LL Cool J hedras med nycklarna till stadsdelen Queens – i samband med Rock The Bells-premiär

"I feel like Hip Hop is indisposable."

Förra året valdes LL Cool J in i Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tillsammans med bland andra Jay-Z. Nu uppmärksammas hans hiphopgärning igen, då han tilldelats nycklarna till hemstadsdelen Queens i New York. Detta i samband med att rap-ikonens nystartade Rock The Bells Festival ägde rum under helgen.

Ceremonin leddes av talespersonen för New Yorks statsråd, Adrienne Adams, som delade ett gäng bilder via Twitter efteråt.

“Hollis, Queens was represented today at @RockTheBells as the @NYCCouncil celebrated a true Queens legend, the one and only @llcoolj! It was an honor to present him with a proclamation acknowledging his undeniable impact on Hip Hop and popular culture”, skriver hon.

Hollis, Queens was represented today at @RockTheBells as the @NYCCouncil celebrated a true Queens legend, the one and only @llcoolj! It was an honor to present him with a proclamation acknowledging his undeniable impact on hip-hop and popular culture. pic.twitter.com/p2mlSG1yov

— Adrienne Adams (@NYCSpeakerAdams) August 6, 2022

Den utsålda festivalen, som leddes av Roxanne Shanté, bjöd på uppträdanden av bland andra Fat Joe, LL Cool J själv, Scarface, Ice Cube, Digable Planets, Jadakiss och The Diplomats. En del av biljettförsäljningen går direkt till det efterlängtade Universal Hip Hop Museum, som kommer att öppna upp med nästan 5000 kvadratmeter i bostadsområdet Bronx Point vid Mill Pond Park. Museumet väntas slå upp dörrarna 2023, i samband med att genren firar 50 år.

“I feel like Hip Hop is indisposable. 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”, säger LL Cool J i ett uttalande.

Till HipHopDX säger Roxanne Shanté att hon är säker på att Rock The Bells Festival kommer att återvända nästa år.

“There’s definitely another one coming because so many people were like, ‘Oh, y’all having a party and didn’t invite me?’ It’s like, ‘No, we’re inviting everybody, but everyone wouldn’t have a chance to get on stage.’”

“Look, we got to make it where everybody’s going to get a chance. Trust me, if there’s an artist here you didn’t see, hold on. We’re having another family reunion in another location and then you’ll all be able to see them there and there’ll be some new eats and new beats.”

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