LL Cool J is a revered name in the world of hip-hop and rap. His influence on the genre was acknowledged at the Rock The Bells Festival on Sunday in which New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams handed the artist a key to his hometown of Queens, New York.
Adams took to Twitter to share a number of photographs from the event. She also stated, “It was an honor to present him with a proclamation acknowledging his undeniable impact on Hip Hop and popular culture.” Have a look at her post right here:
LL Cool J released a statement after receiving the honour. He said, “I feel like Hip Hop is indispensable…And I feel like, the same reverence and deference in the way Paul McCartney gets celebrated, the way Bob Dylan gets celebrated or Mick Jagger, I feel like these artists, these kings and queens, deserve that same treatment for this art form.”
Also Read| Nicki Minaj’s Super Freaky Girl debuts at No. 1 on Billboard
Notably, this was not the first time that Queens had honoured LL Cool J for his contributions to hip-hop. Earlier in December 2021, the rap legend saw a statue of his unveiled at the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. He himself shared a video of the event on Instagram:
LL Cool J first burst onto the scene in 1985 with his studio album Radio and the hit single I Need a Beat. Besides Rum DMC and Beastie Boys, he was one of the first hip-hop artists to have achieved commercial success. The style of delivery and beats used in albums like Radio went on to influence subsequent artists like Public Enemy and Boogie Down Productions.
Also Read| MTV Video Music Awards 2022: Lil Nas X, Kendrick Lamar, Jack Harlow lead nominations
LL Cool J will be seen as one of the co-hosts for this year’s MTV Video Music Awards. He is set to emcee the event alongside Nicki Minaj and Jack Harlow. Hip-hop fans are eagerly awaiting this combination of influential hip-hop artists from three different generations.
