THE SMITHSONIAN CELEBRATES THE CULTURE WITH A HIP-HOP BOX SET

A unique collaboration between the Hip-Hop Community, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings and Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture will produce a new box set called the Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap, a direct reflection of the seismic cultural and lifestyle impact of African-American urban culture that has since become a global phenomenon.

The set will contain nine CDs of music featuring 130 tracks, plus a 300-page book with new essays and brand new photos.

The Smithsonian has launched a 30-day Kickstarter campaign starting today, to fund the effort.

"The campaign to produce a hip-hop and rap anthology is one of the most important projects on contemporary history that the Smithsonian will ever undertake, because it shows that Smithsonian's work is as much about today and tomorrow as it is about yesterday," said Lonnie G. Bunch III, founding director of the National Museum of African-American History and Culture.

"Hip-hop is a musical revolution that embodies the voice of an entire generation and that's why it's important for the museum to partner with the hip-hop community and Folkways Recordings to tell this story. Hip-hop helps us to understand the power of black music and the impact of African-American culture on the world."