Hip Hop Birthplace Still At Risk Of Sale

The birthplace of Hip Hop faces the threat of being forgotten as The Bronx landmark apartment building is on the verge of a potential sale, according to an article from The Washington Post.

1520 Sedgwick Avenue, in The Bronx, has been recognized as the place where legendary DJ Kool Herc played records on turntables, extended break beats to encourage dancing, and spoke over the sound, essentially inventing Hip Hop in 1973.

The building is currently at risk of being sold to a high-profile investor, Mark Karasick, who in January told tenant advocates that he would agree to withdraw his bid for $14 million. However, the building's assessed value is only $7.5 million, according to Dina Levy of the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board. As of now, further plans have yet to be announced. "Just like The Grand Ole Opry, just like Graceland, just like the Apollo, Hip Hop is part of the American folk dance. It came from this building. That should be respected," Herc said in defense to the proposal.

Kool Herc, 53, has returned to lobby against the building's sale and plans to hold a fundraiser later in the month at the Hip Hop Culture Center in Harlem to help residents buy the property themselves

Speaking on behalf of continuing the building's legacy, director of the Hip Hop Culture Center Curtis Sherrod explained the significance of advocating. "In America, we tend to forget where things come from. Hip-hop was invented by poor people in a borough that's a forgotten borough," Sherrod said. Last summer, the location became eligible for both state and national historic registers as "the birthplace of Hip-Hop."

Reported by Cyrus Langhorne.