The United States Congress has enacted legislation officially declaring November as Hip Hop History Month beginning this year. Additionally, the Universal Hip Hop Museum has established a month-long “Know Ya Hip Hop” campaign to promote the genre’s cultural history.
Collage by Jessica Tanny via brandeis.edu
Hip Hop History Month
In July 2021, New York Congressman Jamaal Bowman and California Congresswoman Maxine Waters co-sponsored Resolution 331, which seeks to acknowledge the importance of hip-hop on American culture, and sent it further to the US Senate. Then, the bill was successfully pushed by Senator Chuck D. Schumer. As a result, the Senate chambers announced November as Hip Hop History Month. Also, August 11th as National Hip Hop Celebration Day in the US, in honor of one of the first hip-hop DJ parties that was organized the same day in 1973.
“Hip Hop is my life. Hip Hop saved my life. Hip Hop gave me knowledge of self. Hip Hop is who I am. The celebration of hip-hop history and the study of it is essential to our democracy, our innovation, our voice, and who we are as human beings.”
Congressman Bowman said about co-sponsoring the bill
Know Ya Hip Hop Campaign
In addition, the Universal Hip Hop Museum announced a month-long “Know Ya Hip Hop” campaign in celebration of November’s new hip-hop month. Thus, the project is designed to encourage the public to learn more about hip-hop and its cultural heritage. Certainly, the “Know Ya Hip Hop” campaign’s goal is to educate people about hip-hop culture. Moreover, the effort will help the world to recognize the culture’s global essence, promote inclusiveness, creativity, and social equality.
Universal Hip Hop Museum
Rocky Bucano, the Executive Director of UHHM, and Hip Hop veterans Kurtis Blow, Grandmaster Melle Mel, and Afrika Bambaataa launched the Universal Hip Hop Museum in 2015 with the primary purpose of maintaining and remembering Hip Hop culture. Consequently, the Universal Hip Hop Museum, located in the heart of Hip Hop music in the Bronx, will open its doors in 2024. Therefore, the historical museum will be a unique place to commemorate Hip Hop’s powerful wave and present the cultural memorabilia.
