According to news sources, events on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 are
scheduled to include music, performances and lectures by several of hip
hop’s founders, and roundtable discussions led by prominent speakers
from the hip hop and academic communities. Cornell University Library
will host the event, which will highlight the one-of-akind historical
materials.

"By paying tribute to those who laid the foundation, we tell our own
history,” Bambaataa said. "Preserving hip hop’s early years will help
future generations understand the places they come from.”

Bambaataa is scheduled to address the symposium onOct. 31 as part of
a roundtable discussion featuring other hip hop pioneers such as
Grandmaster Caz, Grandwizzard Theodore, Popmaster Fable, Tony Tone,
Disco Wiz and Kool Lady Blue. Select artists will also perform in Alice
Statler Hall that evening.

Noted hip hop historians will speak at the event, including authors
Jeff Chang and Mark Anthony Neal, associate professor of black popular
culture at Duke University. Hip hop photographer Joe Conzo will present
his historic images of the Bronx during the conference. The event is
free and open to the public.

"We want the community at large to celebrate hip hop’s contributions
to American culture through a better understanding of its origins,
which are the focus of this unique collection,” said Katherine Reagan,
curator of Rare Books & Manuscripts at Cornell University Library.

Johan Kugelberg, a collector, curator and writer in the field of
popular culture, donated the materials to the Library. Kugelberg’s
book, "Born in the Bronx,” chronicles the evolution of hip hop in the
South Bronx, beginning in the early 1970s. The 2,000-piece collection
includes the archive of Bronx photographer Joe Conzo, vinyl records and
other recordings, handmade party and club fliers, and custompainted
textiles by artist Buddy Esquire.

Visit http://rmc.library.cornell. edu/hiphop for more information.