Protecting & Preserving the History & Legacy of Hip Hop: The Universal Hip Hop Museum

Protecting & Preserving the History & Legacy of Hip Hop: The Universal Hip Hop Museum
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.
Universal Hip Hop Museum

When I encounter a new person and inform them of my work with museums, they instantly say I went to the “(insert the name of any art museum)”. This quest that I attempt to tackle and conquer on a daily basis to introduce more people of diverse backgrounds to museums can be somewhat cumbersome. I am always trying to connect something that is relevant to people with museums.

Let’s be honest, most people think museums are boring. I understand the viewpoint and my hope, my goal is to change this mindset. I find myself constantly searching for a different type of museum, exhibition or program, that will intrigue new audiences to museums. While searching for a random article, I stumbled upon the Universal Hip Hop Museum. Of course the “light bulb” in my brain turned on and I knew, the story of this museum HAD TO BE TOLD!

I took a leap of faith and sent emails, Facebook messages and completed a website contact form to get an interview with someone from leadership in the museum. Imagine my face when I got a response and an even quicker response to my questions from Mr. Rocky Bucano, Executive Director of the museum.

Rocky Bucano, Executive Director Universal Hip Hop Museum

Rocky Bucano, Executive Director Universal Hip Hop Museum

Photo Credit: Rocky Bucano

Just to give you a little background, the Universal Hip Hop Museum is the official museum of hip-hop. Founded by hip-hop pioneers, and chartered by the New York State Department of Education, the museum is here to showcase, preserve, and protect Hip Hop Culture. The Universal Hip Hop Museum offers patrons a thorough analysis and untainted view of Hip Hop culture’s past history using leading edge virtual and augmented reality technologies for an immersive online and offline experience that is not found anywhere else.

To my young Millennials, Generation Xer’s and even some of your parents, I invite you to learn more about the Universal Hip Hop Museum.

JWG: Who are some of the major hip hop legends that are joining forces to bring the manifestation of the vision?

RB: Kurtis Blow is our Chairman. Grandmaster Melle Mel, and Grandwizzard Theodore are founding members of the museum. Icons such as Ice T, Rakim, Sha Rock, Big Daddy Kane, Doug E Fresh, DMC, King T, and Krazy Bone are early supporters of the museum.

JWG: What is the biggest challenge you face with the opening of the brick and mortar building in 2020.

RB: The biggest challenge is funding. We have partnered with a local real estate developer on a RFPEI issued by the New York City Economic Development Corporation to develop 1,000,000 sq. of land along the Bronx's Harlem River waterfront. This will include about 60,000 sq. ft. of space for a state of the art museum and performance center for the UHHM. The estimated cost of the total project is in excess of $100 million. This will require funding support from the city, state and large institutional donors.

JWG: Does the museum currently have a collection? If so, how many items are in the collection?

RB: We are in the process of building the museum's archive and collection. The Museum recently secured space with Renwick Fine Art Storage in Newark NJ to begin storing artifacts and collections that are being donated by Hip Hop artists and collectors from around the world. The first items that were donated include historical party flyers, rare photos, magazines, clothing, cd's and other types of memorabilia. We have a gorgeous bicycle once owned by Snoop Dogg that was seen in his iconic music video "Gin and Juice".

JWG: Will we see any exhibitions dedicated to The Notorious B.I.G. or Tupac Shakur?

RB: There will be exhibits that celebrates the works of Hip Hop's most popular icons such as Biggie, Tupac, Kendrick Lamar and others, and there will be exhibits that pay tribute to people such as James Brown, Sonia Sanchez, Cab Calloway, The Lost Poets and others whose art influenced the birth of Hip Hop.

JWG: What do you imagine a visitor will walk away knowing about Hip Hop when leaving the museum?

RB: Every person (young and old) who visits the Universal Hip Hop Museum will leave with a complete understanding of Hip Hop culture and its treasured history. They will learn about the pioneers who paved the way for Hip Hop to become the world's most popular music and influential lifestyle. More importantly they will see how Hip Hop continues to shape and drive global economies via music, innovation, fashion and the arts.

JWG: Through my research I learned about different programs and events that the Universal Hip Hop Museum is sponsoring. One of the programs is a summer camp called the Hip Hop Architecture Camp. Can you share more about the camp?

RB: The Hip Hop Architecture Camp is the brainchild of our architect Michael Ford in partnership with Autodesk. The purpose of the camp is to expose youth from underserved communities to architectural design, so that they can use their creativity and ideas to build sustainable communities for the future. During the camp the campers are shown how Hip Hop can be used to influence design and architectural planning. The campers participate in Hip Hop ciphers and record a music video during the camp. These campers will be the next great urban planners. The camp has visited Los Angeles, CA, Austin TX, Houston TX, Madison WI, Atlanta GA and will be visiting Detroit MI and The Bronx in the coming weeks.

JWG: Many museums use their institutions as a way to honor legends that are reflected in their mission. Will there be a Hip Hop Hall of Fame?

RB: We will be hosting our first awards show January 2018 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark New Jersey. This award show will be akin to the prestigious Kennedy Center Awards celebrating the contribution of Hip Hop icons and trailblazers.

JWG: Although the museum is not open as of now, how can someone learn more about the museum? Are there any online exhibitions or traveling exhibitions?

RB: There is a plan in the works to host our first Pop Up exhibit at the Kola House in NYC before the summer ends. Our exhibit would celebrate the 5 elements of Hip Hop and its Bronx origins. We have a mobile traveling exhibit called Hip Hoptimus Prime that will travel to 20 cities next year. We are presently in discussions with several companies about sponsoring this tour.

JWG: How can someone assist in furthering the mission of the museum?

RB: There are multiple ways for anyone to support our mission. We are looking for people who would like to join one of our volunteer committees to develop curriculums, and assist us with historical preservation and research. We are in the midst of a capital campaign and have a micro funding campaign happening now with Spotfund: link.spot.fund/uhhm Our Spotfund campaign makes it easy for anyone who wants to make a tax deductible contribution to support our ongoing work to do so with a donation as small as $1.

Be sure to check out the upcoming event on July 20, 2017 with Kurtis Blow & Friends:

Photo Credit: Universal Hip Hop Museum

To learn more about the Universal Hip Hop Museum visit: http://www.uhhm.org/

Be sure to follow Jada Wright-Greene on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram: @JadaWGreene

Learn more about Jada Wright-Greene: www.jadawrightgreene.com & www.heritagesalon.org

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot