Finally entering the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame after six nominations, LL Cool J blew the roof off Saturday night’s (Oct. 30) induction ceremony with a little help from some friends.
Dressed in all silver, the rapper, fronting a full band, threw down with a musical set that included surprise appearances by Eminem trading verses on “Rock the Bells” and Jennifer Lopez re-creating their collaboration on “All I Have.” LL Cool J also delivered a powerhouse “Go Cut Creator Go” and closed with “Mama Said Knock You Out,” joined by a cadre of white-hoodied dancers who paraded down the aisle before joining him onstage.
Addressing his long journey into the Rock Hall, LL Cool J — who received one of the night’s Awards for Musical Excellence — thanked “all of the people who voted for LL to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame year after year. … I wasn’t thinking about the people who voted against me. I was thinking about the people who voted for me. It was love — ‘Wow, there’s some people over there who won’t take no for an answer. This is a guy who deserves to be in there, and we gotta keep fighting to get him in there!’” He finished by declaring, “Hall of Fame, know my name!”
