Rock Hall To Celebrate Hip-Hop Exhibit's Opening with Star-Studded Party

While it might not be clear exactly when rock 'n' roll was born, that’s not the case with hip-hop. As John Goehrke, the Rock Hall’s Director of Fan Engagement & Onstage Experience, explains in a phone interview, hip-hop historians can point to one specific event that launched the musical genre.

“[In documenting hip-hop’s origins,] most historians look back to Aug. 11  of 1973 when DJ Kool Herc hosted his back to school/end of summer block party in the South Bronx for his kid sister,” he says in discussing the Rock Hall's new exhibit, Hip Hop at 50: "Holla If Ya Hear Me,” which opens on Thursday. “That event is cited as the beginning. That’s 50 years almost to the date. We’ve known for some time that the anniversary was coming. We’ve had large-scale special exhibits looking back at hip-hop music and culture going back to the Rock Hall’s earliest years. We have always had hip-hop artists reflected in our exhibits and our inductions, but this will be a comprehensive look.”

A number of events will take place during the day and into the evening on Thursday to mark the new exhibit's opening.

Inductees Chuck D (Public Enemy) and Darryl McDaniels (Run-DMC) will be on hand to speak about the PBS documentary series Fight the Power: How Hip-Hop Changed the World and the Rock Hall’s exhibit. Jason Hanley, the Rock Hall's Vice President of Education & Visitor Engagement, will host the conversation with the two luminaries. The interview takes place at 3 p.m. in the Foster Theatre, and it's open to invited guests, select media and Rock Hall members.

Then, a dedication takes place at 5 p.m.

And finally, the Rock Hall hosts a special Rock Hall Nights event that runs from 6 to 10 p.m. Chuck D, Flavor Flav and McDaniels are scheduled to appear. There will be turntable, sampler and drum machine stations (including the Rock Hall’s new BEAT LAB interactive), and the Rock Hall will screen Induction moments featuring archival footage of Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, LL Cool J, the Beastie Boys, and more. DJ NicNacc will spin classic  hip-hop hits, and guests will receive a commemorative event laminate (while supplies last).

“These are legends of the hip-hop story, and they will all be here to celebrate with us and to unveil the exhibit to the public,” says Goehrke when asked about the special guests. “The exhibit will be open for the unforeseeable future, so fans from all around the world can enjoy it.”

Broken up into five different sections, the exhibit will center on hip-hop’s foundations and its rise in the ’80s. Artifacts from Bone Thugs N Harmony and Machine Gun Kelly will represent the Cleveland connection.

“The artifact list is incredible and tells so many of the stories,” says Goehrke. “There are artifacts from Public Enemy and NWA and some of the records that Grandmaster Flash would use when he was developing his quick mix theory. The exhibit includ es the bass guitar used on the Sugar Hill Gang’s ‘Rapper’s Delight,’ the song that essentially introduced hip-hop to a wider audience. It was the first track to chart in the Top 40 back in 1979."

Fashion has been important, and the exhibit acknowledges that as well.

"We have the outfit that Andre 3000 wore in the Outkast video for ‘Hey Ya!,' which is inspired by the Beatles appearance on Ed Sullivan," says Goehrke.  "We have the Kangol hat worn by LL Cool J and the outfits that Puffy Daddy made for ‘Mo Money, Mo Problems.’ I’m a big Salt-N-Pepa fan, and we have Pepa’s jacket she wore for the groundbreaking hit ‘Push It.' It’s such an iconic track jacket. We have DMC’s Adidas shoes. [The exhibit shows how] a lot of the artists begin to inspire their look and the visual aspect of hip-hop became so influential thanks to the rise of MTV and shows like Yo! MTV Raps.”

Goehrke says that the exhibit aspires to tell hip-hop’s "complete story."

“Chuck D famously called hip-hop the Black CNN, and what he meant was that hip-hop provided this outlet for creative expression and a platform with a microphone and megaphone so that stories that weren’t covered on the nightly news could be heard," he says. "Those stories are critical to the exhibit.”

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