Hip-hop exhibit is planned

MC Lyte’s diary, as well as a turntable, vinyl records and other memorabilia from her fellow hip-hop pioneers, have been donated to the Smithsonian Institution for a collection that will trace the history of the music genre.

The contributions, which also include artifacts from Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash, were displayed at a Manhattan news conference Tuesday.

Ice-T and six other hip-hop stars looked on as the artifacts -- some of which collected dust for decades in boxes and attics -- were turned over to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History for a project called “Hip-Hop Won’t Stop: The Beat, the Rhymes, the Life.”

The project is expected to cost as much as $2 million and take up to five years to complete. Museum officials have yet to raise the money, which will come from private donors. The funds will pay for artifacts as well as to record oral histories, hold consultations with advisory groups and mount an exhibit.