Hip-Hop’s come a long way from the New York streets that birthed a culture that would inspire generations to come. This historic rise of Hip-Hop from entertainment in the slums to worldwide phenomenon is being documented and honored by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History with “Hip-Hop Won’t Stop: The Beat, The Rhymes, The Life.”

The museum hopes to use artifacts from Hip-Hop legends and pioneers like Afrika Bambaataa, Russell Simmons, Grandmaster Flash, Ice-T, Crazy Legs and Fab 5 Freddy in order to help put together a historic piece that will map out the culture’s past and present.

“Hip-hop has reached well beyond its urban roots to diverse national dimensions and has been an integral part of American culture for almost 30 years,” explained Brent D. Glass, director of the National Museum of American History via statement.

“The National Museum of American History is committed to telling the story of the American experience, and with the significant contributions from the hip-hop community, we will be able to place hip-hop in the continuum of American history and present a comprehensive exhibition,” he continued.

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According to representatives, this will help those unfamiliar with the culture to better understand its history and its intentions.

“Born out of poverty and the need to draw attention to social conditions, hip-hop, is amazingly creative and embodies innovation and invention,” noted Marvette Pérez, curator at the National Museum of American History.

“The genre is fluid and transforms itself continuously. This music speaks to people across the world as it is easily adapted to the music and language of other countries, however, the genre is sometimes misunderstood and misrepresented due to the content,” she elaborated.

Artifacts being collected include boom-boxes, vinyl records and other DJ gear, hand written lyric sheets, videos, posters, photos, microphones and more.

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For more information visit http://americanhistory.si.edu