Universal Hip-Hop Museum opens ‘pop-up’ installation
A museum goer picks his preference on the Breakbeat narrative computer in the Revolution of Hip-Hop popup
installation at 610 Exterior St. The Breakbeat Narrative program takes the user’s preferences to give them
a personalized narrative of the hip-hop experience along with a playlist of music curated just for them.
Photo by Kyle Vuille/Schneps Media
THE Greek American INSTITUTE
A MULTI-CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, D 38 ECEMBER 6-12, 2019 BTR
OPEN HOUSE RESCHEDULED
FOR TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Students of all backgrounds thrive at GAI!
BY KYLE VUILLE
After years of planning,
collaborators and investors
had the fi rst chance to see
what the Universal Hip Hop
Museum has in the works after
a soft opening of a ‘pop-up’
installation opened its door
on Monday, December 2.
The installation, ‘The R
evolution of Hip-Hop’, tucked
away in the lower level of the
Bronx Terminal Market, offered
just a glimpse of what
the 50,000 square foot museum
will feature in the coming
years.
The offi cial UHHM is set to
open in 2023 at the newly developed
Bronx Point.
Walking through the doors,
one can see the rich history of
hip-hop and its progression
throughout the years.
The free grand opening of
the pop-up will be on Friday,
December 6, but those interested
must reserve tickets.
The guerilla-styled museum
outlines the fi ve elements
of hip hop, according
to executive director, Rocky
Bucano. The fi ve elements being:
graffi ti, MC’ing, DJ’ing,
knowledge and breakdancing.
However, Bucano did em-
phasize one of the focuses
in the space this month is
on famous MC, Kurtis Blow,
with the 40th anniversary of
‘Christmas Rapping”’which
brought hip hip into the mainstream
back in the 1970s.
Shadow boxes fi lled with
old fl yers, memorabilia, LP’s
and old mixing equipment are
carefully curated throughout
the space along with a graffi ti
covered faux subway train.
The installation also offers
individual kiosks where goers
can listen to 3 to 5 minute videos
outlining the fi ve elements
of hip-hop.
Ducano explained calling
the space a “pop-up” is misleading
seeing the installation
will be there for the next
three and a half years until
the actual museum will be
opened.
“For years, people would
come to the Bronx after hearing
about a hip-hop museum,
but there was no physical
place to go to,” Bucano said.
With this specifi c space,
the team at UHHM partnered
with tech savvy folks at Microsoft
and MIT to develop
one of the highlighted items
called the ‘Breakbeat Narratives.’
The Breakbeat Narrative
takes a museum goer’s musical
preferences, whether it be
jazz, rock, rap or even country
and actually creates an individualized
hip hop playlist
based on one’s answers along
with personalized information
regarding fashion, gender,
location within the world
of hip-hop.
Dr. Fox Harrell, a professor
at MIT, was one of the key
players in developing what he
calls the ‘narrative orality improvision
reality’ or NOIR.
Dr. Harrell explained
NOIR pushes artifi cial intelligence
technologies to push art
forms forward diverse global
cultures.
Ed Young, a board member
at UHHM, broke down the importance
of the NOIR even further
and in layman’s terms.
“The breakbeat narratives
show the interrelationship between
individuals relating to
hip-hip even if they don’t even
know,” Young said. “It shows
there is a reason we as people
can communicate and get
along.”
For more information on
UHHM and to reserve your
ticket to Revolution of Hip-
Hop, please visit www.uhhm.
org
/www.uhhm
/www.uhhm