From a party flyer from the seventies to a political essay by teenager Tupac Shakur. These are the pieces that are part of the interactive exhibition Hip-Hop America: The Mixtape Exhibit at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, which takes a journey through 50 years of the ‘dynamic’ genre.

“We want people to be able to literally ‘touch’ hip-hop. “It’s a multimedia and diverse experience, created so that even an unwavering hip-hop fan can learn something new,” he said in an interview with EFE Adam Bradley, one of the exhibition’s curators and founding director of the Race and Popular Culture Laboratory (RAP Lab) at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

The exhibition opened to the public on Saturday, October 7 and will be on display for a year. Additional activities are planned during this period, such as workshops, lectures and signing sessions.

The nails of artist Saweetie, nominated for a Grammy in 2022, are on display in the exhibition celebrating 50 years of hip-hop. Photo: courtesy of grammy.com

The installation offers a tour of the dance, lettering, fashion, graffiti and objects of some of the artists who laid the foundation for the culture born in New York in 1973, as well as those who continue to live it today to hold.

“It is an exhibition that talks about the past, present and future of hip-hop,” he assured EFE Felicia Angeja Viator, DJ, author of the book Living and Defying LA: How Gangsta Rap Changed America and also curator of the exhibition.

Hip hop styles. Photo: courtesy of grammy.com

The exhibition includes the iconic red leather jacket of The Notorious BIG and the white suit of Tupac Shakur, exactly two controversial rap figures from the 1990s whose tragic deaths marked the height of the musical rivalry on the coasts. the former was the king of rap on the East Coast, and the latter, the king of the West Coast). “They were friends at first, they had an absurd period of animosity, and I’m sure if they had been alive they would have gotten over that and become friends again,” Bradley added.

Hip-hop’s most important producers and promoters are also recognized. Photo: courtesy of grammy.com

The exhibition also completes interactive maps that locate the hip-hop scene in the United States, interviews with musicians about their creative process, and even highlights a typical Turntable (turntable) so visitors can mix and scratch records like a hip-hop DJ.

Female artists also form an essential part of the exhibition. Some of the names that stand out are Beyoncé and Queen Latifah. “As a DJ, it was important for me to show how women have been present all this time and that they are not just isolated producers or artists,” said Viator.