Explore Hip Hop's origin story in new Paramount Plus docuseries, Hip Hop Was Born Here

The series, which was co-created by LL Cool J and Peyton Manning, premieres July 22.

By Emma Keates  |  June 27, 2025 | 4:23pm
Image: Paramount+
Music News Hip Hop Was Born Here
Explore Hip Hop's origin story in new Paramount Plus docuseries, Hip Hop Was Born Here
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Hip Hop music is now a worldwide phenomenon, but it all started on a street corner in New York City. LL Cool J takes a trip to the Bronx to pay homage to the park where DJ Kool Herc threw his first parties in the trailer for Hip Hop Was Born Here, a new Paramount+ series charting the “creation, evolution and ongoing legacy of Hip Hop not just as a genre but as a culture,” per its synopsis.

The series was co-created by rapper and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee LL Cool J, along with former NFL player Peyton Manning, who admitted that “music is far from my area of expertise,” but “sports and music have a lot of similarities” in a statement, per Deadline. “Both require hard work and commitment, and at their best, both bring people together,” Manning continued. “The story of hip hop, especially in New York City, is an important one to tell, and there’s no one better than Todd (LL Cool J) to tell it.”

LL Cool J will tell that story through interviews with pioneers of the genre, including Big Daddy Kane, Doug E. Fresh, Method Man, Rev Run, Jadakiss, Salt of Salt-N-Pepa, and many more. The show promises to take fans “on a journey through Hip Hop history – meeting OGs and future icons, visiting the neighborhoods, studios and places that fostered early styles as well as watching beloved artists analyze their favorite tracks.”

“To understand the power of Hip Hop today, you gotta go back to where it all started,” LL Cool J says in a trailer. You can journey back in time with the five-episode docuseries on July 22. For now, watch the trailer below:

 
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