The 2023 Grammy Awards finally gave hip-hop its proper due in celebration of the genres 50th anniversary.

Were gonna rock the bells for the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, said LL Cool J in the introduction.

Pioneers of the game and established newcomers alike took the coveted stage Sunday to perform in honor of hip-hops birth, which officially dates to Aug. 11, 1973 when the renowned DJ Kool Herc held a party at New York Citys 1520 Sedgwick Ave. in the Bronx.

Founding Def Jam Records rapper LL Cool J rightfully introduced the tribute, which was produced and directed by Questlove and saw solo emcees and rap crews alike including Lil Wayne , De La Soul, Missy Elliott , Rakim, Nelly and Salt-N-Pepa tear the roof off.

Yall think I came to play with yall? Busta Rhymes asked the crowd during his set, before launching into one the most rapid spitfire verses of his career , from Chris Browns Look at Me Now (Part III).

Other acts onstage included: Run D.M.C. , Scarface, Public Enemy , Too $hort, Ice-T , Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, DJ Jazzy Jeff , Big Boi, Future, Grandmaster Melle Mel & Scorpio/Ethiopian King, Method Man , the Lox, Lil Baby and Queen Latifah .

Latifah stated firmly, Hip-hop will live forever, before Nelly launched into his most famous song, 2002s Hot in Herre.

Other notable performances saw Queen Latifah perform part of U.N.I.T.Y. and the Lox rap a portion of We Gonna Make It.

It started in the Bronx and ever since, its gone everywhere, said LL Cool J to end the performance. To the five boroughs ... for the culture.

In a news release before the 65th Grammy Awards even kicked off, Recording Academy President Harvey Mason Jr. revealed Sundays hip-hop tribute at the Crypto.com arena in Los Angeles was only the beginning of things to come, however.

For five decades, hip-hop has not only been a defining force in music, but a major influence on our culture, he said. Its contributions to art, fashion, sport, politics and society cannot be overstated. Im so proud that we are honoring it in such a spectacular way on the Grammy stage.

It is just the beginning of our year-long celebration of this essential genre of music, Mason Jr. continued.

For the music award show that infamously gave Macklemore a Best Rap Album trophy over Kendrick Lamar in 2014 and presented its first hip-hop award off-air in 1989 tonights tribute was a long time coming.