By Allison Watkinson
TLL Reporter
The boutique licensing agency, The Brand Liaison has partnered with Legends Recordings for the official licensing program of the 50th Anniversary of Hip Hop.
In conjunction with the Universal Hip Hop Museum, the year-long celebration will include 50 different events that will take place throughout NYC and culminate with the city-supported opening of the Universal Hip Hop Museum in 2024.
The Brand Liaison is offering one of the largest collections of hip hop-based art and images ever assembled for licensing through the global record label, Legends Recordings LLC.
Legends Recordings is the official licensor of the 50th Anniversary of Hip Hop’s trademarks and art assets.
“We are creating a fully integrated merchandising program to honor this epic movement in 2023 and through the opening of the Universal Hip Hop Museum in 2024,” said Steven Heller, President of The Brand Liaison.
“We are providing our licensees and collaboration partners a vast and very strategically curated 50th Anniversary of Hip Hop asset library that pays homage to the four elements of Hip Hop: MCing, DJing, Graffiti and Breaking,” added Heller. “Watch for upcoming big announcements about our licensees, collaboration and retail partners.”
The Brand Liaison spent months working with Hip Hop culture historians including The Universal Hip Hop Museum, Cornell University’s Hip Hop Library, and dozens of Hip Hop stars, graffiti artists and breakers to create an authentic collection of hip hop art and images.
The 50th Anniversary of Hip Hop’s international licensing program will include concerts, music festivals, educational events, cultural events, television, podcasts, publishing, licensing collaborations and worldwide merchandising rights for consumer products.
The Mayor of NYC, Eric Adams announced the upcoming NYC-based celebration at a press conference with hip hop celebrities such as Grandmaster Flash, Roxanne Shante, Slick Rick, Run-DMC’s Darryl McDaniels, the Sugarhill Gang’s Master Gee, and more.
“We’re going to have a celebratory party like we’d never witnessed before.” said Mayor Adams.
“The birth of Hip Hop is here in New York City and we are going to celebrate that birth throughout this entire city and go into venues, venues that historically denied your right to be there.”
The Hip Hop cultural movement originated in New York City in the early 1970s as a cultural and musical exchange among Black, Latinx, and Caribbean-American youth.
Hip-hop culture encompasses DJing and turntables, rapping and MCing, break dancing, and graffiti art. The hip hop music genre has grown to become one of the most popular musical genres in the United States and across the globe.