The Smithsonian Launched A Kickstarter Campaign To Release A Massive Anthology Of Classic Hip-Hop

The Smithsonian Museum is producing a massive classic hip-hop anthology and wants fans to help bring it all together. Per Billboard, The Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap box set will encompass nine CDs, more than 120 tracks and a 300-page book offering extensive liner notes, essays by artists and hip-hop scholars and previously unreleased photographs from the collection in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC).

The anthology was developed by Smithsonian curators in conjunction with The Roots’ Questlove, Public Enemy’s Chuck D. (who also has his own 300-page hip-hop retrospective out now through Hachette Books, which Uproxx is giving away through our online contest), MC Lyte, and super producer 9th Wonder. The anthology will be the first collection to feature music from every major label and dozens of independent labels. The committee’s resources for the gigantic undertaking include more than 50 artists, scholars, DJs, photographers, filmmakers, and industry insiders, who contributed to the track list, and packaging.

Here’s where the fans come in: The Smithsonian is launching a 30-day Kickstarter campaign today, October 17, through November 15 with the goal of raising $250,000 toward the costs of producing the anthology. Participants will be able to get their hands on the finished project before it arrives in stores — at production cost(!).

Additional perks will range from a set of hip-hop trading cards and an exclusive digital-only 9th Wonder remix of records from the Folkways archives to a tour of the NMAAHC led by a curator and Questlove. Other tiered prizes include a limited-edition print of the album artwork for Public Enemy’s pioneering Fear of a Black Planet by artist B.E. Johnson and a one-of-a-kind pair of Adidas adorned with artwork by visual artist and founding creative director of Def Jam Cey Adams. Adams also designed the anthology package.

For more information and to contribute to the campaign, visit the Kickstarter link here.

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