The Art of Storytelling: A Hip Hop Time Capsule

Key mementos to help rap live on.

Nas - “The Genesis,” Illmatic (1994) - Illmatic introduces us to one of hip hop’s most cinematic rappers with an intro that contains audio clips from Wild Style, a movie that inaugurated hip hop into film.(Photo: Columbia Records)
Motorola 2-Way Pager - Hip hop has always stayed on top of the latest technological trends, from beepers to iPhones to iPads. This short-lived, turn-of-the-millennium innovation, which helped introduce texting in the days before phones could do it well, wouldn'tve reached such massive (and brief) popularity if it wasn't for rappers name-dropping in it every other song.  (Photo: Motorola)
Grandmaster Flash's First Mixer - Sometimes hip hop has even driven technological innovation in a more hands-on way. Myth has it that Grandmaster Flash, for example, built the first DJ mixer with a cross fader using parts from Radio Shack and a junkyard. We've included that Frankenstein-ed mixer here: Not only does it show hip hop's talent for making lemonade out of lemons, but it reps for DJs, the foundation and curators of the culture.  (Photo: David Corio/Redferns)
Biggie's Coogi Sweater - Getting fly and fresh has always been an important part of hip hop culture. And few did it better than the late, great Notorious B.I.G., the self-proclaimed "ugly as ever" rapper who went from "ashy to classy." And nothing sums up Big's swag better than one of his signature vivid sweaters from Italian designer Coogi.  (Photo: Courtesy Bad Boy Records)Run-DMC's Shell-Toe Adidas - A hip hop classic that made history: Adidas were the shoes of choice for old-school pioneers Run-DMC, and they spread the gospel with their classic "My Adidas," which helped make the brand a streetwear staple worldwide and landed the group one of hip hop's first endorsement deals.   (Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

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Grandmaster Flash's First Mixer - Sometimes hip hop has even driven technological innovation in a more hands-on way. Myth has it that Grandmaster Flash, for example, built the first DJ mixer with a cross fader using parts from Radio Shack and a junkyard. We've included that Frankenstein-ed mixer here: Not only does it show hip hop's talent for making lemonade out of lemons, but it reps for DJs, the foundation and curators of the culture. (Photo: David Corio/Redferns)

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