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Boombox, used by Fab 5 Freddy

National Museum of American History
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Object Details

Sharp
Description

This boombox was made by Sharp Electronics, circa 1985. It is a portable music system, model HK-9000, with its dual tape decks, detachable speakers, built-in equalizer, AM/FM radio, and 2-fader microphone mixing was one of the largest boomboxes of the era.

This boombox was used by hip hop pioneer, visual artist, filmmaker, and cable television host, Fab 5 Freddy, (born Fred Braithwaite). He was the first host of the groundbreaking hip hop music video show, "Yo! MTV Raps," in the late 1980s . Freddy has been forever immortalized on the American New Wave group Blondie’s hit single “Rapture,” when lead singer Debbie Harry rapped, “Fab 5 Freddy told me everybody’s fly.”

Credit Line
Gift of Fred (Fab 5 Freddy) Brathwaite
ca 1985
ID Number
2006.0059.01
accession number
2006.0059
catalog number
2006.0059.01
Object Name
boombox
Physical Description
metal (overall material)
plastic (overall material)
non-ferrous metal, eletrical wire (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 11 1/2 in x 34 in x 9 in; 29.21 cm x 86.36 cm x 22.86 cm
overall: 11 3/4 in x 33 3/4 in x 10 1/4 in; 29.845 cm x 85.725 cm x 26.035 cm
See more items in
Culture and the Arts: Entertainment
Music & Musical Instruments
Popular Entertainment
Family & Social Life
Highlights from the Culture and the Arts Collection
Electronic Musical Instruments
Exhibition
Entertainment Nation
Exhibition Location
National Museum of American History
National Museum of American History
subject
Hip-Hop
Record ID
nmah_1322612
Metadata Usage (text)
CC0
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ac-83fd-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

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Boombox used by Fab 5 Freddy
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