Hiphop Exhibit Prepares for the Smithsonian | Jackson Free Press | Jackson, MS

Hiphop Exhibit Prepares for the Smithsonian

NEW YORK (Feb. 28) - For nearly three decades, hip-hop relics such as vinyl records, turntables, microphones and boom boxes have collected dust in boxes and attics.On Tuesday, owners of such items - including pioneering hip-hop artists such as Afrika Bambaataa, DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash and Fab 5 Freddy - will blow that dust off and carry them to a Manhattan hotel to turn them over to National Museum of American History officials.

The museum, part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., is announcing its plans to embark on a collecting initiative, "Hip-Hop Won't Stop: the Beat, the Rhymes, the Life."
Museum officials have yet to raise the money, which will come from private donors. They will use the funds to pay for artifacts, record oral histories, hold consultations with advisory groups and mount an exhibit telling hip-hop's story.

Hip-hop culture, whose main elements include rappers, DJs and breakdancers, is considered one of the most powerful cultural explosions ever. Today, it's incorporated into marketing to sell everything from cars and clothing to food and furniture.
"It's American music," Perez, who staged an exhibition on Latin music singer Celia Cruz, said of rap. "It shows the creativity that exists in urban environments."

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