The Hidden History Behind Hip Hop’s Beginnings

Hip-hop has always been passed from one generation to the next. Kurtis Blow, The D.O.C., Roxanne Shanté, and QD3 argue that understanding those connections is essential to understanding the culture itself.

In this conversation from the Paid in Full celebration, they reflect on the artists who shaped them, the recognition many pioneers waited decades to receive, and why honoring hip-hop’s history is also about what gets passed forward.

QD3 shares how his father, Quincy Jones, connected hip-hop back to jazz, the griots, and earlier generations of Black music, while The D.O.C. explains why he rejects the idea of a single GOAT: every generation stands on the shoulders of the one before it. They also discuss creativity, mentorship, AI, and why Paid in Full is about more than a single night of recognition.