BRONX, N.Y. - Prime Minister Pete Nice was a member of the late 80s, early 90s Hip-Hop Group 3rd Bass, and has tremendous reverence for the origins of the music and culture the world knows as HipHop.

It all got started in the Bronx in parks, rec centers and local clubs.

What You Need To Know

  • The Universal Hip-Hop Museum in the Bronx pays tribute to Hip-Hop music and culture in the borough where it was born

  • The museum's pop up experience at The Bronx Terminal Market reopens November 5th with COVID protocols and a health screening machine

  • The new exhibition looks at the years 1980-85, when Hip Hop went from small clubs and parks to movies and arenas 

  • The future home of the museum is expected to be ready by the end of 2023

Nice is co-curator of the new exhibit at the Universal Hip-Hop Museum's Revolution of Hip Hop at the Bronx Terminal. It's a pop-up sneak preview exhibition of what will eventually be the museum's permanent home, which will be nearby at the Bronx Point Development.

The Revolution of Hip Hop reopens November 5, after being closed since March due to COVID.

"We're blessed to be able to do this," said Nice, who noted that some cultural institutions have not re-opened, some even in danger of closing. 

To keep things safe, visitors will pass through a health screener, which was donated by Soter Technologies. Sensors detect temperature, heart and respiration rates. No more than 20 people, and that includes staff, will be allowed in the exhibit at any given time. 

"That's enough for people to feel that they have enough space not to be in anybody's way, just another layer of protection," said Rocky Bucano, executive director of the museum. 

Dancer and Choreographer Jorge "Popmaster Fabel" Pabon from the famous breakdancing group Rock Steady Crew is fashion curator for the exhibit, which focuses on the rise of hip hop from it's 1970s origins, to the hit records and feature film appearances in the 1980s, to the multi-billion dollar industry it is today.

Fabel is contributing a number of items to the exhibit, from customized jeans, sunglasses, and a denim jacket that he hand painted the back of. 

"This exhibit is covering 80-85, so all of these items reflect this time frame," said Fabel, who has traveled the world showing off the dance moves he developed growing up in East Harlem. 

Construction on the future home of the is museum along the Harlem River at East 149th Street is expected to begin in December, with completion by the end of 2023, just in time for the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop.