Jamaican DJ Kool Herc is to be inducted by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for his role in pioneering hip hop music.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominates Kool Herc and Missy Elliot as the only two hip-hop figures who are part of the Class of 2023 inductees. Kool Herc will be receiving the Musical Influence Award, while Missy is the first female rapper to be inducted, and she is being awarded the Performer Award.
“This year’s incredible group of inductees reflects the diverse artists and sounds that define rock & roll,” the Chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, John Sykes, stated. “We are honored that this November’s Induction Ceremony in New York will coincide with two milestones in music culture; the 90th birthday of Willie Nelson and the 50th Anniversary of the birth of Hip Hop.”
The organization also released a mini-feature on Kool Herc that gave him credit for his involvement in developing hip-hop music and listed his own musical influences as none other than the pioneer of soul music, James Brown, dub music pioneer King Tubby, and the legendary Lee Scratch Perry.
DJ Kool Herc was also known for his huge sound systems in the Bronx area where he often threw block parties inspired by the street dance culture in Jamaica.
The write-up goes on to say the DJ’s innovation and experimentation of music was the blueprint that created hip hop, and that style and culture still maintain to this day.
