On August 11, 1973, Bronx teen Cindy Campbell threw a back to school jam in the rec room at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue. Her brother, DJ Kool Herc, worked two turntables to isolate and extend the breakbeat, keeping the dancers going, while Coke La Rock grabbed the mic to hype the crowd. The rest is history, and that history was born in The Bronx.

Fifty-three years later, we wanted to take a moment to mark the anniversary as we always do with a painting we commissioned called "The Birthplace of Hip Hop". "The Birthplace of Hip Hop" is an oil painting by Oscar Matteo Lugo, inspired by the legendary photography of Joe Conzo, the man who took Hip Hop's baby pictures.

"The Birthplace of Hip Hop" by Oscar Matteo Lugo (@oscarmatteolugo)

The piece features four pioneers many consider the forefathers of the culture, standing in front of 1520 Sedgwick Ave, left to right: Afrika Bambaataa, DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, and Grandmaster Caz. Four men, one building, and a movement that went on to shape music, fashion, language, and art on every continent.

Joe Conzo's photographs from the late 1970s and early 1980s are some of the only visual records of Hip Hop's earliest days, taken in Bronx parks, gyms, and clubs before anyone outside the borough knew what was happening here. Seeing that archive reinterpreted in oil by a local artist is exactly the kind of full-circle moment we live for.

That's the thing about our borough. The culture didn't just start here. It keeps getting made here.

Happy birthday, Hip Hop.

From The Bronx to The World!!