 Good morning, everyone Good morning. Good morning in case you didn't know it November is national hip-hop history month. Can I get a holla? Has never had this energy and enthusiasm That's right believe that so just so you know next year marks the 50th birthday of hip-hop For nearly five decades hip-hop has been one of the city of New York's proudest achievements I know I grew up on hip-hop right it has it's the innovation the creativity as well as the Industry that it created Every borough in the city lays claim to hip-hop, but first the boogie down Bronx Shaolin Staten Island in the house No, okay, I think there's a there's a reason every borough has their own connection and lineage to hip-hop Hip-hop was the oral tradition of our people a way of telling our story and our style and our voice That's why the city is proud to really announce our formal partnership with the Universal Hip-Hop Museum Which is going to be dedicated yes? Dedicated to preserving and telling that history for generations and we are partnering with the museum to really have a host of events and activities During 2023 the 50th anniversary of hip-hop so with that I'd like to introduce our next speaker who had the vision for the Universal Hip-Hop Museum mr. Rocky Bocano Thank You deputy mayor right and thank you mayor Adams for inviting the hip-hop culture to your home your house Listen 50 years of hip-hop history New York City is the only city in the country that can actually claim 50 years of hip-hop history The Universal Hip-Hop Museum is dedicated to the preservation and celebration of hip-hop history and culture past present and future And I'm just so thankful that we have a strong representation From all the pioneers the practitioners that have made this culture the most important art form in the entire world Starting with my boy over here my brother grandmaster flash He and I used to do the parks back in the day, but you know You know and then the formation of the zoo nation give it up for the zoo nation, too And you know all the men and women here Roxanne, you know They have given so much to make this culture what it is today. They have been true ambassadors of hip-hop Started from the streets, and here they are a multi-billion dollar industry Founded by brown and black brothers and sisters and now embraced by every racial Background and ethnicity in the entire world. You can't go anywhere in the world and not experience hip-hop So I'm just so proud that the city of New York and the state of New York have given their support to the Universal Hip-Hop Museum We will open in 2024 and it will be the greatest celebration in 2023 To really demonstrate how hip-hop has touched every part of today's society We want to empower and uplift our communities using hip-hop We want to show truth to power in our storytelling and we want to bring people together hip-hop is about unity It's not about creating this diverse, you know friction between each other We want to make sure that we are all united with hip-hop and the hip-hop people that you see behind me So without further ado, I'm going to pass the mic to To my sister over here Roxanne Chantay I have a special introduction for Roxanne Chantay No, we we got a special introduction for her but before her we actually want to turn it over to Ralph McDaniels One of the fathers of this movement and a key leader in our partnership Thank you deputy mayor right, thank you mayor Adams for allowing us to come into city hall and Have this amazing announcement about hip-hop's 50th anniversary next year in 2023. It's been a long time coming We are super happy to have all these entertainers here, but i'm here to talk a little bit about some of the Educational facilities that will be involved from all the libraries in new york city to the museums All educational facilities will be involved in this because I think it's important Hip-hop users are the most words out of any genre of music And I think it's important that our young people know how to use those words and and make them work for them So they can go further. So just so you know education is the fifth element of hip-hop and that will be represented In this celebration as well The founder and creator of the video music box So now we are going to hear from the legends that created it that started it and of course With a woman led administration like we have here Eric Adams it's going to be ladies first So with that I want to introduce Roxanne Chante Thank you deputy mayor. Thank you mayor for having us here Um, it is definitely an honor when they first approached me and told me like listen What we're going to do is we are going to do 50 events 50 days celebrating 50 years of hip-hop I was like that's a lot of 50s But I am honored to be able to participate knowing that Seeing the spin that has been taken with new york city and knowing that we're getting ready to celebrate something like hip-hop here in New york city where it was, you know, a lot of people want to debate whether it was created here or not But where we have perfected it. Don't you agree? Absolutely. So because of that and also having the universal hip-hop museum I am looking forward to participating in these 50 events. So I'm telling everybody listen. Let's all get excited Let's all get ready because next year we will be celebrating hip-hop's birthday So we will be 50 places doing 50 things with over 50 people and we hope to see 50 million. Please believe me Thank you so much And next up He goes by the name of the unforgettable name of the man they call master g. Where is he? I I tried I tried What's up everybody? How y'all doing? I am the mas the ter the g with a double e I am truly truly truly honored to be here in new york city with the mayor with all of this Hip-hop love all this hip-hop excitement. You know when when I when I was in the studio cutting rap is delight Uh, there was no way on the planet earth that I thought that I'd be staying I'd be sitting here in city hall Louis the mayor and all of this and so the fact that we are 50 years 50 years the fact that we're going to do this celebration the fact that we're here with so many incredible individuals I mean, this is just so Profoundly phenomenally Wonderful, and I thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you to everybody that's been a part of it All the places that we've been in the world, you know, that's the crazy that's the other crazy thing I mean, I've been, you know, singapore and you know, russia and all these different places to doing this thing And this thing has been some kind of wonderful. So thank you so much Thank you, mayor and yo, it's good to see everybody and I appreciate y'all man. Let's make this 50 happen And as master g said a hip-hop has changed the world but started right here in new york city And next up we have our hip-hop mayor. He didn't tell me we were wearing outfits Eric Adams Oh man, you know as I move throughout the city people try to figure out, you know, who am I And you go back and you look at when these brothers and sisters were starting this amazing january music No one wanted it. It was denied. It was bastardized. You could not see it anywhere and it was even criminalized And but they pushed ahead They pushed ahead and they were just bold enough To be true to their arts and their crafts and you know, when you see here, you know I remember running home rushing to see video music box You know Ralph and I went to high school together And he had that vision of allowing when other stations did not want The artists to perform Ralph McDaniels laid the platform and turned it into a conversation And when you look at, you know, eric b Eric b When when You know when I started running for mayor, I sat down with eric b And eric b who has also helped the governor Murphy during his run for governor And so what we're saying in hip hop is 50 is that hip hop has grown up in a manner that they're not going to be exploited You know, many of these legends as we embrace some of the new artists that are coming on board They're respecting the legends who Participated in the birth of hip hop and now we must make sure that that 50 million That we are going to raise in the product and all that we produced from the hip hop museum All of that goes to those legends who were here and who paid the way and allowed this industry to move forward So as we talk about education in school as we talk about the products that are being going to be sold We're looking at the economics of hip hop And we're saying to the legends you have a right that you invested in something And so now you should receive the equity that came forward from your investment You should receive that And to you and to the legends, you know, don't I say this over and over again don't discount yourselves Don't discount yourselves. Um, you know, we we have seen a right deputy mayor. That's the hip hop child You know, you have uh, david banks to change chancellor. That's the hip hop hop child, you know, these Those who are running. How came jeffrey's hip hop child jamani williams, leticia james We listened to your beats and your words and that it would became our energy I started my day with fight the power fight the power You know, I sat down with chaos one when he wrote the tune on black cops You know, I could just think of all those tunes That while I was studying my exams before I studied my exam for sergeant lieutenant or captain I would listen to the hip hop Sounds and that gave me the energy that I have. Let's be clear My story is your story You know, my story is your story dyslexic Arrested rejected now I'm elected And so Hitting in this moment This celebratory moment celebrate the fact That you made me mayor With your lyrics poured into me gave me the inspiration You told the story you made me unafraid to tell my story because you were unafraid to tell our story And because you were unafraid I was unafraid as I went throughout this city Say this is who I am and you know what happened? People took me for who I am So we have a message out there to those young people on rikers island right now You can say your mayor was arrested so you can move forward Those young people who are in homeless shelters You can say your mayor lived on the verge of homeless those who are struggling in school that are learning disability Your mayor has a learning disability those who said that you would be rejected Your mayor was rejected So this is our moment This is our moment And nothing is going to get in our way in accomplishing this so happy birthday To hip hop hip hop turning 50 We're going to have a celebratory party like we've never witnessed before The birth of hip hop Is here in new york city And we're going to celebrate that birth throughout this entire city and going to venues venues that historically Denied your right to be there and so from maino to all of you who are here today I want to say thank you. All I know is we started from the bottom Now we're here Thank you I ain't gonna say too much. What up? What up, man? What up kid good? So we talk, you know, that's the lingo. That's the billion dollar talk. You know what I mean kid Spreading all across the planet like the way we talk, you know what I'm saying kid And um, yeah love love love politicians love family love everybody melting pot. It's us america We the melting pot, you know, we're gonna fix all that, you know all across the place, you know Fix that spirit. That's china, you know all that, you know and then raise those kids like parenthood, you know Yeah, so it's called dismantle And then parenthood the kids the white kids type, you know All right, that's it for me love Mayor adams It's been 49 years for me. I could remember times when it was absolutely nothing no computers no social media no technology just double copies of vinyl it has been said Words and music I flip it and I say music and words because you cannot rhyme on nothing I came up with a system called the quick mix theory it enabled me To extract a particular area of a song and repeat it and make a bed of music For human beings to speak on This particular bed of music was in service of the rapper and the breakdancer I did this 49 years ago Today they called it rap I've been called a legend a lot of times Legends die young A lot of times legends don't get a chance to see What they've done in full fruition And i'm talking to all the hip hoppers there And all the hip hoppers around the world. I want to say thank you because when I did this This thing could have been a hell no Thank god The beat Was in service and a rapper Told their stories and the breakdancers Did their dance It's a blessing to be here to see this I want to say To coup herc Thank you for that first party There's other name I might not be allowed to say but I must say to africa bambada What would hip hop be without The beatbox The turntables The microphone And the parks We did this For absolutely Nothing And now it is Unarguably The biggest music on planet earth and I want to say thank god we here Thank you all so much and we Yeah, we're gonna do a group photo and we have many of our commissioners here from parks Education nitsha who will all be involved in the celebration as well. So we're gonna do a picture Fun as a kid