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Boombox carried by Radio Raheem in the film Do the Right Thing

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Object Details

Manufactured by
Tecsonic, South Korean
Used by
Bill Nunn, American, 1952 - 2016
Signed by
Spike Lee, American, born 1957
Owned by
Gene Siskel, American, 1946 - 1999
Subject of
Public Enemy, American, founded 1982
Description
A Promax Super Jumbo boombox (2014.270.2.1a) used as a prop by the character Radio Raheem in the Spike Lee directed picture, "Do the Right Thing". The boombox includes a dual audio casette tape deck, an equilizer section, radio dial, colored light display, and a pair each of 8" subwoofers, midranges, and tweeters. There are sections of red, yellow, and green electical tape with black ink text on the sides and top of the player. There are also rectangular black, green, and yellow "Public Enemy" stickers adhered to both sides of the player. On the lower back of the boombox is handwritten text in gold ink reading [BROOKLYN, N.Y. / 3/17/90 / To Gene / RADIO RAHEEM LIVES / LOVE, Spike Lee / "FIGHT THE POWER"]. There is a metal handle attached to the top of the player, around which two braided bracelets (black-and-white 2014.270.2.1b, colored 2014.270.2.1c) and multi-colored printed cloth (2014.270.2.1d) have been tied. The "rewind" button on the proper right tape deck has fallen off (2014.270.2.1e). The boombox had an audio cassette in the proper right deck (2014.270.2.2), titled "JAZZ CLUB / Vocal". The cassette is off-white with black text and is printed with track titles, manufacturing information, and serial number.
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
1989
Object number
2014.270.2
Restrictions & Rights
No Known Copyright Restrictions
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
Type
audio equipment
Medium
plastic, metal, wire, cloth, pressure-sensitive tape, ink
Dimensions
H x W x D (2014.270.2.1a Handle Up): 19 1/2 × 31 1/4 × 9 in. (49.5 × 79.4 × 22.9 cm)
Place used
Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
See more items in
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification
Props and Set Design
Exhibition
A Changing America: 1968 and Beyond
On View
NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Concourse 1, C1 053
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Topic
African American
Film
Hip-hop (Music)
Urban life
Record ID
nmaahc_2014.270.2
Metadata Usage (text)
CC0
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd54128e04e-eefb-4683-b41d-6cd0f099b052

Related Content

  • Hip-Hop and Rap

  • Radio, Radio

  • African American Music

    Smithsonian Music
This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Open Access page.
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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