JULY 20, 2016

The Center for Black Music Research at Columbia College Chicago and Two Seven Eight Media are proud to announce their partnership to develop the Chicago Hip-Hop Archive. Over the coming months and beyond, CBMR and Two Seven Eight Media will be working to collect a wide variety of material including music, photographs, videos, digital files, periodicals, fliers, posters and more in order to document, preserve and educate audiences about Chicago hip-hop culture.

Founded at Columbia College Chicago in 1983, the Center for Black Music Research at Columbia College Chicago is the only organization of its kind. The center illuminates the significant role that black music plays in world culture by serving as a nexus for all who value black music by promoting scholarly thought and knowledge and by providing a safe haven for the materials and information that document the black music experience across the world.

The CBMR supports and originates study in the areas of jazz, blues, reggae, and gospel, among many other styles of black music around the world. Considering the rich history of Columbia College Chicago as a champion of hip-hop culture in the country’s third largest city, the CBMR is a natural site for the preservation of the culture’s deep history and is a proud partner with Two Seven Eight Media in educating audiences about Chicago hip-hop culture.

Two Seven Eight Media is the production company behind the upcoming documentary film and archival project, Midway: The Story of Chicago Hip-Hop.

“No other institution on the planet studies, archives documents, disseminates, records and performs music from the vast diaspora of African-American culture as comprehensively as the Center for Black Music Research.”

Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune, March 2012

For more information: Center for Black Music Research