1520 SEDGWICK AVENUE · THE BRONX · AUGUST 11, 1973

It started in a rec room in the Bronx.

Cindy Campbell rented the basement rec room for twenty-five dollars to raise money for school clothes. Twenty-five cents for girls, fifty for boys. Her brother Clive played the records. The neighborhood called him DJ Kool Herc.

The 1520 Cap. Four numbers. Everyone who knows, knows.
Shop Sedgwick Origin Tee Shop the 1520 Cap
Read how it started
1971 – 1989

The origin years.

Seven moments that built the culture, and the piece that remembers each one.
White TAKI 183 Cap with black handstyle embroidery on a cinder block ledge

1971

A teenage messenger from Washington Heights writes his name across the city. That summer, The New York Times goes looking for him.

The TAKI 183 Cap →
Close-up of the charcoal TWO COPIES print on the black tee

1973

At 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, Kool Herc runs two copies of the same record and keeps the break going. He calls it the merry-go-round.

The Two Copies Tee →
Gray 1200 Turntable Cap resting on a turntable platter, seen from above

1979

Technics releases the SL-1200MK2. Built for living rooms, it becomes the DJ's instrument.

The 1200 Turntable Cap →
Charcoal 808 Drum Machine Cap resting on a drum machine keyboard

1980

Roland releases the TR-808. It sounds nothing like real drums, and Roland stops making it three years later.

The 808 Drum Machine Cap →
Folded black Drop Tee showing THE DROP handstyle over charcoal Drop

1981

Before record deals, the release was a cassette. A party on Friday was on tape across the city by Monday.

The Drop Tee →
Folded black Flow Tee showing THE FLOW handstyle over charcoal Flow

1986

Rakim moves the rhyme off the beat. MCs never delivered the same way again.

The Flow Tee →

1989

May 12. The MTA retires its last painted subway car and declares the system clean.

The Last Car Tee →
EVERY PIECE HAS A STORY

Hip-hop history, worn quietly.

No giant logos. Tonal prints, small type and details that only mean something if you know. Every cap and tee is built on something true, a place, a machine, a date, and links to the full story in the Vault.

 Explore the Vault

The four elements, and where each one started.

DJing, MCing, breaking and writing grew up together in the same Bronx neighborhoods. Each collection follows one of them back to the beginning.
The Selector

The Selector

The Emcee

The Emcee

The Breaker

The Breaker

The Writer

The Writer

The Elements Caps

One cap for each element, each carrying the line you'd have been handed if you showed up wanting to learn. Play it first. Earn the mic. Go last. All city.
Black Selector Cap with PLAY IT FIRST. embroidery on a concrete ledge

Selector Cap

Selector Cap
$40.00
Black Emcee Cap with EARN THE MIC. embroidery on a concrete ledge

Emcee Cap

Emcee Cap
$40.00
Black Bboy Bgirl Cap with GO LAST. embroidery on a concrete ledge

Bboy Bgirl Cap

Bboy Bgirl Cap
$40.00
Black Graffiti Cap with ALL CITY. handstyle embroidery on a concrete ledge

Graffiti Cap

Graffiti Cap
$40.00
THE VAULT

Knowledge is the fifth element.

Hip-hop has always taught itself. Those who knew shared with those learning, in cyphers and crews, on corners and in studios. The Vault continues that: the history behind every piece, researched and written in full.

No paywall. No sign-up. Read everything.

 Enter the Vault

Latest from The Vault

The Break Had a Location: Clock Theory and the Mark That Made the Break Repeatable

The Break Had a Location: Clock Theory and the Mark That Made the Break Repeatable

Today a DJ taps a cue button and the track jumps to the exact spot. In the mid-1970s Bronx there was no screen and no...
Older Than the Mic: The Dozens and the Oldest Battle in Hip-Hop

Older Than the Mic: The Dozens and the Oldest Battle in Hip-Hop

You’ve watched someone get cooked. A shot, a reaction, a comeback or a loss, in front of everyone. It feels like an i...
The W 183rd Street sign in Washington Heights — the street number TAKI 183 wrote across New York.

The Name Before the Username

You picked a name that isn't the one you were given. You use it in places where the given one would mean less. You ha...

Shorthand Series Caps

The machines, names, and numbers the culture speaks in… worn by people who don't need them spelled out.
White 1520 Cap with black handstyle embroidery resting on a vintage chair

1520 Cap

1520 Cap
$40.00
Charcoal 808 Drum Machine Cap resting on a drum machine keyboard

808 Drum Machine Cap

808 Drum Machine Cap
$40.00
White TAKI 183 Cap with black handstyle embroidery on a cinder block ledge

TAKI 183 Graffiti Cap

TAKI 183 Graffiti Cap
$40.00
Gray 1200 Turntable Cap resting on a turntable platter, seen from above

1200 Turntable Cap

1200 Turntable Cap
$40.00
White 1520 Cap with black handstyle embroidery resting on a vintage chair

1520 Cap

1520 Cap
$40.00

Shadow Series Tees

The phrases, counts, and codes the culture keeps to itself… worn by people who don't need them any louder.
Close-up of the charcoal ALL CITY print on the black tee

All City Tee

All City Tee
$44.00
Close-up of the charcoal OFF THE DOME print on the black tee

Off the Dome Tee

Off the Dome Tee
$44.00
Close-up of the charcoal SIX STEP footwork diagram print on the black tee

Six Step Tee

Six Step Tee
$44.00
Close-up of the charcoal TWO COPIES print on the black tee

Two Copies Tee

Two Copies Tee
$44.00
Close-up of the charcoal ALL CITY print on the black tee

All City Tee

All City Tee
$44.00

The Flip

The words the culture invented and everybody borrowed… worn by people who know the front is only half of it.

 View all
Folded black Drop Tee showing THE DROP handstyle over charcoal Drop

The Drop Tee

The Drop Tee
$44.00
Folded black Repost Tee showing THE REPOST handstyle over charcoal Repost

The Repost Tee

The Repost Tee
$44.00
Folded black Flow Tee showing THE FLOW handstyle over charcoal Flow

The Flow Tee

The Flow Tee
$44.00
Folded black Loop Tee showing THE LOOP handstyle over charcoal Loop

The Loop Tee

The Loop Tee
$44.00
Folded black Drop Tee showing THE DROP handstyle over charcoal Drop

The Drop Tee

The Drop Tee
$44.00

Bench Series Tees

The platforms, lines, and layups the culture ran on… worn by people who know what a bench was for.
The Last Car Tee

The Last Car Tee

The Last Car Tee
$44.00
The Layups Tee

The Layups Tee

The Layups Tee
$44.00
The Bench Tee

The Bench Tee

The Bench Tee
$44.00
The 2 and the 5 Tee

The 2 and the 5 Tee

The 2 and the 5 Tee
$44.00
The Last Car Tee

The Last Car Tee

The Last Car Tee
$44.00
WHERE IT STARTED · THE BRONX

From the BX to the world.

August 11, 1973. A back-to-school party at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue. DJ Kool Herc extended the breaks in funk records, and a culture was born in a borough the city had written off.

It reached every continent on earth. BX Originals honors where it started, for the people who were there and the people who know the story.

 Read our story