Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Announces 50 Years Of Hip-Hop Exhibit

Jay-Z, Grandmaster Flash, Roxanne Shanté, Chuck D, Salt N’ Pepa, The Notorious B.I.G., Queen Latifah, and many more will be featured in the most in-depth exhibition of hip-hop currently running. From handwritten lyrics to the earliest gear used to create a hip-hop beat, from moguls to social issues, from East Coast to West Coast and everywhere in between, “Hip Hop at 50: Holla If Ya Hear Me” opens fully to the public on June 29, 2023, at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.

At a time when the world was undergoing massive social and economic changes, beats, rhymes, movement, and art all combined to form what became known to the world as hip-hop, a genre that in its five decades and counting has transformed itself and our culture at large.

“Growing up in New York City music was everywhere! When the reality of the struggle of life brought hell…music brought us heaven!” said rapper and founding member of Run-DMC Darryl McDaniels. He continued, “Rock, funk, soul, reggae, metal, R&B, jazz, and punk became the power that would be the foundation of sound for this new culture we call Hip Hop! I was a little kid with Rock N Roll dreams! Hip Hop allowed my Dream to come true! I’m proud to celebrate this milestone in music history with The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with their new exhibit. After all, I am The King of Rock!!!”

The exhibit will feature never-before-seen personal artifacts from vanguards of the genre, including Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, Afrika Bambaataa, DJ Kool Herc, Sylvia Robinson, Roxanne Shanté, and The Sugarhill Gang. The handbill from the “All Star Birthday Bash for DJ Kool Herc,” the 1973 house party at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue that gave birth to hip-hop, will be on display along with artifacts such as the release of “Rapper’s Delight”; Kurtis Blow being the first rapper signed to a major label; hip-hop’s national TV debut; and hip-hop’s first rivalry.

“Holla If Ya Hear Me” will continue through “the new school,” featuring key artifacts such as LL Cool J’s first single on Def Jam Records; the first album by a female hip-hop act to go gold and platinum; Salt-N-Pepa’s fly jackets from their “Push It” video; and into the key moments of hip-hop’s social consciousness featuring Public Enemy, Kendrick Lamar, Ice-T, and Queen Latifah; and running concurrently with hardcore rap hallmarks like N.W.A, Wu-Tang Clan, Tupac, The Notorious B.I.G., Lil Kim, and DMX.

Salt-N-Pepa said, “Being the first female hip-hop group to have been certified with both a gold and platinum record was such an accomplishment. Going on to receive multiple platinum records and becoming one of the best-selling hip-hop groups of all time, was more than we could have hoped for. It was a major milestone in hip-hop’s trajectory over the past 50 years and we are so excited to be able to celebrate this important moment in music’s history with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. We are honored to be a part of the new “Holla If Ya Hear Me” exhibit and hope everyone enjoys seeing some of our most iconic and important pieces from our career.”

Public Enemy frontman Chuck D said, “The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has been recognizing hip-hop and its contributions to music since 2007 when it inducted Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. This year, the innovator of it all, DJ Kool Herc, will receive his Musical Influence Award, and Missy Elliott and Rage Against the Machine – two artists who show us all how far the genre can go – will be inducted. I’m honored to be a part of the Rock Hall’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, both as a member of Public Enemy and as the co-creator and executive producer of the PBS/BBC docuseries Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World.”

Bringing the exhibit home is an area focusing on the moguls of hip-hop, with pieces from Jay-Z, the first hip-hop billionaire, as well as Sean “Diddy” Combs, Russell Simmons, and others.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s education team is rolling out a brand-new resource collection to help students explore some of the top hip-hop names and Rock Hall inductees over the past 50 years. All are available for free at rockhall.com/edu.

Technics, the exhibit sponsor, said, “We are thrilled and honored to be a sponsor of ‘Hip Hop at 50’ at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The hip hop community rallied around Technics direct drive turntables during the emergence of the genre and helped catapult our brand into what it is today. We are proud that hip hop has had a large impact on the Technics legacy – there’s no better place to celebrate this than at the Rock Hall,” said Melissa Housel, senior marketing manager at Technics.

Additionally, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop and opening of “Holla If You Hear Me,” the Rock Hall Shop is offering an extensive assortment of licensed merchandise including T-shirts, hoodies, and accessories from some of hip-hop’s most influential artists and brands, as well as exhibit-specific merchandise. New styles will be dropping all summer long at https://shop.rockhall.com.

This news first appeared on blackprwire.com.