Benny Cruz and Jens Franzén: Making “Old” Stuff New, Always Relatable and Relevant
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Benny Cruz, interdisciplinary artist and THHM Donor photographed by Jens FranzénJens Franzén, photographer and THHM Donor photographed by Bruce Gilden (Magnum Photos, London, England, 2019) These remarkable artists, based in […]
Access is The Commodity
![ultimate biography of Jay-Z as a business and a billionaire](https://uhhm.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ESOM-for-featured-image.png)
If you know how and why Hip Hop began, you know how powerful storytelling – for the sake of justice, culture, and entertainment – can be. Thus, you can appreciate why Sulaiman Jenkins and Mutah Beale produced and wrote their book Life is ЯAW: The Story of a Reformed Outlaw. They donated a signed copy to the Universal Hip Hop Museum.
Still Raw, Still Remarkable: Mutah Beale & Sulaiman Jenkins are Hip Hop, Whether or Not They Still Listen to Beats & Rhymes
![life is raw mutal beale napoleon sulaiman jenkins UHHM donors](https://uhhm.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Life-is-Raw-book-photo-FOR-WEBSITE.png)
If you know how and why Hip Hop began, you know how powerful storytelling – for the sake of justice, culture, and entertainment – can be. Thus, you can appreciate why Sulaiman Jenkins and Mutah Beale produced and wrote their book Life is ЯAW: The Story of a Reformed Outlaw. They donated a signed copy to the Universal Hip Hop Museum.
Being You is Revolutionary
![Brian Allen Irvin Nipsey Hustle tribute painter UHHM donor](https://uhhm.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/nipsy.jpg)
Music. Every genre has its thing. Songs are often, if not usually, about something specific and structured accordingly. While every song is – in different ways – about the human experience, the tones, styles, and methods are different.
During War, He Makes Art: Painter Antonio Mcilwaine Creates, Curates, and Advocates
![Antonio Mcilwaine sharpism artist UHHM donor atlanta innovator](https://uhhm.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/AntonionMcilwaineNew-1024x873.jpg)
Sharpism artist and UHHM Donor Antonio Mcilwaine on his art’s origin: “One of the reasons I chose to become a visual artist is I was paid to make something that came easily to me. I could always create the product. Always.” The product was the portrait. He enjoyed it. Using different techniques. Telling a story. And when he finished, he could look at the portrait and say, “I created this.”
How it Began Continues to Inspire: Stanley L Jackson’s Mural is 80s Hip Hop
![Stanley L Jackson mural artist UHHM donor](https://uhhm.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/post4.jpg)
“Caricaturing allows me the opportunity to capture a subject’s unique characteristics in a fun way. In today’s society, we focus on being politically correct or perfect; this type of artwork allows me to step outside of the box.”
From Baltimore to the Bronx to Everywhere: Savior of Hip Hop Donates To THHM
![Rah Deluxe MC UHHM donor](https://uhhm.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/IMG_0888-768x1024.jpg)
“I find inspiration in different things: comic books, anime, ways that people – especially kids – won’t turn on each other by making someone feel smaller, and disrespecting one’s unfortunate situation. Just because one may have less money than another doesn’t make them any less of a person. My version of Hip Hop is about flowing and the art form; it has nothing to do with money.”
Ralph Vargas: How Da Phunky Drumma Made “Funky Drummer”
![Ralph Vargas hip hop drummer UHHM donor](https://uhhm.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/unnamed-600x800-1.jpg)
This Hip Hop collective’s producer, the RZA, sampled Vargas’ drum beats for tracks such as “Bring Da Ruckus” and “Wu-Tang 7th Chamber”, as well as a then-unreleased version of the hit “C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me).”
Old & New, Past & Present in Art and Hip Hop: How Dan “The Signtologist” Ericson Reinvents & Repurposes
![Dan Ericson The Signtologist Artist UHHM donor](https://uhhm.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Dan_Ericson_new-1024x729.jpeg)
“Coming from an analogue upbringing, I appreciate the tools that aren’t digitized. Example: I can go to the library and find a book about something I could also read online. And I choose to go to the library because that’s one way I can really turn things on by turning something off.”
Documenting Hip Hop History: From the Broom to the Ceiling, Taylor Golonka Documents Michael Chambers’s Contributions to the Culture
![Taylor Golonka Michael Chambers documentary boogaloo shrimp director dancer breakdancer UHHM donors](https://uhhm.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/post9.jpg)
Whether or not you have seen “Breakin’” or “Breakin’ 2,” you have seen Michael Chambers, who began his career as a dancer when he was 16 with the stage name Boogaloo Shrimp.
Alignment, Timing, Truth
![Nasser Metcalfe actor activist philanthropist journalist UHHM donor](https://uhhm.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Nasser-Metcalfe-headshot-resized-for-new-site-061521.png)
If you know how and why Hip Hop began, you know how powerful storytelling – for the sake of justice, culture, and entertainment – can be. Thus, you can appreciate why Sulaiman Jenkins and Mutah Beale produced and wrote their book Life is ЯAW: The Story of a Reformed Outlaw. They donated a signed copy to the Universal Hip Hop Museum.