Pop-Ups and Memorabilia with Milwaukee Hip Hop Museum

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Milwaukee Hip Hop Museum celebrates the hip hop culture of Milwaukee and beyond. Run by Antonia Anderson, the museum offers educational opportunities by way of pop-up events and workshops. There are over 5,000 items in Anderson’s collection; her memorabilia encompasses CDs, cassettes, boomboxes, magazines, artwork, posters and more.

Born and raised in Milwaukee, Antonia Anderson first came across hip hop culture in the mid 1980’s. She cites KRS-One, Salt-N-Pepa, Big Daddy Kane, Queen Latifah, MC Lyte and Roxanne Shante as some of her all-time favorite hip hop artists. “I was living in California at the time and it made a huge impression on me,” she recalls. “The most important part of hip hop to me has always been the conscious lyrics, the respect, and the love and unity of it all.”

Milwaukee Hip Hop Museum’s website reads, “We catalyze social change by informing and influencing the field of education to be more equitable, inclusive and culturally responsive to students by offering hands-on interaction, nostalgia artifacts of the 80’s and 90’s era, curriculum, and programming.”

Anderson began collecting hip hop memorabilia and artifacts in 2010, going to Milwaukee record stores, bookstores and antique shops to see what she could find. “I went anywhere I could get my hands on vinyl,” Anderson said. “Eventually I had cases and cases of it.”

Prized Possessions 

Now Anderson gets much of her collection through either Ebay or donations. “A lot of it is getting more expensive, and there’s more hip hop museums opening up around the country,” she contends.

Some of Anderson’s most prized possessions in Milwaukee Hip Hop Museum include the Slick Rick “Children’s Story” book, action figures of hip hop legends like LL Cool J and Eazy-E, the movie Self Destruction on VHS, and a Grandmaster Flash crate set. After COVID hit, Anderson did not want to leave her collection boxed up, so she began displaying everything in her house. Wanting to share her collection with the public, Anderson officially launched Milwaukee Hip Hop Museum and began doing pop-ups once things started opening back up. 

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“I love getting to share hip hop with the kids and educate people on everything it’s contributed to our community,” Anderson shares. “I work at a high school where I go to an after-school program in the evening, and I get to do hip hop activities with the kids and pull out all the record players and movies and magazines for them.”

She notes that kids get most excited about breakdancing and the graffiti of hip hop culture. “Even when I’m reading books to them, like about how DJ Kool Herc started everything, they just love learning,” Anderson said. “But they definitely love moving around a lot and getting to dance with the music.”

Milwaukee History

Given that Milwaukee has a vast hip hop history of its own, Anderson emphasizes the importance of incorporating the local culture into her collection. “Back in the day we had Speech and Kali Tribe, and I have a lot of their items here,” she adds. “Even now, Milwaukee hip hop is getting recognition and I love where it’s going.”

A few items such as action figures and t-shirts are for sale.

Antonia Anderson is currently getting Milwaukee Hip Hop Museum ready for the summer with tours and pop-ups. Eventually she wants to start traveling with her collection as well as have a brick-and-mortar space. “I’m always looking for more Milwaukee hip hop memorabilia,” Anderson affirms. “I want to give a shout out to DJ Daryl D; he lives in Arizona now but has given me so many items. I’ve also got Thief Da High Priest, King Kamonzi, Jay Billa, Cesar Cornier and Kid Crab in my collection. I want Milwaukee to shine, because it’s time for us to shine.”

Folks interested in touring Milwaukee Hip Hop Museum may do so with an appointment. Visit Milwaukee Hip Hop Museum’s website at milwaukeehiphoppopup.com or their Facebook page to get in touch.