The Cornell Hip Hop Collection

Tony Tone, Afrika Bambaataa, and the chief rocker Busy Bee at the Zulu Nation Anniversary, Bronx River Projects, 1981. Photograph by Joe Conzo.

Cornell Library’s Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections features a significant archive on the history of hip hop and rap music, documenting its emergence in the Bronx in the 1970s and early 1980s. The collection includes nearly one thousand sound recordings, the photographic archive of Bronx photographer Joe Conzo, Jr., textile art, books and magazines, and a collection of more than five hundred original flyers designed by Buddy Esquire and others.

The collection aims to document the origins of hip hop as culture and community, and its influence on the history of music, art, performance, and activism in America during the final third of the 20th century and beyond. Building upon the Division’s substantial collections documenting 19th and 20th century American life, the hip hop archive provides original research materials for students and scholars in the fields of music, American studies, urban studies, theater, film & dance, art history, African American studies, government, literature, and history.

The founding materials in Cornell’s hip hop collection were the gift of collector and author Johan Kugelberg. Materials in the collection form the basis for the book Born in the Bronx: a Visual Record of the Early Days of Hip Hop (November 2007) edited by Johan Kugelberg (author), Afrika Bambaataa (foreword), Buddy Esquire (contributor), Jeff Chang (contributor) and Joe Conzo (photographer).

Inquires may be sent to:

Katherine Reagan
Ernest L. Stern Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts
Assistant Director for Collections
Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections
2B Carl A. Kroch Library
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853


The Cornell Hip Hop Collection Tony Tone, Afrika Bambaataa, and the chief rocker Busy Bee at the Zulu Nation Anniversary, Bronx River Projects, 1981. Photograph by Joe Conzo. Cornell Library’s Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections features a significant archive on the history of hip hop and rap music, documenting its emergence in the Bronx in the 1970s and early 1980s. The collection includes nearly one thousand sound recordings, the photographic archive of Bronx photographer Joe Conzo, Jr., textile art, books and magazines, and a collection of more than five hundred original flyers designed by Buddy Esquire and others. The collection aims to document the origins of hip hop as culture and community, and its influence on the history of music, art, performance, and activism in America during the final third of the 20th century and beyond. Building upon the Division’s substantial collections documenting 19th and 20th century American life, the hip hop archive provides original research materials for students and scholars in the fields of music, American studies, urban studies, theater, film & dance, art history, African American studies, government, literature, and history. The founding materials in Cornell’s hip hop collection were the gift of collector and author Johan Kugelberg. Materials in the collection form the basis for the book Born in the Bronx: a Visual Record of the Early Days of Hip Hop (November 2007) edited by Johan Kugelberg (author), Afrika Bambaataa (foreword), Buddy Esquire (contributor), Jeff Chang (contributor) and Joe Conzo (photographer). Inquires may be sent to: Katherine Reagan Ernest L. Stern Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts Assistant Director for Collections Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections 2B Carl A. Kroch Library Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853