The Bronx: From Underground to Mecca of HipHop Tourism

By Sarah Yáñez-Richards |

New York (EFE).- Hiphop was born five decades ago in the Bronx, an area then associated with violence and drugs, and half a century later this district of New York seeks to become the Mecca of this art, which has passed from underground to popular culture, with the potential to attract thousands of tourists.

It all started on August 11, 1973 at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue when DJ Kool Herc threw a party and decided to try something new on his two turntables: he stretched out the instrumental beat -breaking- so people could dance to that part for more time.

The Grand Wizzard Theodore added another technique to the hip-hop toolbox: scratching. He invented this technique, which consists of moving the records around while they play, in his room while he was talking to his mother.

Little by little the sound, rhythm, style and dance of hiphop took shape in the South Bronx neighborhood, where concerts were held and parties were held, sometimes even in dilapidated or abandoned buildings.

The term hiphop itself would take a few years to catch on, until the late ’70s in New York.

Hiphop culture goes beyond a sound and in its half century it has had various ramifications, but it is expressed in four pillars: rapping, DJing, breakdancing and graffiti.

Despite the fact that great symbols of hiphop have appeared in other areas of New York -The Notorious BIG in Brooklyn, Puff Daddy in Harlem or Nas in Queens-, the Bronx continues to be the place of reference for its old school rappers such as: Grandmaster Flash, Fat Joe or KRS-One.

The dream of rapping in the Bronx

“Any hiphop artist dreams of being in the Bronx,” Leonidas, a Chilean who has been singing in the streets and subways of New York since he arrived in the Big Apple a year ago, told EFE.

Although his style is very different from the original hiphop -his sound is a mixture of merengue, house and hiphop and his reference is Sandy & Papo-, Leonidas says that he has “a lot of respect for the underground style of rap”.

His favorite place to sing in the Bronx is near Yankee Stadium. “The Bronx is pure art, you have to create a good product because they criticize you, they tell you: ‘That’s not good, that doesn’t sound good.’ And if they see that you give something good, they say: ‘Oh, wow. What a good brother, my respects ”, notes the artist.

Hiphop, an “economic catalyst” for the Bronx

At the end of 2024-beginning of 2025, the Universal Museum of Hiphop will open in the South Bronx, on the banks of the Harlem River.

“The Bronx is the new Mecca for cultural arts. We are the first major museum to be built within a borough that is not Manhattan, which is a great advantage for The Bronx,” explains the museum’s executive director, Rocky Bucano, on a tour of the museum, still under construction, to the press. .

This museum has a budget of 65 million dollars (60.7 million euros) and is largely financed by the city and state of New York, although donations of 5 million dollars from New York senators have also helped. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand (Democrats), plus another similar one from Microsoft.

The place will have two floors, in which several rooms will be distributed for exhibitions in which the past, present and future of this movement that has become international will be recounted, as well as two theaters and a restaurant terrace.

Bucano is clear that this museum will be a great tourist attraction, since he sees the success of a parallel exhibition hall that was opened in the area pending the museum’s inauguration.

“Most of the people who come to visit us have never been to the Bronx before, so we already know that the Universal Museum of Hiphop will be a major economic catalyst for this area of ​​the South Bronx,” he stresses.

Promote affordable housing in a humble neighborhood

Beyond hiphop and tourism, the museum seeks to integrate into the community of this district -which to this day continues to be home to minority groups and people with limited resources-. Therefore, the gallery will be part of a 23-story building that will house 500 affordable homes.

“We are the cultural anchor of this housing development (…) New York City, like all big cities, needs affordable housing and we are very excited that this project represents the true spirit of community (of the Bronx),” notes Bucano and explains that so far some 40,000 people have signed up for this lottery to request to live in these apartments that will rise above the museum.