The Bronx 161st Street Business Improvement District (BID) is celebrating the 50th anniversary of hip-hop with an art installation in Lou Gehrig Plaza next to Yankee Stadium.
The installation, which was created with 161st Street BID partner LeMonde Studio, is made of an amalgamation of one of the most iconic symbols of hip-hop – boomboxes.
“The boombox is our homage to hip-hop culture,” said Nicolas Synnot, COO and managing partner of LeMonde Studio. “By turning the crank, the piece lights up, and music comes out of the various speakers. The project is 100% human-powered and sustainable, reflecting our mission and values.”
With Aug. 11, 1973 serving as the birthdate of hip-hop, the boombox art — which will remain open through September — is part of a citywide celebration this summer paying tribute to the golden anniversary. The festivities will culminate in a star-studded concert at Yankee Stadium with some of the biggest names in hip-hop on Aug. 11.
Beyond creating a “love letter to hip-hop in the form of art,” 161st Street BID Executive Director Trey Jenkins told the Bronx Times that, in creating the installation, the organization hopes to “bring more eyeballs to our district which in turn brings more foot traffic to our businesses during non-event days at Yankee Stadium.”
The 161st Street BID is in the heart of the Bronx Capitol District, located on and around 161st Street and Yankee Stadium. The BID was created to improve the quality of life for those who live, work, visit and shop in the area.
Hip-hop’s half-century history started in an apartment in the Bronx less than a mile away from Yankee Stadium, where Clive Campbell, better known as DJ Kool Herc, revolutionized a new type of DJ style. The genre will be celebrated in a star-studded concert at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 11 with some of the biggest names in hip-hop.
Since that fateful moment in the 1970s, hip-hop has expanded from the Bronx to be a global, cultural phenomenon.
Although Jenkins said the 161st Street BID doesn’t have a personal connection to hip-hop, it does represent the business district in which hip-hop was born. In addition, the BID is an entertainment destination at large, with “Yankee Stadium in the backdrop and museums nearby like the Bronx Museum, the Bronx Children’s Museum and the Universal Hip-Hop Museum.”
The boombox installation is not the BID’s first art project in Lou Gehrig Plaza – the organization recently opened a successful “Big Apple” installation at the same location. Synnott said the people who frequent the area surrounding Yankee Stadium are always enthusiastic about LeMonde Studio and the BID’s ventures.
“We are always amazed by the strong positive reactions from the community and how welcoming they are to new projects,” Synnott said.
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