Afrika Bambaataa and other Hip Hop pioneers including Grandmaster Melle Mel, Grandmaster Caz and Grand Wizard Theodore announced they are looking to preserve the roots of Hip Hop through the Universal Hip-Hop Museum.
“The Godfather of Rap” Bambaataa is looking to remind the masses that the genre that birthed rap into mainstream cultural domination is much more than a hot “16.”
“Many people have a misconception of what hip-hop is,” said Bambaataa. “When they say hip-hop, they only say it’s the rapper, and there’s a whole culture and movement behind it.” He will serve as the museum’s chairman.
The term Hip Hop is inclusive of the musical style that included breaks for “B-Boying”, fashion, graffiti or “tagging” and other elements that has evolved into the genre of rap. The Universal Hip-Hop Museum plans to provide an interactive experience to detail the historical and cultural roots of the genre and the contributions of break dancers and disc jockeys. Developers plan on opening a Hip-Hop museum in 2017 inside the Kingsbridge Armory, a long-empty fortress that is being redeveloped into a national ice sports center , according to The New York Times.
The Universal Hip Hop Museum is one of many developments that aim to preserve the history of the genre in New York City. In recent years, the National Museum of Hip-Hop has attempted to gain footing, opting for a Manhattan location instead of the Bronx. Craig Wilson, co-founder of the National Museum of Hip-Hop, is thinking of Manhattan due to the tourist factor saying “the numbers in Manhattan make more sense financially than in the Bronx.”
President Rocky Bucano says the backing of some of Hip Hop’s prominent living pioneers sets their museum apart from other projects in the pipeline. Plus by placing the museum in the birthplace of Hip Hop this will show an air of authenticity. In addition, the museum could revitalize the Bronx neighborhood and bring foot traffic to the borough. Grandmaster Melle Mel said this could become a destination like the Yankee Stadium.
The fate of the planned museum will depend on a vote by an advisory committee appointed to oversee community benefits from the redeveloped armory.