The New York Public Library is getting in on the ongoing celebration of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary this summer. They’ve announced a special edition hip-hop library card, available at all branches starting Friday, July 14. Here’s more about it:
Unlock the power of the Library with a new, special-edition library card commemorating 50 years of hip-hop! The card features imagery from the soundtrack cassette of the iconic 1983 film Wild Style, directed by Charlie Ahearn, widely 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.
If you live, work, attend school, or pay property taxes in New York and are 13 years old or older, you can apply for a library card online and pick it up in person starting this Friday.
The Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, aka the Main Branch of the NYPL at 42nd St Bryant Park, will also host “The Rap Up,” with Datwon Thomas, Charlie Ahearn, Fab 5 Freddy, Mickey Factz, 5001 Flavors, April Walker, Vikki Tobak, DJ Spinna, and more, and a hip-hop-themed edition of the annual Dance Party NYC, all happening on Saturday, August 5 and starting at 10 AM. It’s free to attend, and you can register here.