The music was pumping as hip-hop royalty packed Cipriani Wall Street. 

It was a gala to raise funds for the soon to open Hip Hop Museum in the South Bronx.

“Hip-hop is the art form that moves the whole entire globe,” rapper Fat Joe said. “It is only right that they did it in the Bronx. I’m proud to be from the Bronx. It is like a dream come true.”

“Long overdue because, I mean, of how much hip-hop has done for the culture. I feel like hip-hop has done so much to keep so many different genres alive. So this is long overdue,” legendary rapper Big Daddy Kane said.

“Me, Mike and Hank, in a million years never thought it was going to be this. But here it is, and I’m excited to be a part of it,” Master Gee, a member of The Sugarhill Gang, said.

“Coming from Vyse Avenue and 174th Street, I am incredibly happy to be here,” Bronx rapper and TV host Peter Gunz said.

The gala brought the hip-hop world and business leaders together to support the cause, raising millions of dollars. Several artists were honored for their musical contributions.

“Storytelling is my thing, my niche, my calling. From the beginning, it was never about fame. It was about giving our stories a stage, turning on imagination and making art,” rapper Slick Rick told the crowd.

Kool DJ Red Alert has been putting rappers’ songs on the radio for more than 40 years.

“Every day that we put our heart and soul into it, it is going to be displayed down the road for many generations to see,” Kool DJ Red Alert said of the museum.

“I’m accepting the rap’s next generation award tonight. I’m honored. I’m the leader of the youth. I’m grateful to be here, grateful to be awarded, grateful to be seen,” 21-year-old rapper Lil Reezy said.

“I’m truly honored to be here tonight to celebrate hip-hop as a culture. To celebrate some hip-hop icons that are my dear friends, including Fat Joe, Slick Rick and the late Andre Harrell,” DJ Cassidy said. 

The interior of The Hip Hop Museum is currently being built out. It’s 55,000 square feet on multiple levels, located on an exterior street off of 149th Street.

The museum is not just about New York City, but rather a celebration of the global culture.

“I got to give it up to hip-hop. Where would we be without it? The world would be a boring place without hip-hop, baby,” Mr. Cheeks, a member of the group Lost Boyz, said.

“Hip-hop means education, hip-hop is exposure. Hip-hop has taken me into rooms that I had never seen myself being in. Hip-hop has given me longevity,” rapper Yo-Yo said.

“This is crazy. I thought I was just going to hang out with y’all, but we were just hit with so much emotion tonight. Everything just changed for me seeing all of us here,” Queens rapper Nas told the crowd of his peers.

Executive members of The Hip Hop Museum say they are on track to open the building in the fall of 2026.