Hip-hop’s 50th anniversary heats up at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building at Dance Party NYC!

Registration for this event has closed. We welcome any walk-ups, space permitting.

Join The New York Public Library on Saturday, August 5, for a special edition of Dance Party NYC celebrating 50 years of hip-hop! We’re teaming up with the New Victory Theater and DJ Duane Harriott to bring a family-friendly afternoon of hip-hop workshops, crafts, and nonstop dancing to the plaza outside the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. Take a lesson in hip-hop dance from New Victory Teaching Artists Olney Edmondson and Sun Kim, design your own kicks, and sign up for NYPL’s special-edition hip-hop library card.

Presented in partnership with Bryant Park and the New Victory Theater.

Admission is free! Register to get a reminder for this event.

Plus! Starting at 10 AM the same day, the Library is hosting The Rap Up, a free immersive experience that will take you back back in time to hip-hop's early years. Panel discussions and hip-hop exhibits will feature VIBE Magazine editor-in-chief Datwon Thomas, Wild Style director Charlie Ahearn, Fab 5 Freddy, award-winning hip-hop artist Mickey Factz, fashion icons 5001 Flavors and April Walker, acclaimed author and journalist Vikki Tobak, music by DJ Spinna, and more. Find out more and register here.

Celebrating 50 Years of Hip-Hop at NYPL

Join The New York Public Library this summer to celebrate 50 years of hip-hop with programs, reading recommendations, and more! In 1973 at a South Bronx house party, DJ Kool Herc isolated and repeated the percussive “break” in the tracks he was spinning, creating one of the first instances of hip-hop as people would come to know it. In the 50 years since then, hip-hop’s impact and influence have reached beyond music throughout culture, from fashion to film to literature and more. Learn more.

New Special-Edition Hip-Hop Library Card!

Available in all NYPL locations starting July 14, our special-edition library card commemorating 50 years of hip-hop features imagery from the soundtrack cassette of the iconic 1983 film Wild Style, directed by Charlie Ahearn, widely considered to be the first film dedicated to hip-hop. The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture holds the original cassette in its collections alongside key archives related to the birth and legacy of hip-hop. The cassette book, which was produced by Kaz Kuzui, includes photos of soundtrack producer Fab 5 Freddy and the “Wild Style” art that was created by artists Zephyr, Revolt, and Sharp. Get your hip-hop library card!

About the Performers

New Victory brings kids to the arts and the arts to kids in and beyond New York City. Powered by New 42, whose mission is to make extraordinary performing arts a vital part of everyone’s life from the earliest years onwards, New Victory connects its audiences to new cultures, artists and stories through its international programming online and in its historic Times Square theater.

DJ Duane Harriott has been at the forefront of the NYC underground music scene for over 22 years as a DJ, record store clerk, producer and event planner. As one of New York City’s most respected veteran selectors, he’s known for his musical diversity which is frequently on display as one of the founding resident DJs of the legendary NYC Negroclash events. He has also shared deck duty with a wide range of respected acts such as Grandmaster Flash, Gilles Peterson Kenny Dope, Rich Medina, Massive Attack, Kool DJ Red Alert, and many others. He’s also the host of the long running acclaimed radio show “The Duane Train” on WFMU.  He is currently half of the Dance Production team “Devin Dare.” These productions have been finding homes in the crates of acclaimed DJs all over the world, including Peanut Butter Wolf, DJ Preservation, Gilles Peterson, Craig Charles, and Louie Vega. A true veteran of the DJ game, his soulful, eclectic hip-hop and disco-inspired sets encompass everything from Golden Era Hip-Hop to northern soul, high-tech 21st century soul, and exclusive re-edits and remixes that have taken him regularly to Germany, Mexico, France and everywhere in-between.

Connect

Please submit all press inquiries to Sara Beth Joren at least 48 hours before the event: email sarabethjoren@nypl.org or use this Gmail template.

For all other questions and inquiries, please email publicprograms@nypl.org or use this Gmail template.

The New York Public Library's free services and resources are made possible thanks to the support of the Friends of the Library. Join this group of Library lovers and take advantage of special membership benefits, like invitations to members-only virtual events, discounts at the Library Shop, and more. Join now.

If you have symptoms consistent with COVID-19 or suspect you have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive, please stay home.

LIVE from NYPL is made possible by the continuing generosity of Celeste Bartos, Mahnaz Ispahani Bartos and Adam Bartos, the Margaret and Herman Sokol Public Education Endowment Fund, and the support of Library patrons and friends.