The founding fathers of hip-hop plan to pay tribute to the genre they created by opening a museum in The Bronx, where the phenomenon began 40 years ago.
“People have lost sight of what hip-hop is . . . They just think of a rapper or rap music,” said electronic-funk founder Afrika Bambaataa.
“By having this museum, it’s something for many nationalities and religious backgrounds.”
He joined fellow pioneers Grand Wizzard Theodore, Grandmaster Melle Mel, and Grandmaster Caz Brown in a ceremony Wednesday at City Hall, where they were honored by the City Council.
The group is part of an advisory committee pushing to locate a 52,000-square-foot hip-hop museum inside the Kingsbridge Armory, and have formed a nonprofit to raise money for the endeavor. The project is spearheaded by Bronx Councilman Fernando Cabrera.
Brooklyn Councilman Jumaane Williams said he was deeply impacted by hip-hop while growing up.
“They took cardboard boxes, siphoned electricity, and took two turntables and a microphone and created a worldwide billion-dollar industry — that’s what these communities can do,” Williams said.
Beth DeFalco