Elected officials and community members came together on Friday for the Hip-Hop Against Gun and Gang Violence initiative on Friday to send a message against the recent violence plaguing the Bronx.  

Haffen Park was full of local residents and leaders speaking out against recent gun violence incidents, as hip-hop is celebrating its 50Th anniversary in New York City this year.

"There has to be a different way to solve our differences and there has to be a peaceful way to solve our differences, it can't be through gun violence,” said Rocky Bucano, president of the Universal Hip Hop Museum.  

The Universal Hip Hop Museum is set to open in 2024. Bucano, alongside organizer and former City Council Member Andy King, say that the genre of hip-hop shouldn’t inspire people to act out of violence or detriment to their community.  

"The music was about inspiration that saved lives, not the music today that's destroying lives and putting people in gangs that do things that are so detrimental… not only to themselves but to the neighborhoods and communities that they not only visit but they live in,” said King.  

King says they plan to have a meeting with the Biden administration in August about placing resources in the Bronx to stop gun violence.