Kurtis Blow and The D.O.C. will be honored as the 2026 Grandmasters at the Paid In Full Foundation’s fourth annual Hip Hop Grandmaster Awards gala this Saturday, Oct. 24, in the Bellagio’s Tower Ballroom in Las Vegas, as first reported by AllHipHop.
The night also honors Nile Rodgers with the Quincy Jones Achievement Award and Ralph McDaniels with the Contributor Award. Per AllHipHop, net proceeds go toward supporting the honorees and other creatives working on new projects.
Why These Names Matter
Kurtis Blow’s 1980 single “The Breaks” became the first gold-certified rap song. Before a lot of today’s fans were born, he proved this music could move units.
The D.O.C.’s 1989 debut, No One Can Do It Better, went platinum on Ruthless Records, and his pen kept working long after. He wrote for N.W.A and Dr. Dre, shaping a West Coast sound that still echoes today.
Nile Rodgers is part of hip hop’s DNA too: Chic’s “Good Times” was the foundation for the Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight.” And Ralph McDaniels? If you grew up on music video TV, you know Video Music Box, which he hosted and produced starting in 1983. New York City’s media office has credited him with helping push LL Cool J and Jay-Z forward.
The IAHHM Take
We talk a lot about giving pioneers their flowers. This is what it looks like when the flowers come with money attached. Last year’s class at the Bellagio included Kool G Rap, Kool Rock Ski, Jalil Hutchins, George Clinton and Grand Puba, and Rakim even joined Clinton onstage.
Hip hop is more than 50 years old now. The people who built it deserve more than a nostalgia post. They deserve real support while they’re still here to enjoy it.
Who should be next on the Grandmaster list? Drop the pioneer you think the culture still owes.
Source: AllHipHop
