Each month, we will speak to an athlete, celebrity, or non-Hip Hop entertainer about what Hip Hop means to them. This feature is intended to showcase how far-reaching the influence of Hip Hop culture has grown in the past 50 years and how much the culture means to so many.
This month, we spoke with Niles Taylor Ivey AKA Lowkey.
Widely known as Lowkey, New Jersey native Niles Taylor Ivey is an authority on all things Hip Hop and R&B, co-hosting Apple Music’s weekly roundtable series Rap Life Review on YouTube alongside Ebro Darden and Nadeska Alexis. After graduating high school in 2000, Lowkey spent two years studying at Morgan State University before transferring to Howard University, where he majored in broadcast journalism and started his radio career as the host of Live & Direct at the HBCU’s station, WHBC. From there, he landed in NYC and created the Hip Hop website YouHeardThatNew.com before working as a music journalist for BET.com.
In 2011, he shifted gears to become a premiere event host, collaborating on high-profile activations with Nike, The Source, Rocawear, D’usse Cognac, and SXSW. His talent caught the eye of Ebro Darden, who brought him over to Apple Music, where he lends his talents to Hip-Hop/R&B Throwback Radio, Essential Albums specials, and The Ebro Show.
So Lowkey, what does Hip-Hop mean to you?
“What does Hip Hop mean to me? It means life, love, happiness, pain, struggle, anger, creativity and everything in between. The art form has given us many beautiful words, music, visuals, and moments, all of which are things we have learned from and continue to do so.
If I sat here and tried to list every artist, album, concert, verse, party crew, beat, battle, or influence? I’d be here until the next 50th anniversary because it’s so much under the sun to discuss. Feeding so many families, communities, cities, states, and schools.
If you really want to know what Hip Hop means to me, watch how I smile every time the topic is brought up because all Hip Hop does is put a huge smile on my face. Long Live Hip Hop!”
