July 26th, 2023 

Project Comms and Gerry members visit the Universal Hip Hop Museum in the Bronx: 

On July 19th, 2023, Project Comms and Gerry members visited the Universal Hip Hop Museum exhibit to explore the culture of Hip Hop from the ‘Golden Era’ (1986-1990). We met Kylerrr Bucano, a BCNY alumnus, whose dad, Rocky Bucano, founded the museum. 

Upon entering, we were struck by valuable artifacts like Coolio’s bicycle and Slick Rick’s throne from a photo shoot. Kylerr showed us a 3-minute video highlighting the Hip Hop scene with rappers from different parts of America, including N.W.A from the West Coast and LL Cool J from Queens, New York. 

We then entered a dark rectangular room with an 80’s music soundtrack and a stunning light show. Kylerr allowed us to explore the rest of the museum freely, where we saw a Run DMC concert on an old TV, a popular Fendi jacket made by Dapper Dan from that era, and special items from the late beatboxer/rapper Biz Markie, like his gold chain, a special treasure for jewelry fans like myself. 

Towards the end of our tour, Project Comms members interviewed Kylerr, asking about the inspiration behind the museum and his experience as a member. 

Some highlights of the interview were when Kylerr shared his take on the true essence of hip hop: culture, community and unity. To that end, Kyler wantedus to know that “you can use this culture [hip hop] to create change”. Rocky and Kylerr are doing just that. The new museum under construction across the street will have affordable housing in the floors above, proving they are men of their word. 

 Watch our full interview below:

 

Currently, you can find the exhibit at Bronx Terminal Market. The museum will move next year to its permanent home, a 50,000 square foot space in a newly constructed building across the street. 

This post was created by Project Comms participant, Christian G.