page_title: Hip Hop Hall of Fame
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Hip Hop Hall of Fame / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Hip Hop Hall of Fame Awards Re-Launch and Hip Hop Hall of Fame Museum 'Legends &amp; Icons' Community Awards in 1998 at Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles, Ca. (L to R) Grandmaster Caz, Founder James 'JT' Thompson, Radio Personality Dominique DiPrima, Prince Whipper Whip of the Fantastic 5, and Kurtis Blow.
context_page_description: The Hip Hop Hall of Fame, also known as the Hip Hop Hall of Fame + Museum, is a New York chartered non-profit 501 c museum and educational institution whose focus is hip hop music and culture from around the world.
context_section_description: The Hip Hop Hall of Fame was founded in 1992 by Hip Hop Hall of Fame Awards creator and executive producer James 'JT' Thompson, a New York City native and Los Angeles-raised hip hop connoisseur. The Hip Hop Hall of Fame was launched globally in September 1995 at Harlem's historic restaurant Sylvia's, which unveiled the plans for the museum, educational programs, and the BET Cable Network deal for the inaugural Hip Hop Hall of Fame Awards TV Show. The event was attended by hip hop forefather DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Caz, PebbleePoo, DLB of the Fearless Four, DJ Tony Tone, LA Sunshine of the Treacherous Three, Hip Hop Original Radio Deejays Mr. Magic and Kool DJ Red Alert, DJ Lord Yoda X, Easy AD of the Cold Crush Brothers, Pee Wee Dance, and more hip hop figures.
  The Hip Hop Hall of Fame Museum was to be funded by the Hip Hop Hall of Fame Awards TV Shows after broadcasting on BET, produced with Juanita Williams of Dove Entertainment in the mid 1990s, modeled after the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame model. However, due to the media-hyped artist beefs that led to the tragic deaths of Tupac Shakur and the Notorious BIG after the show broadcasts, the Hip Hop Hall of Fame + Museum lost advertisers and sponsorship clients and could not return to the airwaves during that era, putting the museum building plans on hiatus. The Hip Hop Hall of Fame also attempted a re-launch in Los Angeles in 1997 that featured Kurtis Blow, Prince Whipper Whip of the Fantastic Five, Grandmaster Caz of the Cold Crush Brothers, founder and executive producer James 'JT' Thompson, The Watts Prophets, The Legendary Actor - Rapper 'Dolemite', Dominique DiPrima of The Beat & KJLH Radio, and more film and television personalities, but the awards still could not return to television until 2014.
caption: Hip Hop Hall of Fame Awards Re-Launch and Hip Hop Hall of Fame Museum 'Legends & Icons' Community Awards in 1998 at Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles, Ca. (L to R) Grandmaster Caz, Founder James 'JT' Thompson, Radio Personality Dominique DiPrima, Prince Whipper Whip of the Fantastic 5, and Kurtis Blow.
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