With new funding for South Bronx museum, Adams declares himself NYC’s first ‘hip hop mayor’

Mayor Adams anointed himself the city’s first hip hop mayor Wednesday when he unveiled $5.5 million in additional city funding for the construction of the Universal Hip Hop Museum, which is expected to open two years from now in the South Bronx.

Flanked by a who’s who of rap royalty, Hizzoner reflected on the number of Black elected officials holding power now at the city, state and federal levels — and credited part of that success to hip hop’s now-broad cultural influence.

“All of this chocolate — we better do something with it. You know what I’m saying?” he said. “We can do this. And so this museum is our Trojan horse. We just wanted to get on the inside. We’re on the inside now.”

Adams, a former NYPD captain, has been critical of the subgenre of hip hop known as drill rap in recent weeks, but he clearly reveled in praising hip hop more broadly on Wednesday.

The latest round of capital money from his administration and the City Council comes in addition to the $19.8 million the city has already put towards the museum’s construction. The museum has received $16 million from the state, as well as money from private businesses like Microsoft and the Warner Music Group, said Rocky Bucano, executive director. The space will occupy the bottom two floors of the new Exterior St. building, which is expected to offer 20 additional floors of housing as well.

Mayor Eric Adams and NYC Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) Commissioner Laurie Cumbo announce a total of $5.5 million — $2 million of which was contributed by Mayor Adams — in new capital funding for the Universal Hip Hop Museum to fit out its future 52,000-square-foot home at the Bronx Point development at Mill Pond Park. 610 Exterior Street, Bronx. Wednesday, August 3, 2022. (ED REED/)

“This has been a labor of love. I was a teenage DJ when hip hop was first starting,” Bucano told the Daily News. “It’s just rewarding to know hip hop will have its own space to preserve, document and celebrate all that history.”

Adams stressed that history and the city’s political history are intertwined as well.

“Don’t disconnect this moment. First time in New York City history — we have a hip hop mayor,” Adams declared, flashing his signature broad grin. “Dyslexic, arrested, rejected — now I’m elected.”

He also couldn’t help but quip about how it would have been inappropriate for former Mayor Bill de Blasio to be helming the city as the museum takes on its more defined form. Right now, the Universal Hip Hop Museum is housed in a temporary location at the nearby Bronx Terminal Market.

“I’m proud to be the mayor at this time,” Adams said. “Thank God Bill de Blasio didn’t open this museum, you know? And no hit on him, but this is my museum that I should be opening.”

Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson made sure to note the exact date and location of where hip hop started — in her home borough on August 11, 1973 at 1520 Sedgwick Ave. — where DJ Kool Herc first showcased break beats and an early form of MC’ing.

With the 50th anniversary of hip hop’s birth just one year away, the museum’s grand opening in 2024 is widely anticipated and is expected to be a major draw to the borough — even though it will occur one year after the big anniversary.

During the topping off ceremony to the Universal Hip Hop Museum Wednesday, May 25, 2022 in The Bronx, New York. (Barry Williams/)

“I cannot wait to be here for the ribbon cutting. It’s going to be the biggest thing you have ever seen in New York City,” said Adams’ Cultural Affairs Commissioner Laurie Cumbo. “Did you see how people waited on line around the corners for a Bigge Smalls MetroCard? Wait till this museum opens.”

Pioneering rap producer and founder of Def Jam Recordings Russell Simmons said he hopes the museum will give people a clearer picture of hip hop’s early history — and not just retell the already well-known stories of its stars.

Universal Hip Hop Museum executive director Rocky Bucano, Nas, LL Cool J, and Fat Joe attend the Universal Hip Hop Museum Groundbreaking Ceremony at Bronx Point on May 20, 2021 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Dia Dipasupil/)

“We all know the billionaires. We know Kanye and will certainly celebrate Kanye and Drake and all the big success stories,” he said. “But we forget many of the artists. And I’m most concerned with the artists, who before there were recorded records, they were performing artists. And those great performing artists started in Harlem and the Bronx ... I want to see them celebrated and compensated.”