The Universal Hip Hop Museum Receives $3.5 Million Grant From New York State

There’s a hip-hop museum heading to the Bronx! According to the New York Post, New York state has awarded a $3.5 million capital grant to assist in building the first museum dedicated to the culture and music of hip-hop.

The Universal Hip Hop Museum, at a cost of $80 million, should be completed in 2023. The museum already has secured corporate backing from Microsoft and currently operates in a temporary space at 610 Exterior St. at the Bronx Terminal Market. The Universal Hip Hop Museum recently announced their collaboration with the MIT Center for Advanced Virtuality and Microsoft for the launch of the “[R]Evolution of Hip Hop Breakbeat Narratives,” an interactive experience that has been at The Bronx Terminal Market since Dec. 6 and is free during the duration of the exhibit.

Rocky Bucano, executive director of The Universal Hip Hop Museum, made the official announcement of the exhibition at Bronx Terminal Market’s annual “Winter Wonderland” last week. “We are thrilled to partner with the generous team at Related Companies and Bronx Terminal Market to bring the Universal Hip Hop Museum to life at this marquee location. Kurtis Blow, LL Cool J and I first walked the space with Karen Auster, founder, and CEO of Auster Agency, who brokered the partnership, just a few short months ago and we instantly knew it was the perfect space for our inaugural exhibition” stated in a press release.

“The museum is part of the renaissance of the Bronx. The Bronx is coming back,” Bucano said. “But the museum will be of the people and for the people.”

The Universal Hip Hop Museum will occupy 50,000 square feet at Bronx Point that will be erected north of the 145th Street bridge right along the Harlem River on the Bronx side. The museum also has received $6.5 million in funds from the city.

The Universal Hip Hop Museum is the official museum of hip-hop. Founded by hip-hop pioneers, and chartered by the New York State Department of Education Board of Regents, to document, preserve, and celebrate the culture’s history—past, present, and future.