The world’s first hip hop museum will be built in The Bronx with the help of a $3.75 million grant from the state of New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday.
“It’s the best Christmas gift ever,” said Universal Hip Hop Museum spokesperson Renee Foster. “It’s like Santa Claus.”
The $80 million museum is slated to open at the newly developing Bronx Point in the South Bronx in 2023, according to its website.
Point The Empire State Development cash will help build a 50,000-square-foot museum on the Harlem River, preserve the history of hip hop, develop community programming and launch a job-training program.
Rap icons LL Cool J, NAS and Q tip serve as cultural ambassadors and corporate partners for the $80 million project include Microsoft and MIT, which is designing interactive software to build personalized playlists for guests, according to Foster and the Museum website.
The museum will become a cultural center, drawing people from around the world to experience the five elements of hip hop: MCing, DJing, b-boying, graffiti art and knowledge, Foster said.
“Hip hop culture was born in the Bronx and New York City is the cultural center of the world,” she said. “We’re joining institutions like Carnegie Hall and all those great artistic institutions.”
The Universal Hip Hop Museum currently operating as a pop-up at the Bronx Terminal Market at Exterior and East 150th Street and Foster said more than 3,500 people have made reservations to come see it. […]