The first time I fell in love with hip-hop was when I heard The Fugees’ Ready or Not track. I was young as hell so I didn’t know much about why “n*ggas” gave Lauryn “heebie-jeebies“, but I liked the flow and I definitely liked the beat. It was sampled from one of my favorite songs, Boadicea by Enya. It’s crazy because Enya was prepared to sue for copyright infringement, but settled out of court. I originally heard Boadicea in Stephen King‘s Sleepwalkers. Memories like this need to be preserved and held dear to the culture because they make a difference.

Baltimore’s own Sand Gallery owner, Mark Clarke (Milly) realized that and brought something that was just an idea at a J. Cole concert to life. In My Life Time: The Mini Hip-Hop Museum is where hip-hop history and the future of hip-hop have a place to camp out. The mission of the M.H.H.M. team is to “preserve the history and cultivate the future of hip-hop through education, fundraising, and media outlets.” Here you can expect, to not only be surrounded by hip-hop inspiration and artifacts but to be surrounded by people who want to indulge in and learn about the culture that has changed so much from decades ago until now. There is no discrimination in hip-hop, the M.H.H.M. will include youth investments while satisfying audiences born between the years of 1981-2000. So whether you like Black Sheep or The Hot Boyz, you’re welcomed.

The build-up to this past weekend was planned out strategically, thanks to the creative minds of the M.H.H.M. team. If you know Milly or the Sand Gallery collective all together then you know that events are always lined up and you’re about to have a good time and enjoy yourself. Friday was kick-off day. I was able to attend the media brunch where I met Walker Gems and Walker Wear‘s own, April Walker. If you don’t know who she is, you need to do some research as she is really a gem to the culture. No pun intended. After the media brunch ended, an open house, panel discussion, and game night followed. That was just Friday though!

On Saturday I made my way back down for April‘s meet and greet where I and other attendees were able to purchase her book, Get Your Ass Off The Couch, which I plan to start reading while school is in session. This night I missed the hip-hop cypher and I was a bit upset because cyphers feed my soul when I am hungry for some bars. There were many more activities going on Saturday and it was definitely a full house. The grand opening finale included a music production workshop, and if you know me, I always wanted to get my “Skateboard P” on in the studio so I was livid when I missed that, blame retail. This whole weekend just showed me that hip-hop really is an important culture to keep alive. Just being in the atmosphere of so much music history brought back memories. I felt that togetherness feeling like I feel all summer when the cookouts start happening.

The M.H.H.M is covered in magazine posters and hip-hop memorabilia and every time I looked at a poster on the wall I instantly thought of a song by one of the artists that was great at a certain point of my life and put it on my playlist. The vibe was just something I can’t even come up with a term for. It was lit.

If you didn’t make it this weekend, don’t fret because there will be a heap of events going on weekly that you can attend. But you did miss the cool ass photo booth that was on the second level.

This is the beginning of something that will manifest into something much greater, we all can feel it.

To stay in the loop, participate in some hip-hop trivia, and read some important facts about hip-hop, follow the M.H.H.M. on Instagram.

The museum is also accepting donations.