NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio Has Renamed a Street in Honor of Hip-Hop's Birthplace

Who knew that hip-hop could take it this far?

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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New York City Mayor Bill de Blasiosigned a bill to rename 42 streets and places in the five boroughs, two of which honor hip-hop's birthplace and the late Brooklyn MC Pumpkinhead. On Aug. 11 1973, DJ Kool Herc threw a "back to school jam" in the rec room of 1520 Sedgwick Ave. in the Bronx. This party has long been recognized as the beginning of hip-hop as we know it. The flyer was handwritten by Herc himself and the price of admission was $.25 for ladies and $.50 for guys.

With Kool Herc, his sister Cindy "First Lady of Hip Hop" Campbell, and Afrika Bambaataa in attendance for the historic occasion, de Blasio told the press, "If you have friends on the West Coast, remember to tell them it all started here, okay? Just remind them of that fact."

Robert "Pumpkinhead" Diaz passed unexpectedly in June of 2015 at the age of 39 after complications stemming from a minor surgery. His contributions to the underground rap scene and hip-hop overall have been recognized in the form of Robert PH Diaz Way, a street that was previously named DeGraw St. between Fourth and Fifth Avenues in Brooklyn.

The Center of Hip-Hop Advocacy's Executive Director Manny Faces released a statement acknowledging the city council and the mayor's decision to rename the streets:

“We commend the New York City Council and Mayor Bill de Blasio for naming streets in honor of hip-hop music and culture, and the late hip-hop recording artist Robert “PH” Diaz, respectively.

Who knew that hip-hop could take it this far?

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