Source: Kevin Winter / Getty
After 50 years, some items associated with Hip-Hop have become valuable. In a new A&E show, Hip Hop Treasures, rappers turned actors Ice-T, and LL Cool J will search for those objects around the country, including Flava Flav’s original clock, the jersey The Notorious B.I.G wore in the “Juicy” video, the car that was airbrushed in Aaliyah’s memory for the “I Miss You” video featuring DMX and more.
The series is a partnership between A&E, Pulse Films, LL’s Rock The Bells and The Universal Hip Hop Museum.
“These kings of culture deserve to be celebrated and elevated,” LL says in the trailer. He and Ice-T are seen visiting rap stars like Fat Joe and Treach from Naughty By Nature as they seek iconic memorabilia from Hip-Hop’s golden years.
They will be helped by museum creators and field collectors that include Yo Yo and Cipha Sounds and The Universal Hip Hop Museum chief curator Paradise Gray, along with curator Pete Nice, that have expertise in the increasingly lucrative memorabilia market.
In just one example, the plastic crown Biggie famously wore in Rap Pages magazine in an image shot by Barron Claiborne sold for almost $595,000, setting a Guinness world record for the most expensive fancy dress/costume crown ever sold at auction.
Some of the items will be displayed at the museum when it opens in 2024 in the Bronx, N.Y.
Other guests on the show include DMC, Cee-Lo Green, Master P and Soulja Boy. Coolio made his last TV appearance on the show before his passing last year.
Hip Hop Treasures debuts on A&E Aug. 12 at 10 p.m.
Watch the trailer below.
