The Hip Hop Museum

Name

The Hip Hop Museum

Legal name

The Hip Hop Museum

Website

https://thhm.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Museum and Hip Hop Heritage Institution

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712), Museums (712110)

akta.pro primary industry

Museums & Heritage Sites (History, Science, Specialty) (BPAGAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Art Galleries & Exhibition Spaces (Commercial & Nonprofit) (THAJADAH), Art Museums (THAJADAA), Museum, Zoo & Attraction Gift Shops (CRALAJAG)

Keywords

• Cultural heritage preservation
• Museum exhibitions
• Youth arts education
• Community cultural programming
• Music history archives

Headquarters

HQ city

Bronx

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: The museum operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization relying on donations from individuals, artists, and corporate partners. Major donations include $2 million from Nas and Resorts World New York City. The '1 Dollar, 1 Mic, 1 Movement' campaign invites the global Hip Hop community to contribute funding toward educational programming and community development.
2. Membership Program: Founding Membership offered at $150, valid through December 31, 2027, providing members with limited edition embroidered hat, early access to updates, exclusive events, behind-the-scenes content, and recognition.
3. Archive and Artifact Donations: Accepts donations of archival materials, artifacts, and memorabilia from the community that help tell the complete story of Hip Hop history, with various donors contributing items ranging from photographs to equipment to clothing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Hip Hop Museum is building and operating a 501(c)(3) nonprofit cultural institution dedicated to preserving, exhibiting, and educating around Hip Hop music, dance, art, and culture. Its core offerings are a 55,000 square foot physical museum in the Bronx (opening 2026), a companion Virtual Hip Hop Museum on Spatial.io, The Culture Lab pop-up gathering space, a portfolio of youth and community education programs, and an artifact archives and collections program.

Product overview

The Hip Hop Museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit cultural institution offering a physical museum experience (55,000 sq ft facility in the Bronx, opening 2026), a complementary Virtual Hip Hop Museum (metaverse experience on Spatial.io), The Culture Lab pop-up space, educational programs (MCIMW, THHM Cares, Business of Music Institute, Bronx Hip Hop Education Lab), founding membership at $150, the '1 Dollar, 1 Mic, 1 Movement' fundraising campaign, and archives/collections preservation. The physical and virtual museums operate as complementary offerings, with the virtual space expanding accessibility globally while the physical museum provides the in-person cultural experience.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Hip Hop Museum (Physical Museum) A 55,000 square foot physical museum located along the Harlem River in the Bronx, NYC, dedicated to preserving and celebrating Hip Hop music, dance, art, and culture. Features traditional exhibits and immersive experiences, scheduled to open in 2026. Targeted at the global Hip Hop community, fans, artists, students, and cultural tourists.
• Virtual Hip Hop Museum An immersive metaverse experience developed in partnership with CARNEVALE and built on Spatial.io, allowing users to navigate digital spaces using custom avatars. Features a recreation of the Bronx subway station, recording studios, performance stages, VIP lounges, and art galleries with rotating exhibits and live musical performances. Targeted at a global digital audience seeking accessible Hip Hop cultural content.
• The Culture Lab A pop-up and gathering space at 658 Exterior St, Bronx, NY for connection, collaboration, community, and creativity on all things Hip Hop culture. Open Wednesday through Saturday 11am-6pm. Targeted at the local community, visitors, and cultural collaborators ahead of the main museum's 2026 opening.
• Educational Programs A suite of cultural and educational programs including My Camera Is My Weapon (MCIMW) youth media training, THHM Cares community outreach, The Business of Music Institute summer program, the Educational Symposium Series, and the Bronx Hip Hop Education Lab. Targeted at youth, students, schools, and community organizations.
• Archives & Collections Preservation A preservation initiative accepting donated artifact materials (photographs, albums, magazines, clothing, DJ equipment, and memorabilia) from artists, collectors, and community contributors to document and exhibit Hip Hop history. Targeted at artists, collectors, and cultural contributors who wish to donate items to a permanent institutional collection.

Quantifiable outcome

• 40 books featured in Black History Month series
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Abantu AudiocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBlack-owned digital audiobook platform partnered with The Hip Hop Museum to feature an expanded hip hop books collection on their app and website as part of Black History Month initiatives.
• CARNEVALEcoreTechnology or IntegrationDesign firm CARNEVALE developed the virtual Hip Hop Museum metaverse experience for The Hip Hop Museum, creating immersive digital spaces including a recreation of the Bronx subway station, recording studios, performance stages, VIP lounges, and art galleries.
• New York City Public SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with NYC Public Schools for the My Camera Is My Weapon program, a visual storytelling initiative that introduces students to photography and film as tools for documenting culture and social change.
• Summer Youth Employment ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNYC's Summer Youth Employment Program collaborates with The Hip Hop Museum's My Camera Is My Weapon youth media program.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Grammy Museum: Los Angeles music museum operated by the Recording Academy that curates exhibits, educational programs, and archives on music history — overlapping strongly with THHM's exhibitions, education, and music-industry partnership approach.
• Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP): Seattle nonprofit founded by Paul Allen that combines music, science fiction, and pop culture exhibits with immersive experiences, including digital/VR components — directly comparable to THHM's blend of physical and metaverse delivery.
• Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum: Nashville music heritage museum focused on a single genre, combining traditional exhibits with educational programming and corporate/artist fundraising — a mature benchmark for THHM's aspiration.
• Motown Museum: Detroit nonprofit operating from Motown's original Hitsville USA building, dedicated to preserving a single music culture's legacy through artifacts and immersive exhibits — a smaller-scale analog to THHM's hip hop birthplace narrative.
• Studio Museum in Harlem: Harlem-based nonprofit museum focused on work by artists of African descent, with strong artist-residency and educational programs — closely comparable audience, location adjacency, and nonprofit cultural-preservation model.
• Stax Museum of American Soul Music: Memphis nonprofit on the original Stax Records site preserving soul music heritage through artifacts and educational programming — comparable single-genre heritage institution with similar donor-dependence and youth education model.
• National Museum of African American Music: Nashville-based nonprofit museum that documents and celebrates the contributions of African American musicians across genres; closest direct peer in mission, audience, and nonprofit/archival operating model.
• Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Genre-specific music heritage museum in Cleveland that preserves and exhibits the history of rock and roll, including memorabilia, archives, and educational programming — directly analogous to THHM's model of preserving hip hop artifacts and culture under a single roof.

Broad incumbents

• Brooklyn Museum: Large NYC encyclopedic museum with strong African American and contemporary art programming; competes for the same NYC cultural-tourism and donor pool, and is the prior employer of THHM's new Creative Director.
• Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture: Smithsonian flagship institution on the National Mall covering African American history and culture; broad incumbent setting the standard for major donor cultivation and exhibition credibility that THHM's Smithsonian-cited opening is positioned against.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thhmuseum
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCgJ4GZoZjM
• Facebookfacebook.com/thhmuseum
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-hip-hop-museum
• Instagraminstagram.com/thhmuseum

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Hip Hop Museum