In December 2019, NY State awarded $3.5 million in funding to make the Universal Hip Hop Museum a reality and as of yesterday, several Hip Hop legends finally broke ground, alongside Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr..
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The museum, which has been in the works for a decade, will reside in the birthplace of Hip Hop— The Bronx, NY— and its director, Rocky Bucano, explained "the museum will celebrate the four elements of Hip Hop culture: breaking, graffiti, DJing and MCing." Bucano also revealed, "this museum is being built by those who come from hip hop. It's not coming from outside of hip hop." To celebrate the occasion, Nas, LL Cool J, Fat Joe, Lil Kim, Naughty by Nature, Grandmaster Flash, Slick Rick, Michael Bivins and EMPD were all present.
LL expressed, "Hip Hop is one of those things that really gave my life meaning. It made me feel like I really could do something with my life." Nas told reporters, "it taught me more than schools taught me, believe it or not. I'm proud to be here in the mecca of hip hop, the Bronx."
Grandmaster Flash expressed, "I came up with a technique by placing my fingertips on the records. Here we are, almost 47 years later... Ladies and gentlemen, I tell you, this is a really special."
The Universal Hip Hop Museum, located at 50 East 150th Street, is two miles from 1520 Sedgwick Avenue— the birthplace of Hip Hop and the block that was renamed Hip Hop Boulevard in 2016. The museum is slated to open in the South Bronx in 2023, commemorating Hip Hop’s 50th anniversary.
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