With hip-hop’s 50th Anniversary nearing on Aug. 11, rapper and Bronx hip-hop Ambassador KRS-One is calling on creatives and graphic designers across the world to put their unique stamp on a commemorative logo for this summer’s golden anniversary.
The logo contest launches on Friday, April 28 and will run until 11:59 p.m. on May 31, KRS-One announced at a press conference on Tuesday. The logos will be judged by hip-hop luminaries such as Kid Capri, GrandMaster Caz, and KRS-One.
Contest officials told the Bronx Times that they are currently seeking a fourth judge role, ideally filled by a woman associated with the genre and culture.
It was Clive Campbell aka DJ Kool Herc, on Aug. 11, 1973, who changed music and the Bronx’s association with hip-hop, forever.
It was at a “back to school event” at the now-iconic 1520 Sedgwick Ave. apartment building where, through the use of a sound system, Herc began to invent the technique of breaks, or breakbeats, which led to it being popularized by other artists like Afrika Bambaataa and Bronx crew Universal Zulu Nation and Grand Wizzard Theodore.
In the lead up to the Aug. 11 anniversary, KRS-One, real name Kris Parker, and others in the hip-hop community, will lead a series of community-based programs including a masterclass in hip-hop culture, as well as classes and popup exhibits to showcase the history and movements associated with the genre.
Anchored in the borough that gave birth to the musical genre, the Universal Hip Hop Museum is the only state-chartered educational museum that is focused on preserving the genre’s deep musical history and celebrating the five elements of hip-hop’s culture: emceeing, DJing, breakdancing, graffiti art and knowledge.
The Universal Hip-Hop Museum broke ground in the South Bronx in May 2021.
Reach Robbie Sequeira at rsequeira@schnepsmedia.com or (718) 260-4599. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes