LL Cool J gave DJ Kool Herc an incredible tribute for his 2023 Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame induction at the Brooklyn ceremony tonight. The speech started with LL Cool J looking back on how Kool Herc kicked off the origins of hip-hop by DJ’ing a party for his sister, Cindy Campbell. She was doing it to earn money for back-to-school clothes in 1973.
“We don’t know how much money Cindy managed to raise that day or what clothes she managed to buy but we know she changed the course of history, of music history,” LL Cool J said. “That party has come to be known as the birthplace of hip-hop.”
“It’s a culture that changed my life obviously,” he added, according to Rolling Stone. “It changed the lives of millions and millions of people.”
DJ Kool Herc then went up on stage, bringing Cindy along too.
“I got tears in my eyes,” Herc shared, giving some heartfelt acknowledgments. He then gave his sister a moment to speak.
“LL, you gave a heartfelt introduction, thank you, we love you,” Cindy said. “We always did, and I want to congratulate my brother DJ Kool Herc for staying on that path and getting where he is today. Congratulations to my brother.”
This year marks the 50th anniversary of DJ Kool Herc playing that first party.