At a cost of $10 million (USD) an episode to produce, The Get Down (2016) has joined Friends (1994) and Game of Thrones (2011) in a 3-way tie for the 2nd largest budget in TV history. ER (1994) holds the record for highest budget per episode at a whopping $13 million (USD).
Daveed Diggs portrays the character Ezekiel "Book" Figuero as an adult and a mainstream rapper in the mid 1990s. Although Diggs is a rapper himself, Nas dubbed his voice during his rapping scenes.
Much of the graffiti art on the subway cars is based on and copied from real artwork found on New York City I.R.T. cars from the 1970s and 1980s.
Many lines spoken throughout the show's run and some cut-in sequences were taken directly from Wild Style (1982), a dramatized film that is widely regarded as the first hip hop motion picture.
In 1970 a Community Organization in Detroit, Michigan was named Operation Get Down.
OGD provided recreation services, educational opportunities for diploma candidates, food co-op,
Senior Citizens program, arts and crafts, camping,
Sports, entertainment, educational resources and trouble shooting services for the City Airport Community. Rosemary Messenger created several murals within the facility. This Organization created the blueprint for successful inner city youths.