Yesterday afternoon, I had the pleasure to preview the upcoming first Hip Hop auction hosted by Sotheby’s in New York. Invited by curator Monica Lynch to take a personal tour beforehand, I joined Brewerytown Beats (who helped to facilitate pieces from Philly) and homie Ron for a day have strolling through the collection of Hip Hop artifacts that date back from the very beginnings of the culture to present time.
There was quite a lot of things on display that I would really love to add to my own personal collection but the crown jewel for me is without a doubt, the original Wild Style animated cel from the film drawn by Dr. Revolt. Other things that caught my eyes are of course the vintage flyer and concert poster collection, MC Sha Rock’s jeans, Ed Piskor art, the 36th Chamber art stamp signed by The RZA and the one-off Def Jam jacket in green.
There were definitely some popular high ticket items on the menu that I’m sure will fetch big dollars including a photograph of Biggie wearing his crown, but also the actual crown that he wore, DJ Ross One’s Wall of Boombox collection and of course the sealed Rammellzee / Basquiat album which is at a ridiculous price already (which I don’t understand why considering they’re easily obtainable for $2,000 easily.)
All and all, this is a very good start to what can obviously have multiple installments. Thanks to Monica Lynch for the invite to see all of the goods before they’re auctioned and into private collections and possibly never seen again in public view.