Hip-Hop Legend MC Easy A.D. & HipHopGrails Launch Auction Of Hip-Hop Artifacts

Hip-Hop’s earliest days were documented on cardboard, Xerox paper and magic-marker ink long before anyone imagined the culture would grow into a global billion-dollar industry. The colorful flyers that once promoted Bronx park jams, block parties and DJ battles are now considered foundational artifacts of the culture. That history is now stepping into the spotlight through a new auction centered on the personal archive of pioneering MC Easy A.D., a founding member of the legendary Cold Crush Brothers.

The auction is being presented through the HipHopGrails platform, an initiative created by figures deeply rooted in the culture, including Pete Nice of 3rd Bass fame and media/tech veteran Ed Young, a longtime executive associated with The Source magazine and an advocate for Hip-Hop preservation through museum initiatives and archival projects. Together, they are helping bring rare artifacts to collectors and institutions while highlighting the historical importance of Hip-Hop memorabilia.

At the center of the auction is Easy A.D.’s decades-long effort to preserve the culture’s earliest physical history. Beginning in the South Bronx during Hip-Hop’s formative years, he collected flyers, handwritten rhyme sheets, posters, photographs and recordings that documented the rise of DJ and MC culture. Now, many of those pieces are being offered publicly for the first time, giving fans, collectors and cultural institutions the unique opportunity to own authentic pieces of Hip-Hop history.

Click here for the auction, hiphopgrails.com

AllHipHop: General thoughts on this auction with Easy A.D.?

Ed Young: Our first auction was the 50 Years of Hip Hop Flyers auction in 2023, which we did to coincide with the 50 Years of Hip Hop celebrations that took place throughout that year. This Easy A.D. auction marks our launch into a regular cycle of auctions that will bring storied collections and artwork that people have heard about over the years but haven’t actually seen come to market until now.

AllHipHop: Explain the idea of “archiving.”

Pete Nice: The process of archiving Hip Hop artifacts was first brought to fruition by A.D. at the Schomburg Center in 1999.

He preserved and organized the documentary evidence of Hip-Hop culture while protecting it at the same time. By utilizing museum standards for protecting fragile historical materials, he ensured the collection would be preserved and protected from further deterioration.

AllHipHop: What made you start this with Easy A.D.?

Ed Young: Easy A.D. is a colossus in the culture. He first emerged as a co-founder MC in The Legendary Cold Crush Brothers in 1979, and then became one of the defining forces of the scene alongside lyrical maestros like Tony Tone, Grandmaster Caz, Jerry D. Lewis, Almighty Kay Gee and Charlie Chase.

From the seed form of Hip Hop on Sedgwick Avenue in the Boogie Down Bronx to stages across the world, the Easy A.D. collection traces the evolution of the genre into a global phenomenon.

Beyond the stage and the battle, A.D. has devoted decades to education and preservation. Beginning as a student in the South Bronx, he started collecting and safeguarding the artifacts of a culture in formation. Flyers, manuscripts, tickets, photographs, posters, stage wear, recordings and cassette tapes were all preserved long before “archiving” became commonplace in Hip Hop.

A.D. describes this work as part of his long-running preservation effort called “Archiving Hip Hop History.” Under that banner, he has presented talks and exhibitions at institutions including the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the GRAMMY Museum, and major museum industry gatherings like the American Alliance of Museums and Expo 2025. He’s also taken the message to colleges and universities across the United States.

As the co-author of the I Am Hip-Hop book series, Easy A.D. writes coming-of-age stories from across Hip Hop’s elements for the next generation. The books connect the culture’s past to its future.

AllHipHop: Why launch this through the HipHopGrails platform?

Ed Young: The Hip Hop Grails team came together to elevate the value of Hip-Hop art, memorabilia and artifacts to the levels these pieces deserve.

The only proper way to do that is to have a platform owned by individuals from the culture itself. The team includes Paradise Gray of X-Clan, Pete Nice of 3rd Bass, myself from The Source, and others from the worlds of business who were raised in the culture.

People talk all the time about how unfair the Hip-Hop business has been to artists and creatives over the years. This platform gives them a chance to get real value for the things they created.

AllHipHop: What’s the value of these flyers and what is their significance?

Pete Nice: In one sense, the flyers are priceless. They represent the foundational documents of the culture.

Because of DJs and MCs doing their thing every weekend from the late ’70s through the early ’80s, Hip Hop grew into the billion-dollar industry it is today. These flyers represent a more authentic time in Hip Hop before it was exploited by the record industry and the media.

Easy A.D. understood that what he and the Cold Crush were doing was historically important, so he held on to these relics to preserve those memories.

The flyers are rare and very valuable in the collectibles market. Sales at Sotheby’s and Christie’s have already proven that. Individual flyers can sell for a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars depending on the significance of the performance and the artist who created it.

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AllHipHop: Do buyers receive information about the collection? Do they get to meet Easy A.D.?

Pete Nice: Each winning bidder will receive a letter of authenticity from A.D. himself. The provenance of these relics is unmatched because they come directly from the archives of one of Hip Hop’s true scholars and pioneers.

AllHipHop: What is the most cherished item in the auction?

Pete Nice: The most awe-inspiring and historically significant items in the auction are several manuscript lots of A.D.’s handwritten rhymes and Cold Crush routines dating from 1979 to 1982.

These are some of the rarest and most significant artifacts ever offered to the Hip Hop collecting community and to institutions as well.

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