Building the Hip Hop Library
Hip hop taught a lot of us to read before school did. Liner notes, magazines, the words on a wall. The Hip Hop Library started from that idea: if the culture already gets young people reading, writing and thinking, a library built around it can do even more.
For years the library has been a traveling one. Storytimes at branch libraries, workshops in schools, books handed out at block parties. This website is the next step. It puts the history of Philly hip hop in one place, from the first DJs in the 1970s to the artists coming up right now, with sources for every story.
A home on Cecil B. Moore
We are working toward a permanent home at 2340 Cecil B. Moore Avenue in North Philadelphia. It will be a place to read, listen, learn and make things, open to everyone.
How you can help
Come to an event, share the timeline with someone who lived it, or tell us a story we missed. If you can give, every bit goes to books, programs and the new space.
Thank you for being part of it.
Malika Love
Founder & CEO