New York Public Library Releases 50 Years of Hip Hop Library Card

By Lori Perkins

Image taken from New York Public Library's Website

It’s the 50th anniversary of the birth of Hip Hop, which we all know was incubated in New York City (the Bronx, my borough).

So to commemorate this cultural event, the New York Pubic library has created what is sure to be collectible edition library card which begins release today and is free.

According to NYPL, the card features imagery from the soundtrack cassette of the iconic 1983 film Wild Style, directed by Charlie Ahearn, considered to be the first film dedicated to hip-hop. The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture's Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division 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.

Apply online or at a branch, and pick up your hip-hop library card from an NYPL location near you!