LL Cool J Stars in New ‘Hip-Hop Was Born Here’ Docuseries Trailer

LL Cool J digs into how New York City shaped the creation and evolution of rap in the new trailer for the upcoming docuseries, Hip-Hop Was Born Here. 

The five-part series will offer a kind of historical and musical tour of the five boroughs as LL Cool J visits the neighborhoods and meets with the MCs and producers who were instrumental to hip-hop’s rise. A plethora of hip-hop luminaries will feature on the show, including Big Daddy Kane, Grandmaster Caz, Jadakiss, Method Man, Rev Run, Roxanne Shante, Salt of Salt-N-Pepa, and Marley Mal. 

The new trailer for Hip-Hop Was Born Here fittingly begins at the actual birthplace of hip-hop, with LL Cool J making a pilgrimage to the Bronx park where DJ Kool Herc set up his equipment and threw his first parties. It goes on to feature Rev. Run recalling the block parties in his Hollis, Queens neighborhood; Jadakiss speaking about how hip-hop became an outlet after NYC public schools cut music education programs; and Roxanne Shante succinctly defining her legacy: “I gave birth to most of them MCs.”

And while the rest of the clip teases other NYC-centric stories, the doc will also explore how hip-hop ultimately went global. “Who would ever think that we could be world famous doing something that we love?” Method Man wonders at the end of the trailer. “I would’ve never imagined that.”

Hip-Hop Was Born Here is set to premiere on July 22 on Paramount+. LL Cool J executive produced and co-created the series with Peyton Manning (yes, that Peyton Manning). 

For LL, the new docuseries comes on the heels of a busy 2024 for the rapper, during which he released his first album in over a decade, The Force.