Chuck D

Chuck D

Photo: Duffy-Marie Arnoult/WireImage

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Universal Hip-Hop Museum Names Chuck D Celebrity Board Chair

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The South Bronx development plans to break ground in one year and is raising funds and awareness for its 2022 launch
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Dec 19, 2018 - 1:34 pm

New details on the planned 2022 Universal Hip-Hop Museum in the Bronx were reported on Dec. 19, expected to break ground in Dec. 2019. Rap pioneer Chuck D was announced as chairman of the museum's celebrity board and is expected to help lead outreach. Having raised $20 million with comprehensive plans in place, the UHHM is raising another $50 million for its launch.

UHHM Chairman of the Board Kurtis Blow and director Rocky Bucano led the development effort's plans for 50,000 square feet within a 25-floor high-rise at 69 East 149th Street in the South Bronx. Cultural ambassadors assisting UHHM include Big Daddy Kane, Fab Five Freddy, Grandmaster Flash,  LL Cool J and Rakim.

"The credibility he brings to our team is mammoth," said Kurtis Blow about Chuck D. "He also understands the importance of the UHHM and vows to let the world know via a star-studded celebrity board in the near future. Flame on!"

Museum and architectural designers behind the effort include Ralph Appelbaum Associates, Mike Ford and Hamilton Anderson Associates, with backgrounds including the Motown Museum and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

"Hip-hop is 45 years old now, and it's the only cultural genre that doesn't have its own space to preserve and celebrate its history," said Bucano. "Cornell and Harvard have hip-hop archives; the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture is devoted to the African American experience in totality, not just hip-hop. The UHHM will be dedicated solely to hip-hop."

Hip-hop is still breaking new ground, and UHHM commemorates its beloved history while nurturing the continued growth of the genre. Check out the UHHM website for updates on the museum’s development.

Universal Hip-Hop Museum To Open In New York City

Ed Lover and Doctor Dré

Ed Lover and Doctor Dré

Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc

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"Yo! MTV Raps" Reunion To Celebrate 30th Anniversary In Brooklyn

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Ed Lover and Doctor Dré are back and plotting an epic night on June 1 at Brooklyn's Barclay Center
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Apr 18, 2018 - 5:32 pm

In the year 1988, "Yo! MTV Raps" first appeared on upstart cable network MTV. Hosted by Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Run-DMC, the pilot episode explored the nascent music genre while examining the works of emerging artists DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince and Eric B. & Rakim.

Now 30 years after the seminal show helped make hip-hop a global phenomenon, "Yo! MTV Raps: 30th Anniversary Experience" is bringing an epic reunion back to Brooklyn's Barclay Center on June 1.

Looking back on 1988, just one year later at the 31st GRAMMY Awards saw the debut of the Best Rap Performance category, won by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince for their hit "Parents Just Don't Understand." Introducing the award, Kool Moe Dee said, "I think it's time that the whole world knows rap is here to stay."

The upcoming June 1 extravaganza was initiated by former hosts Ed Lover and Doctor Dré (not to be confused with Dr. Dre), according to Rolling Stone. Fab 5 Freddy and DJ Skribble, from the hosting side, will be there at the event along with GRAMMY winners Big Daddy Kane and Melle Mel, GRAMMY nominee Flavor Fav, Eric B. & Rakim, Doug E. Fresh, Kid Capri, KRS-One and Boogie Down Productions, the Pharcyde, and more.

"Yo! MTV Raps … actually put hip-hop on the map around the globe," Doctor Dré said. "From southeast Asia … to Peru, Argentina. Antarctica even used to watch 'Yo! MTV Raps.' I used to get mail from many different African nations — including Wakanda."

Tickets go on sale on April 20.

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SZA

SZA

Photo: Dan MacMedan/WireImage

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BET Experience 2018 Lineup: LL Cool J, Ne-Yo, Rae Sremmurd, SZA, More

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The BETX roster for June 21–23 also includes Chris Brown, DJ Z-Trip, Ferg, Nipsey Hussle, Kamaiyah, Ludacris, Ella Mai, Playboi Carti, and Wondagurl
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Apr 11, 2018 - 2:09 pm

The lineup announced so far for the three days of BET Experience 2018, leading up to the 2018 BET Awards on June 24, really does speak for itself. The first day, June 21, headlines LL Cool J featuring DJ Z-Trip, Ludacris and Ne-Yo. June 22 has SZA as well as Chris Brown and Ella Mai. Then a burst of emerging talent on June 23 lines up Ferg, Nipsey Hussle, Kamaiyah, Playboi Carti, Rae Sremmurd, and Wondagurl, some of today's most promising hitmakers.

SZA earned her first nominations as an artist at the 60th GRAMMY Awards earlier this year, going in with five including Best New Artist and Best R&B Song. A few days later on Feb. 6, Kendrick Lamar and SZA released "All The Stars" to YouTube, with now more than 97 million views. It peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated March 3, her highest charting hit so far.

This musically captivating list already raises a thirst to be there, and more details on BETX are yet to be released, including additional performers. The four days also include BET Fan Fest at L.A. Convention Center on June 22–23. BET Networks and AEG are the hosts and BET Experience is presented by Coca-Cola.

Tickets go on sale on April 18 and there are VIP packages available.

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Grandmaster Flash

Grandmaster Flash 

Photo: Shahar Azran/WireImage 

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Polar Music Prize 2019 Awarded To Grandmaster Flash And Anne-Sophie Mutter

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For the second time ever, three laureates were named, also including the Playing For Change Foundation
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Feb 13, 2019 - 2:35 pm

On Feb. 12, the Polar Music Prize announced that its 2019 laureates will be rap icon Grandmaster Flash, classical violist and GRAMMY winner Anne-Sophie Mutter and music education charity the Playing For Change Foundation. In normal years, only two laureates are chosen with the previous exceptions of Keith Jarrett's solo award in 2003 and the previous year three laureates were named — Burt Bacharach, Robert Moog and Karlheinz Stockhausen — in 2001.

"It is such an honor, because a lot of times in our culture, what we do as DJs gets overlooked," Grandmaster Flash said. "So for these people to say, let's give this to someone who doesn't necessarily use a microphone as their gift … for me to be picked out of so many people, I am so, so deeply honored." Indeed the award is seen as top-flight recognition for the art of turntablism, where fingers spin vinyl recordings into fresh musical creations.

In 1982 "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five featuring Melle Mel and Duke Bootee was released, one of hip-hop's foundational recordings. It was inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame in 2012. Grandmaster Flash's role in the rap movement began even earlier and is portrayed in the Netflix series "The Get Down," where the Grandmaster's part is played by Mamoudou Athie. 

Multiple GRAMMY winner Anne-Sophie Mutter is one of the world's most accomplished classical violinists. "It is a huge honor to be in this illustrious group of musicians who have received the Polar Music Prize," she said. "I can't wait to come to Stockholm and meet the other recipients."

Since 2002 the Playing For Change Foundation has created and supported multiple music education programs around the world, especially in underserved communities. 

"We started the project so that musicians that would not otherwise be seen or heard, would have the chance to express themselves and be recognised," said Whitney Kroenke, the organization's co-founder. "To be in the company of people that have made us all love music for so many years, is truly an honor."

The Polar Music Prize Awards ceremony and gala will be held on June 11 and broadcast on Swedish television. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden will present the honors which also come with a cash prize worth approximately $110,000 in U.S. dollars. Last year's laureates were Metallica and The Afghanistan National Institute of Music.

Metallica Donate Polar Music Prize Money To Charity

GRAMMYs

Wu-Tang Clan

Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

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NYC Council Approves Wu-Tang Clan And Notorious B.I.G. Street Names

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NYC is honoring rap history by voting to rename two streets after the iconic rappers
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Dec 28, 2018 - 2:05 pm

Notorious B.I.G. and the Wu-Tang Clan are steps closer to becoming a permanent part of New York City, their hometown and one of the birthplaces of hip-hop.

The New York City council has unanimously voted to have a Booklyn street become Christopher Wallace Way (after Biggie) and a Staten Island street become Wu-Tang Clan District. The measures are still pending Mayor Bill de Blasio's signature.

"As soon as you put a name on a street sign, you say something about the public importance of that individual," University of Tenn. Geography Professor Derek Alderman told NPR. "Hip-hop deserves that respect."

Brooklyn Community Board 2 first approved the re-naming petition 33-1 in November.

NYC resident LeRoy McCarthy, who led the naming initiatives for both streets, thinks naming a street after Biggie symbolizes something greater than the rapper. "It symbolizes a culture. It symbolizes a borough. It symbolizes a people, and hip-hop is worldwide,” he told Rolling Stone.

The council also voted to name a street after Woody Guthrie in Coney Island, where the iconic folk singer lived in the 1940s.

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The block expected to become Christopher Wallace Way is on St. James Place between Fulton Street and Gates Avenue where B.I.G. actually grew up. Wu-Tang Clan District will be centered on the intersection of Vanderbilt Avenue and Targee Street, the location of Sobel Court Park, according to Rolling Stone.

The news of the council passing the measures came shortly after Chuck D was announced as chairman of the celebrity board for the Universal Hip-Hop Museum to open in Brooklyn in 2022. 

Universal Hip-Hop Museum Names Chuck D Celebrity Board Chair