When most think of Virginia’s hip hop culture, they think of an era in the 2000s during which artists such as rapper Missy Elliot, producer Timbaland, and beat making duo The Neptunes frequently sat atop the charts. Virginia, a state known more for its contributions to the tobacco industry than to music, put itself on the map and was more relevant to hip hop culture than it had ever been before. In tribute to the ambitions of these musical trailblazers from Virginia, The College of William and Mary has put together a Virginia hip hop collection featuring books, publications, posters, recordings, and memorabilia dating back to the late 1970s and leading up to the present day.
The history of hip hop in Virginia proves to be fairly dense, with more than 1,000 songs added to the school’s archives. The collection, held in the Swem Library, focuses on Virginia’s role in the development of hip-hop, featuring oral histories from nearly 60 hip hop cultural figures, including DJs, dancers, managers, and rappers. Some cool artifacts include B-Boys the SMILES Crew’s first boom-box and a cassette tape of Mighty MCs recordings. A few of the interviews include DJ P-Easy, Big B, filmmaker and hip hop artist Antoine “HenMusik” Henderson, Jorge “Fabel” Pabon, and rapper Double XL. These first-hand perspectives give the collection a uniqueness and relevancy.
The movement to archive hip hop's local history is being led by Kevin Kosanovich, an American studies doctoral candidate who was involved in putting together the largest hip hop archive currently in existence, at Cornell University. He saw potential in Virginia’s hip hop history, which he says is “a deep history that hasn’t really been documented in a state-wide or regional way.” In 2012, Kosanovich teamed up with William and Mary archivist and director of Special Collections Research Amy Schindler to bring the project to life. Schindler believes that “there is a Virginia sound” that she wants to let people to know about. “We’re curious about what place Virginia has in hip hop,” said Schindler.
The collection will be open to hip hop heads and the rest of public for free this Friday, April 19 from 6 pm-10 pm at the Swem Library, located at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg. The opening will include related film screenings, panel discussions with local artists, refreshments, and entertainment by DJ Wyze. For directions to the Swem Library, click here.