The sequencer on the 808, a row of 16 color-coded buttons, offered artists ... era of hip-hop. But the 808’s initial heyday was short-lived and beset with naysaying: The machine was expensive.

Along the way, it traveled to all corners of America, mutating and evolving into the wide variety of sounds and artists ... 808 drum machine, which offered up many of the classic hip-hop ...

Explore hip-hop and rap-related collections from across the Smithsonian ... Salt-N-Pepa outside Bayside Studios National Museum of American History E-mu SP-12 Drum Machine National Museum of African ...