The first-ever museum dedicated to hip hop history and culture is coming to New York City in 2023. New York’s governor Andrew Cuomo signed off on a hefty grant in order to make the museum a reality. The Universal Hip Hop Museum will be located in the Bronx and is the brainchild of those who have been a part of the music since its roots.
According to CNN, New York will grant the Universal Hip Hop Museum $3.75 million in order to help facilitate the opening. Bronx native Rocky Bucano will serve as the museum’s executive director. Bucano, who was born and raised in the Bronx, started as a DJ in the early ’70s.
“We knew it was important because the Bronx is where hip-hop started,” Bucano said. “It’s crazy to think of how hip-hop — which has such an influence on pop culture, advertising, politics — doesn’t have a place to call home.”
The museum will showcase the impact of the music genre on culture, politics, and pop culture. Highlighting hip hop acts new and old, the museum will dedicate space to the evolution of the genre from the late ’70s to today.
Bucano teamed up with legendary hip hop icons to co-found the venture. Partners include Kurtis Blow and Grand Wizzard Theodore, who popularized the “scratching” technique as a DJ.
“We want to empower, inspire and engage the community,” said Bucano. “Hip-hop has touched every aspect of modern society and it’s important for the community to know that it was created by people who looked just like them.”
Currently operating as a pop-up museum in the Bronx Terminal Market, the museum plans to make a permanent 50,000-square-foot home the newly developed Bronx Point. The museum’s construction will begin in the summer of 2020 and is projected to be completed in 2023.
