The Hip Hop Archive, founded at Harvard University and searchable online at http://www.hiphoparchive.org/, has been up and running for 10 years now and continues to evolve. The HHA has been producing academic scholars and utilizing researchers to help develop the archive into a wealth of information and history about the origins and world wide impact of hip hop culture.
When it first began, I was a bit suspect of an Ivy League school taking on this endeavor, but as the years have passed and many collegiate programs refuse to offer curriculum that studies the culture as a whole, Harvard seems to be light years ahead of its peers in most academic fields. There seems to be some "cheesy" elements to how the HHA is presented to the larger population (bland graf, typical images, etc.) but in terms of building a solid foundation to reach a broader audience, the HHA has done well.
For me, because I grew up during the Golden Era, it is sometimes hard for me to digest overly theoretical or philosophical assessments from often white educators who claim a thorough understanding of but little actual experience in culture, as if discussing an ancient Egyptian mythology in a far away land. I give them credit for seeking out an ever-evolving culture that is vastly important to generations of people, but I feel like the Hip Hop Elders should have organized something like this years ago.
Hopefully, the HHA can just be seen as a launching point and other organizations with closer ties to community and culture will spring up one day. It would be great if universities could see Hip Hop as an entire department and not a dissected section of spoken word poetry, theatrical dance and other fragmented and "ivory tower" versions of the original movement. I applaud the HHA for existing in the first place, but would be glad to see these type of educational facilities spring up within the communities that birthed the movement instead of a private college campus.
Check out the links above and research the lectures, demos and history offered by the HHA.
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