A pop-up museum in Washington, D.C. has 500 pieces of hip-hop history.  It showcases iconic albums from the genre’s 1980s heyday.

And even rap star action figures can be seen at the Hip-Hop Museum Pop-Up Experience. 

CGTN’s Giles Gibson paid a visit. 

Founder Jeremy Beaver built the collection over several years.  To him, it’s as precious as the art and artifacts in Washington’s other museums.

“I can’t imagine losing a single piece. It’s not me losing anything, it’s America losing something. To us, hip-hop is a unique, original American art form,” Founder Jeremy Beaver said.

In 2009, the U.S. Congress recognized jazz as a “national treasure.”

The museum’s founders want the same recognition for hip-hop.

And they want to take the museum on tour.

Beaver says, “We want a museum that can go to every single city, that can go to schools, that can go to different countries around the world. There’s no reason why everyone should have to come to this one place to experience the history of hip-hop.”

The collection is now looking for a permanent base, preserving hip-hop history for future generations.