Afrika Bambaataa, Melle Mel and other Bronx rappers aim to create a museum dedicated to hip-hop

Every borough in New York City has some degree of hip-hop background to its name. Unfortunately, the Bronx, the birthplace of hip-hop, has been slept on, big time. There's no doubt how relevant Brooklyn and Queens have been to the genre, Harlem has represented Manhattan well, and everybody knows the Wu-Tang Clan are representing Staten Island. We bet you didn't know Pusha T was born in the Bronx however. Although he moved to Virginia Beach at a young age, few other rappers actively promote the borough.

Members of hip-hop's earliest class are looking to change that however.

Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Melle Mel, Grandmaster Caz and Grand Wizard Theodore are working with the Windows of Hip Hop project to develop a museum in the Bronx dedicated to the genre.

"Any institution dedicated to Hip Hop has to be in the Bronx," Caz said. "We're trying to make that a reality."

According to the Windows of Hip Hop website, the group's mission is "to explore Hip Hop's origins and celebrate it's cultural & historical significance in the world through exhibits, presentations, performances and educational programs."

The performers involved in the current project think that there's still inherent beauty in today's hip hop, but Melle Mel said it was too "juvenile," without standing for anything.

The plans for the hip-hop museum come amidst this week's 40th anniversary celebration of the Universal Zulu Nation, a hip-hop-based organization that began in the Bronx.