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18 Mar 2014
Afrika Bambaataa proposes hip-hop museum in the Bronx, New York
By Helen Andrews
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Afrika Bambaataa, 56, plans to raise money for the development
Photo: Afrika Bambaataa / myspace
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Hip-hop master Afrika Bambaataa is developing a museum proposal dedicated to the music genre with fellow artists Grandmaster Melle Mel, Grandmaster Caz and Grand Wizard Theodore.
These musicians plan to open the Universal Hip Hop Museum in the newly re-developed Kingsbridge Armory in The Bronx, New York, by 2017.
The Kingsbridge Armory includes 52,000sq ft (4,830sq m) of space dedicated to community use.
The Armory has been subject to different plans over the years, including a controversial retail centre, which residents and local officials objected to because of a "lack of community benefit."
Afrika Bambaataa, 56, hopes to serve on an advisory committee for the museum and help raise money for its development if the local consultative board chooses to support the hip-hop venture over other community groups' proposals.
As a founder of the hip-hop revolution, he believes the history behind the music should be accessible to everyone.
“Many people have a misconception of what hip-hop is,” he said. “When they say hip-hop, they only say it's the rapper, but there's a whole culture and movement behind it.”
Grandmaster Melle Mel claims this museum could draw enough tourists to the Bronx to make it an attraction similar in popularity to the Yankee Stadium.
“If you just keep it on the music level it cheapens it. To embrace it as an art form, that's what makes it a museum” he said.
The museum will document the rise of electro funk in the 1980s, as well as the contributions of break dancers and disc jockeys.
The plan for the museum was announced after a City Council ceremony to honour the achievements of Mr Bambaataa and other early hip-hop stars.
Bambaataa's contribution to the musical movement has previously been recognised by Cornell University, where he was appointed visiting scholar for three years
One of the largest collections of hip-hop cultural artefacts in the world, collated by Bambaataa, currently resides in the Cornell University Library Hip Hop Collection. |
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