The Smithsonian Institution has honored many different works of art in the past, and now, the Institution wants to pay tribute to hip-hop with the Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap.

Similar to the Anthology of American Folk Music and Jazz: The Smithsonian Anthology, the Smithsonian wants to create a project honoring the last 40 years of hip-hop and has turned to Kickstarter for help.

The group is looking to raise $250,000 to create the project and according to the campaign details, the project will only be funded if it reaches its goal by Nov. 16, 2017. The campaign has currently been backed by nearly 200 people and has raised $20,489.

"Creating something this ambitious is not easy," reads a post on the Kickstarter page. "The Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap will be the first collection of its kind to include music from all the major labels as well as dozens of independent record labels."

The post continues, "We want to bring the Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap to as many people as we can, and we want to make it as affordable as possible once it is available. But the costs of production, research, and licensing are high. That’s where you come in. We need YOU to help make this project a reality."

Included in the anthology will be nine CDs with more than 120 tracks, a 300-page book with 10 essays, track-by-track liner notes and never-before-published images and a 9th Wonder Digital Remix based on Smithsonian Folkways' catalogue.

The Anthology was developed by the Smithsonian along with help from Chuck D, MC Lyte, Questlove and 9th Wonder. Industry veterans Bill Adler and Bill Stephany also assisted in developing the project, as well as journalist Jeff Chang and university scholars and authors Adam Bradley, Cheryl Keyes and Mark Anthony Neal.

The project is currently scheduled to be released in December 2018 and backers of the campaign will be able to receive the Anthology first, plus rewards that won't be available anywhere else.

Check out some photos of the Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap below.

Jati Lindsay
Jati Lindsay
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Jati Lindsay
Jati Lindsay
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