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New York City is throwing Hip-Hop a huge birthday bash throughout its five boroughs, as Mayor Eric Adams announced a series of block parties that will be held next month.
On Thursday, Mayor Adams held a press conference at City Hall to announce the 5×5 Block Party Series, which will be held in each of the city’s five boroughs. They will be thrown by the city in conjunction with ITSALLBLACKMUSIC PRESENTS. Each will feature a lineup of DJs as well as food vendors, artists, and educational and entertainment talks in prime locations essential to the history of the culture.
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Mayor Adams was joined at the press conference by Eric B and Boogie Down Productions founder and MC, KRS-One. The icon “will collaborate with the city as well to help curate and perform at the block parties,” as expressed in a statement released later by the city. The “Outta Here” artist even kicked a freestyle for the gathered crowd at the behest of Adams.
The first of the block parties will take place on August 5th at Fulton Street and Washington Avenue in Brooklyn. The location is known for being a block away from the house where rapper The Notorious B.I.G. grew up. The second will be in Queens on August 6th, at Vernon Boulevard and 41st Avenue near the Queensbridge Houses where Nas and Mobb Deep grew up. The birthplace of Hip-Hop, 1520 Sedgwick in The Bronx, will have its own celebration on Aug. 12th. Dates and locations for Manhattan and Staten Island are expected to be announced soon.
The lineups for each block party haven’t been announced yet, but This comes on the heels of the city announcing that there will be 50 murals created across the city in collaboration with LISA Project NYC. The city is also working with Pixis Drones to create light shows with “iconic Hip-Hop imagery” at each party, which will run until 9:30 PM.
“New York should be celebrating a genre that we created,” Adams, who calls himself “the Hip-Hop Mayor”, said. “We raised it on the streets of New York, and it has gone out to cascade throughout the entire globe.” He continued, “This summer we’re going to do more than reminisce on hip-hop, we’re going to celebrate it and elevate it. So I encourage New Yorkers to step into the world where hip-hop is on our blocks this summer.”
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As Hip-Hop celebrates its 50th anniversary, KRS-One and Senator Charles Schumer reflect on their efforts to preserve its birthplace in the Bronx.
The apartment building where DJ Kool Herc threw the first party that gave birth to the culture of Hip-Hop in 1973 has seen that culture go global and change numerous lives. But the status of 1520 Sedgwick Avenue was itself in limbo until the efforts of Senator Charles Schumer and Representative Jamaal Bowman, aided by KRS-One and others, led to a Congressional resolution declaring the building as the birthplace of Hip-Hop in 2021.
“Hip-hop culture has transcended language, race, and age in addition to geographic and socioeconomic barriers,” the Senate majority leader and Brooklyn native said in a statement. “It is a uniquely American art form that has become a global cultural movement. As a proud New Yorker, I was honored to be able to work with hip-hop giants and advocates like KRS-One and DJ Kool Herc, to ensure the birthplace, 1520 Sedgwick Ave, was preserved and celebrated.”
For KRS-One, he felt that Sen. Schumer and Rep. Bowman “understood the importance of hip-hop and its rightful place in our national culture when he extended max effort to make sure this building wasn’t lost.” The legendary artist is bolstering the legacy of 1520 Sedgwick through an initiative launched this summer that will feature classes on the culture in addition to other community events and live performances held at the building. “Internationally, cultural phenoms birthplaces are regularly preserved and celebrated,” the “My Philosophy” rapper said in a statement before acknowledging that sites of Black culture in the U.S. haven’t had that consistent attention.
“The Community Room is now protected for future generations to appreciate. Many think of the room as a ‘sacred space,’” he continued. “Just the act of preserving the room serves as a reminder to all that they also have the ability to achieve their full potential.” KRS-One will be one of many artists celebrating Hip-Hop at 1520 Sedgwick on August 11th with a live concert. “It’s the birthday hip-hop deserves. Its spirit is larger and stronger now than ever before,” he stated.
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