A hip hop museum is opening in the Bronx, New York in 2023, with tech-driven exhibits set to play a central role.
The Universal Hip Hop Museum will commemorate the history of hip hop music, celebrating and preserving the history of local and global hip hop music and culture.
The museum will offer visitors a look at hip hop history using virtual and augmented reality technologies for an immersive experience.
Hip hop pioneer Kurtis Blow, chairman of the board for the attraction, has said that he wants the UHHM to use modern technology to celebrate hip hop’s legacy.
Avatars and holograms and VR
Speaking to Forbes, Blow stated: “I’m talking avatars and holograms and VR. Part of the museum experience will also focus the interactive elements, and visitors will be able to record music and make graffiti art on-site.
“As time winds down on a lot of our careers… we think that it’s an important plea that our legacies and our histories can be in one place for the whole world to see.”
He adds that it will be “a space for audiences, artists, and technology to converge and create unparalleled educational and entertainment experiences”.
The museum will feature a number of donated relics, including handwritten lyrics from Tupac and Blow’s gold plaque for ‘The Breaks’.
It will also display thousands of vinyls and cassettes, turntables, a DJ booth and recording studio, a virtual graffiti station, holograms and a VR theatre.
As well as looking at the history of hip hop, the museum, according to Blow, will house relics from current rap stars like Kendrick Lamar, Future, and Drake.
Blow serves alongside Universal Hip Hop Museum director Rocky Bucano and chairman of the celebrity board Chuck D.
With construction set to begin this year, the grand opening in the Bronx at 65 East 149th Street is slated for 2023 – the 50th anniversary of hip-hop.
$20 million in funding has been secured, but an additional $60 million is required to complete.
Image and video: UHHM
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