Source: Al Pereira / Getty
Hip-Hop legend LL Cool J has always made it a point to represent his home borough of Queens throughout his career. That love was reflected in a new statue dedicated to him.
Last week Tuesday (December 7th), the “4,3,2,1” rapper and actor shared a post to social media featuring a new statue built and installed in his honor. The Instagram post he shared contained the caption “Anything is possible. Statue of me in Corona Park, Queens by the talented @sherwintheartist.”
The statue, which is a bust of LL Cool J atop a boombox similar to the one he had in his iconic music video “Radio”, is installed in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. The boombox element of the sculpture even has a 7” cassette of the song in it to be played by anyone walking up to view it.
The honor comes shortly after LL was finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in October, after being previously nominated six times. The occasion caused many of his peers in the culture to pay homage to the 53-year old entertainer at the time.
DJ Cool V paid a visit to the statue along with legendary MC Roxanne Shante recently and shared it on his Instagram page, with Masta Ace & MC Lyte declaring their approval and desire to check it out themselves in the comments. The caption read, “This is How The Day Started with Me and @imroxanneshante having fun it in the park at the sight of The Newly Dedicated @llcoolj Statue it is well Deserved and Long overdue.”
The statue is the latest Hip-Hop centered sculpture by Banfield, who created “A Cypher In Queens” featuring three icons of the culture from the borough – Prodigy, Jam Master Jay and Phife Dawg. That installation was first on display at the Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens in 2020.
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