Return of the Mecca: The Art of Islam and Hip-Hop showcases how, from its very foundations until today, hip-hop has been deeply influenced by its relationship to Islam. Reflected in everything from LP and cassette artwork and titles, to lyrics and samples to advocating personal, social and political uplift, hip-hop has been deeply influenced by the the Nation of Islam, the Five Percent Nation, and Islam in the African diaspora. Three rooms will exhibit a never-before-seen chronology documenting the 70-year history interweaving jazz, soul, hip-hop, and Islam, including hip-hops jazz and spoken word foundations of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s with materials on Yusef Lateef, Art Blakey, Ahmad Jamal, Gil Scott-Heron, Amiri Baraka, and others - plus Golden Age videos and rare concert footage, and a collection of over 200 LP jackets and cassette J-cards/shells will be compiled wall-to-wall spanning the early 1980s through the present featuring artists Gang Starr, Black Star, Brand Nubian, Queen Latifah, Jurassic 5, Digable Planets, Big Daddy Kane, and Intelligent Hoodlum, along with recent contemporaries Jay Electronica, Oddisee, and others too. Also featuring fine art and documentary images by some of hip-hop's legendary photographers Jamel Shabazz, Ernie Paniccioli, B+, archival materials and historical ephemera, and much more. An exhibit catalog will include a new essay by Chuck D of Public Enemy, and original interview with Yasiin Bey (Mos Def).This exhibition is part of the LA/Islam Arts Initiative, a citywide cultural celebration and programs hosted by the City of of Los Angeles, Department of Cultural Affairs and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation from September-December 2014.