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Zulu Kings Sweatshirt
Associated name
Zulu Nation
Date1975-1990
Mediumcotton
DimensionsOverall (Width x Length): 28 1/2 × 22 9/16 in. (72.39 × 57.309 cm)
Credit LineMoPOP permanent collection
Object number1998.827.2
Text EntriesThis sweatshirt displays the name of the Zulu Kings, who were known as The Mighty Zulu Kingz and were the official b-boy crew for the Zulu Nation established in 1973. The pendent symbolled the mission and vision of The Zulu Nation. Emerging in the early 1970s, the Zulu Nation was a community conscious Hip-Hop organization composed of DJs, MCs, graffiti artists, and break-dancers who pushed and established the early culture of Hip-Hop. Composed of local Bronx gang members from the Black Spades, the Zulu Nation used the elements of Hip-Hop to advocate for education, Black unity, peace, love, and upward mobility. Inspired by the movie Zulu (1964), the teachings of Malcolm X, and the Nation of Islam, Afrika Bambaataa created the Zulu Nation to fight against gun violence, drug abuse and gang rivalry in the Bronx community to transform New York’s gang culture to a higher level of self-consciousness, creativity, and freedom. Growing into an international organization, the Universal Zulu Nation celebrated and believed in Black solidarity, accepting people for who they area and that reflected in their clothing, message, and style.
Front: grey sweatshirt with a picture of a Black man in African wear and the words “Zulu Kings” in green print and an outline of Africa in red print. Back: the words Zulu Nation are written in red, yellow and green. Below is Rhyme Syndicate in black font.
CopyrightThis work is issued under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) License. For more information, go to https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
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