Flier for "The Biggest Hip Hop Birthday Party of the Year” for Grand Master Dee: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A flier for an event celebrating Grand Master Dee’s birthday. The flier is in portrait orientation and printed on yellow paper with black text. The top third of the flier features the title of the event in a large stylized, reproduced handwritten text that reads [Whodini[underlined]], and the tag line [ROCKING THE PLANET]. Listed below are the presenters, event information, and date printed in text in varying sizes that reads [AMY, ROMAN, & ROXY / present / THE BIGGEST / HIP HOP BIRTHDAY PARTY / OF THE YEAR / ON FRIDAY, MAY 24TH 1985 / FOR / GRAND MASTER DEE / OF / WHODINI / THE LAST TIME TO SEE ALL THE / BIG STARS BEFORE THEY LEAVE FOR THE FRESH TOUR].

Printed on the bottom half of the flier are three columns of solo and group performers listed as [INVITED GUESTS:]. The column on the left includes: [GRAND MASTER JAY / RUM[sic] DMC / UTFO / COLD CRUSH / FAT BOYS / JIMMY SPICER / KURTIS BLOW / LL COOL J / TLA ROCK / ROXANNE SHANTE / MARLY MARL / MR. MAGIC / STETSOSONIC[sic] M.C.s / DYNAMIC FORCE / LISA LEE / MASTER DON COMM / LARRY LOVE / DST[sic] / DOUGIE FRESH / DIVINE SOUNDS / BUZY[sic] BEE / BRENDA K. STARR]. The column in the center includes: [JAZZY JAY / MANTRONIX / CHOICE M.Cs / HIGH POWERED M.Cs / ROXY POSSE / RED ALERT / DEBBIE D / FORCE M.D’s / DYNAMIC BREAKERS / CAPTAIN ROCK / SPARKY D / DYNAMITE II / STRAFE / BOBBY JIMMY / ULTIMATE III / D.J. HOLIDAY / O.C. & CRAZY EDDIE / NEW EDITION / SOUL SONIC FORCE / SWEET G / KID FLASH / MELLE MEL / NEWCLEUS]. The column on the right includes: [FAB FIVE FREDDY [sic]/ WAVE / JUNE / KANO / GRAND MASTER FLASH / FEARLESS FOUR / CRUSH CITY / BAD BOYS / BEASTIE BOYS / DR. JECKYL & MR. HYDE / STARSKI / RUSSELL SIMMONS / DONALD D / ROCK STEADY / N.Y.C. BREAKERS / ROSIE ROSE / FANTASY 3 / TREACHEROUS 3 / SUGAR HILL GANG / SPOONIE G / TROUBLE FUNK].

Below the three columns is additional performer information that reads [MUSIC PROVIDED BY AFRIKA BAMBAATA[sic] & D.J. ROMAN / SPECIAL PERFORMANCES BY ?]. At the bottom is the venue information and the admission price: [ROXY – WHERE THE FREAKS COME OUT AT NIGHT / DOORS OPEN 10:30 ADMISSION $10 ALL NIGHT / COME EARLY TO AVOID LONG LINES / ·515 West 18th Street · New York, New York · 10011 · (212) 691-3113·]. The back of the flier has no printing or inscriptions.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: May 24, 1985
• Designed by: Unidentified
• Subject of: Whodini, American, founded 1981
• Subject of: Grandmaster Dee, American, born 1962
• Subject of: Grandmaster Jay, American
• Subject of: Run-D.M.C., American, 1981 - 2002
• Subject of: UTFO, American, 1983 - 1992
• Subject of: The Cold Crush Brothers, American, founded 1978
• Subject of: The Fat Boys, American, founded 1982
• Type: fliers (printed matter)
• Medium: ink on paper (fiber product)
• Dimensions: H x W: 8 3/8 × 5 3/8 in. (21.3 × 13.7 cm)
• Place used: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Art
• Topic: Break dancing
• Topic: Design
• Topic: DJs (Musicians)
• Topic: Graphic design
• Topic: Hip-hop (Music)
• Topic: Nightlife
• Object number: 2020.38.2.8
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: Public domain Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.