Black History Month: Tour of the Cornell Hip Hop Collection with Ben Ortiz

Meet at Cornell Library's Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections (Kroch Library).

The mission of the Cornell Hip Hop Collection (CHHC) is to collect and make accessible the historical artifacts of Hip Hop culture and to ensure their preservation for future generations.

Established in 2007, the CHHC preserves more than 250,000 items across dozens of archives documenting the origins of Hip Hop culture and its spread around the globe. Located in Cornell Library's Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, the Hip Hop archives include thousands of sound and video recordings, hundreds of party and event flyers, artwork, photographs, books, magazines, and advertising, along with the archives of Hip Hop's photographers, filmmakers, dancers, MC's, DJ's, artists, journalists, producers and publicists, and independent labels, managers and agencies.

A few highlights include: the archives of early Hip Hop photographers Joe Conzo, Jr. and Ernie Paniccioli; the archive of Charlie Ahearn (director of Wild Style 1983); the archive of Buddy "The Flyer King" Esquire; the archive of "Breakbeat Lenny" Roberts (co-founder of Ultimate Breaks and Beats); the archives of the IGTimes (a.k.a. The International Graffiti Times) and pioneering graffiti artist Richie "SEEN" Mirando; the archive of celebrated MC Grandmaster Caz; the personal archive and record collection of DJ Afrika Bambaataa and the Universal Zulu Nation; the archives of legendary Hip Hop dancers "Richard "Crazy Legs" Colon and Jorge "Popmaster Fabel" Pabon of the Rock Steady Crew; the archive of Def Jam publicist Bill Adler, and the papers of other founding or influential contributors to Hip Hop's evolution, including materials by West Coast pioneers Alonzo Williams and Andre Manuel (the Unknown DJ).

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