Beats, Rhymes and Strife
Squabbles Over Money and Respect Hamper a Proposed Hip-Hop MuseumThe organizers of the embryonic National Museum of Hip-Hop want to honor one of the most vibrant American art forms to emerge since jazz. But at a coming-out fundraiser last month, they found themselves the targets of a boycott announced by legendary rapper and New York native KRS-One—the project's most important adviser—who said key hip-hop "pioneers" had declared the museum "illegitimate."
"They said it wasn't kosher," said KRS-One's fellow hip-hop groundbreaker, rapper Chuck D. of Public Enemy, adding that he heeded phone calls from some of his predecessors about not supporting the museum's April gala at Manhattan's Pink Elephant nightclub. The rapper had initially agreed to co-host the museum event with KRS-One, but says he left the party early. "This is like the O.K. Corral," he said.
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The travails of this barely nascent museum illustrate the challenge of collecting history from people who are still living it. The genre's pioneers accuse the museum's organizers—and other cultural institutions and corporations before them—of exploiting their innovations. They claim they should be paid for their personal histories, a demand stoked by several of hip-hop's inventors who say they were left behind when styles evolved and a local movement exploded into a global industry.
In the four decades since hip-hop took root in the South Bronx, a few universities and museums have staged exhibitions and gathered artifacts to honor it—among them the Smithsonian Institution, which has about 100 items. In 2005, efforts began to launch a national museum celebrating the form. Its leaders include 35-year-old Craig Wilson, a Bronx native who closed a marketing and management firm he'd founded in order to join the museum effort.
The team secured non-profit status and a provisional museum charter from the New York State Education Department. But it has raised almost none of the estimated $125 million needed to erect a building. Mr. Wilson says he's scouting sites in Harlem, and organizers envision interactive exhibits and a community education hub.
Until now, the group focused on assembling support from hip-hop's trailblazers. As recently as 2008, the museum team held meetings with pioneers including members of the Cold Crush Brothers, an early rap crew. But the Pink Elephant gala torched the relationship. Some pioneers say they weren't invited even though their names were used to market the event. Mr. Wilson counters that invitations were extended but that some invitees demanded last-minute meetings and celebrity treatment.
Late last month, two weeks after the gala, about 40 rappers and associated veterans assembled at the downtown New York club S.O.B.'s. In attendance was Melle Mel, a rapper with Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, who accused institutions like the Smithsonian of profiting from the pioneers' accomplishments. He shouted, "I'm in the Furious 5—not the Happy 5!"
The group formed the Universal Federation for Preservation of Hip Hop Culture, a union of sorts with plans to generate revenue for the pioneers. In one proposed scenario, the Federation would license its members' collective memorabilia and oral histories to museums or film productions in exchange for fees.
Mr. Wilson, however, doesn't think personal fortunes should factor. "We're doing this for the culture. Period," he said. "Not for one specific group, or the pioneers. It's up to them whether they want to be down with it or not."
KRS-One (né Lawrence Parker) says that he wants to see a museum built, but that it must begin with compensation for the architects of hip-hop. "They deserve to get paid," he said. "This wouldn't be a gift. More like an honorarium for scholars." He added that he routinely sends money and other assistance to pioneers in need. A second-wave South Bronx rapper who has long been a de facto spokesman for hip-hop at large, KRS-One coordinated the S.O.B.'s summit, even as he counseled Mr. Wilson on how to salvage his rap relationships.
The museum does have influential supporters, including Terry Stewart, president and chief executive of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, who has offered guidance. For now, though, Mr. Wilson says the museum has reached an impasse with the pioneers, who are lobbying for not only for payment but input on the museum's design. A Federation leader says negotiations will occur when representatives from both sides can be assembled.
KRS-One, who has waged his share of rap battles, says the feud itself might be a sign of common ground. "This dude is arguing with the gods!" the rapper said of Mr. Wilson. "Just imagine: The museum starts out with a founding beef."
― ljagljana (kkvgz), Thursday, 20 May 2010 12:37 (fifteen years ago)