The Smithsonian Institution is a long, long way away from “the jungle” Grandmaster Flash rapped about in 1982’s “The Message,” but the seminal artist will soon find a home in its halls.
On Tuesday, the Smithsonian began hunting for hip-hop artifacts for an upcoming exhibit on the genre and the culture surrounding it, according to Reuters. Ice-T, Russell Simmons, and a slew of other rappers and producers contributed to the exhibit, which includes Flash’s turntables, a boom box owned by Fab Five Freddy, and various pictures, album-cover artwork and recordings.
So how do veteran hip hop acts feel about having their art immortalized in the largely un-hip Washington museum?
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“It validates it,” Ice-T told Reuters. “It’s a good feeling.”
Don’t book your flights to Washington just yet, though: It will likely take three to five years before the exhibit is ready.
Smithsonian Institution official site
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