The New York City
Council has allocated $1.5 million in funding to construct a Hip-Hop museum in
the Bronx, New York.Spearheaded
by City Council member Larry Seabrook, the museum will trace Hip-Hop from its
origins in the 1970’s and be used as a forum to educate future generations about
Hip-Hop culture."We’re
not talking about gangster rap," Councilman Seabrook told The New York Sun.
"We’re talking about Hip-Hop."The
new museum is part of a community center and housing development project that
is being built by the nonprofit Northeast Bronx Redevelopment Corporation. The
project is reportedly to consist of several floors of low-to moderate-income housing
with a gymnasium, a small theater, a recording studio, and the museum.The
Bronx, the fourth most populous of New York City’s five boroughs, has long been
considered as the birthplace of Hip-Hop. The museum will be the first dedicated
to the documentation of Hip-Hop culture.In
February 2006, the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of American History
announced the launching of "Hip-Hop Won’t Stop," the museum’s first-ever
on going and evolving exhibit on Hip-Hop culture.The
exhibit showcases a permanent collection of artifacts donated by various artists
that including vinyl records, handwritten lyrics, boom boxes, clothing, microphones
and other artifacts.