The Bronx School of Hip-Hop opened Sept. 10 at 1600 Webster Ave. in the Claremont section of the Bronx with about 100 ninth graders, according to AllHipHop. It is a New York City public high school that teaches core subjects through the five elements of hip-hop.
Bronx School of Hip-Hop: What Students Study
The school builds standard subjects around emceeing, DJing, graffiti, breaking and knowledge of self, the five elements the school uses, AllHipHop reported. Audio production, digital media and financial literacy are part of the program alongside the usual courses.
The Bronx Times reported that English classes pair lyricists such as Kendrick Lamar, Nas and Rakim with classic literature, and math classes use beat production and DJing to teach ratios and proportions. ABC7 New York reported that geometry students rap math problems into microphones and that the building displays quotes and artwork from Nas, Lauryn Hill, Biggie and Jay-Z.
Principal Jason Reyes told NY1 that students do not take a separate rap class. He said hip-hop is embedded in English language arts, so students study novels and then compare them with hip-hop artists, NY1 reported. Complex reported that the school has partnerships with Lehman College and Bronx Community College for audio engineering, video production, graphics and business, and that Melle Mel, Grandmaster Caz and Special Ed are advisers.
How Many Students Enrolled at the Bronx School of Hip-Hop
Reports disagree on the size of the first class. AllHipHop and ABC7 put it at roughly 100 ninth graders. The Bronx Times, writing before the opening, said the school was targeting 115 to 120 students. Complex, also before the opening, reported 115 to 125.
The school starts with ninth grade and adds a grade each year until it serves grades 9 through 12, ABC7 reported. The Bronx Times said full capacity will be 400 to 450 students. At about 100 students per grade, four grades come to 400, the bottom of the planned range. The pre-opening targets of 115 to 125 per grade would reach 460 to 500 over four years. The Bronx Times also reported that the Department of Education approved the school in December 2025, and the school will have video and audio production studios and a dance studio.
Who Leads the School
Reyes grew up in Soundview, in the Sonia Sotomayor Houses, a New York City Housing Authority development, the Bronx Times reported. He started teaching math at M.S. 129 in 2004 and became its principal in 2019 before the city chose him to lead the new school.
Reyes told ABC7 the opening felt like “a dream come true.” He told the Bronx Times that when people talk about culturally relevant instruction, “this is the epitome of that.” Martha Diaz, who founded the Hip-Hop Education Center, called the opening “a historic moment for our culture,” according to AllHipHop.
The school is one of five new public schools the Department of Education announced May 5 for the Bronx and western Queens, NY1 and Complex reported. Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels said at the announcement that “there is something for every student and every family,” NY1 reported.
Nas and Mayor Mamdani Discuss Hip-Hop in New York
The school drew national attention again on Sept. 30, when a four-minute video of Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Nas premiered exclusively on Billboard, Revolt reported. In it, Mamdani said New York can’t be content to have been the birthplace of hip-hop and wants to “still be the home,” according to Revolt. XXL’s account renders the second half in the past tense, as “we wanted” to still be the home.
Revolt reported that Mamdani told Billboard that if New York becomes so expensive that art turns into a luxury good, the city deprives future generations of it. Nas said the conversation is about young people, and XXL quoted him as saying “it’s all about the youth.” XXL reported that Mamdani, who once rapped as Mr. Cardamom, counts Nas among his five favorite rappers.
The Bronx Address Where Hip-Hop Began
The borough has a documented claim to the history. DJ Kool Herc played a back-to-school party that his sister Cindy Campbell organized on Aug. 11, 1973, in the recreation room at 1520 Sedgwick Ave., according to Wikipedia. The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation recognized the building as the birthplace of hip-hop on July 5, 2007. That party was 53 years ago. The first class will graduate in 2030 if it follows the standard four-year path. The Bronx Times calls the school the nation’s first Bronx School of Hip-Hop, and XXL calls it a first-of-its-kind public high school.
What Happens Next
The school adds a 10th grade next fall and keeps growing until it has four grades, ABC7 reported. The reports reviewed did not say how many students applied for next year’s ninth-grade class.
