Cent polarizes, T.I. takes off with trap, and Lil Wayne clicks.