The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s induction ceremony took place on Friday (Nov. 3) evening. It became a landmark event for hip hop, especially as DJ Kool Herc entered the Musical Influence category amid the genre’s 50th anniversary celebrations.

During his speech, LL Cool J lauded the 68-year-old’s foundational influence on the genre. “It’s a culture that changed my life and changed the lives of millions and millions of people,” the New York native explained. “When Herc first started, there were no accountants or record companies that believed in it, but Herc believed in it.”

He continued, “This is hip hop’s 50th anniversary, so it’s all the more appropriate that we are here to honor and recognize one of the founding fathers of hip hop, DJ Kool Herc.”

Herc was joined by his younger sibling Cindy Campbell, who helped orchestrate the genre-defining party in 1973 to fund her school clothes. The DJ credited her support by saying, “All the people built me up. But my sister, she needs some props, too.”

Meanwhile, Missy Elliott’s induction marked another major milestone. She became the first female rapper to join the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. On “Good Morning America,” the Grammy winner expressed her disbelief.

She said, “Words cannot describe [the honor of being inducted]. It just hasn’t clicked. When you’re in the hip hop world, it seems so far out of reach… And it being the 50th year of hip hop, it’s layers. No matter what people tell you, the hip hop world is something special and unique.”

The “Get Ur Freak On” hitmaker also took to Twitter to share her appreciation. Elliott wrote, “I got to the podium [and] my mind went blank. It is a feeling that’s almost unimaginable as I listened to the cheers [and] claps of so many [people]. I felt like a little girl again singing to my baby dolls in my room.”