Last year's block party celebrated the one-year anniversary of The Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap. The event was hosted by radio personality Vic Jagger and featured live performances by J.Period, D Smoke, DJ Heat and The Halluci Nation. The party concluded with a dance party featuring DJ Spinderella of Salt-N-Pepa.
"The origins of Hip-Hop and rap rest in community where people gathered together in basements, on street corners, neighborhood dance parties and community shows to tell the stories of the people and places that brought it to life in a language all its own," Dwandalyn Reece, associate director for curatorial affairs at NMAAHC said of last year's celebration.