Later this year, DJ Kool Herc, a Jamaican who holds the honor of being the Father and Inventor of Hip-Hop, will be formally admitted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and presented with the Musical Influence Award.
Herc will join Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff as the third Jamaicans to be recognized with a Rock Hall induction; they received their honors in 1994 and 2010, respectively.
- Advertisement -
On November 3, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, there will be an induction ceremony. As a 2023 inductee, Kool Herc will join musicians like Missy Elliot and Willie Nelson, both of whom have previously collaborated on songs with several Dancehall and Reggae performers.
Joel Peresman, the CEO and president of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, elaborated on the statement on Tuesday, stating that DJ Kool Herc should be inducted in 2023. He claims that not only does it commemorate the genre’s 50th birthday, but also the fact that the event will be held just 15 miles from the Bronx apartment complex where Kool Herc created it in 1973.
“It just kind of worked out that we’re back in Brooklyn for the anniversary.” However, the time was ideal, he told Rolling Stone Magazine.
In a post on his Instagram from August of last year, Kool Herc, who is credited as the father and originator of hip-hop, told the tale of how he created the genre.
The post states, “On August 11, 1973, Kool Herc hosted a back-to-school party held on for his sister Cindy in the recreation room of their building at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue. This is widely celebrated as the birth of Hip-Hop culture. Herc preferred the more obscure ‘album cuts’ which he would isolate the percussive breakdown parts from and repeat them on two turntables.”
Also mentioned was Herc’s inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum, the Peoples Hall of Fame Award from Governor Mario Cuomo, and the inaugural VH1 Hip-Hop Honour, among other “several accolades throughout the years.”
While stating that he has never lost sight of his Jamaican heritage, Kool Herc emphasized his “own historical importance to helping to originate hip-hop music” in February 2020. He did this by pointing out that he was the initial individual to start his style of music “coming from Jamaica” and that he was the first to do so.
The Gleaner noted, “This was in the Bronx in the ’70s. I moved to the States with my mother and I started to have jams in an old building. It got very popular and then the American kids got hold of the toasting, that’s the element that they took from us.”
According to some accounts, Kool Herc is a living legend who “historically used two turntables at the same time to mix music and create his signature “Merry-Go-Round” technique.” He also created “ground-breaking foundations laid for the global musical genre that has become a cultural dominance.”
Willie Nelson and Missy Elliott “will join the class of 2023 in the Performer category” in the interim. In addition to being the first female rapper to be admitted into the Hall of Fame, Missy Elliot was picked in the Performer Category during what is believed to be her first year of eligibility.
Regarding her ties to the dancehall, Missy has previously worked with Lady Saw, Vybz Kartel, and Queen of Dancehall Spice.
From the rapper’s follow-up album Da Real World, which came out in 1999, Lady Saw made an appearance on the song Mr. DJ. The album later received a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album and was rated 49th on Vulture’s list of Missy’s best 115 tracks.
In 2011, Missy collaborated with Vybz Kartel on the Spice song Fun and the M.I.A.-featured song Bad Man.
In 2005, Willie Nelson released his Countryman album, which featured covers of Jimmy Cliff’s The Harder They Come and Sitting in Limbo. He has also collaborated on a version of Johnny Cash’s Worried Man with the late Toots Hibbert.
The statement highlights what Rolling Stone called “an incredible week for the country icon” who turned 90-year-old and commemorated with a two-day all-star extravaganza at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
The inductees this year, according to John Sykes, chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, are a representation of the variety of performers and musical styles that make up the genre.
Additionally, he expressed the organization’s gratitude 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.”
