Microsoft Gifts The Universal Hip Hop Museum $5M In Extended Partnership

Microsoft and The Universal Hip Hop Museum  (UHHM) have extended their partnership, and to celebrate, Microsoft has gifted UHHM $5 million on behalf of their AI for Cultural Heritage program.

Microsoft’s AI for Cultural Heritage program leverages the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to empower people and organizations dedicated to the preservation and enrichment of cultural heritage. Through this partnership, Microsoft will become the Official Technology Partner of the UHHM to help empower the museum’s mission of celebrating and preserving the history of local and global Hip Hop music and culture to inspire, empower, and promote understanding.

With the use of advanced technology, such as AI, Microsoft will work together with the UHHM to ensure the museum has the resources and platforms it needs to become the state-of-the-art institution they have envisioned. This partnership will allow the UHHM to design immersive experiences which will engage global audiences both today and well into the future.

This donation builds on a long-standing relationship between Microsoft and the UHHM who initially partnered together in 2016 to co-host envisioning sessions that helped shape the museum’s future vision. In 2019, Microsoft and the UHHM collaborated with MIT Professor Dr. Fox Harrell, to bring to life “Breakbeat Narratives” – an experience using artificial intelligence to explore the rich history of Hip Hop music – which is currently on display at the [R]Evolution of Hip Hop, an exhibition designed to give Hip Hop lovers a sneak peek of the Universal Hip Hop Museum. 

The Microsoft partnership will be celebrated on Thursday, May 20, 2021, during the official groundbreaking ceremony at Bronx Point, the future home of the Universal Hip Hop Museum.