LL COOL J is a bona fide Hip Hop legend — that can’t be disputed. From his early days at Def Jam Recordings and multiple No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 anthems to his iconic cameo in the 1985 film Krush Groove and Rock The Bells radio endeavors, Ladies Love Cool James has remained Hip Hop to its core.
But for some reason, LL COOL J has yet to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — despite being nominated six times.
On Monday (April 5), former Def Jam executive Lyor Cohen penned a Billboard op-ed shaming the Rock Hall for shutting LL COOL J out. Although Cohen has been a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame board of directors for over 10 years, he explained he’s unable to cast a single vote when it comes to deciding what artists are enshrined in the hall.
“Normally that’s enough for me,” he wrote in part. “This year is different. I’m writing not in my official capacity, but as someone who’s been down with Hip Hop since the Eighties. I thought it was important to make the case in public for one of this year’s nominees, my colleague LL Cool J, with whom I worked for years. Mr. James Smith has been eligible for induction since 2010 and he’s been nominated for inclusion six times. But he’s never been voted in. And I think that that failure speaks to the limitations of too many of the HOF’s voters.
JAY-Z, LL COOL J & Mary J. Blige Among 2021 Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Nominees
“How the heck has LL Cool J been overlooked? He was a phenomenal and ground-breaking rapper from the very beginning, as deeply steeped in rock as he was in the soul, funk, and rap that preceded him.”
Cohen went on to note songs such as “I Need Love,” “I’m Bad” and “Mama Said Knock You Out” alone should’ve sealed the deal.
“LL’s love songs may have been even more influential and popular,” he continued. “When ‘I Need Love’ went to No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart in 1987, it was the first rap recording ever to reach that summit. His good looks and blazing charisma made him one of the first rappers whose videos were played on MTV at a time when very few performers of color were allowed on the channel. He was, as Queen Latifah once noted, ‘rap’s first sex symbol.'”
Cohen further presented his case for LL COOL J’s spot in the Rock Hall by pointing out his influence on rap’s dominance and comparing him to other Hip Hop artists who’ve already been inducted.
“LL spearheaded the global ascendancy of rap,” he wrote. “As one of the founders of the modern age of rap touring, he traveled the world, inspiring local rappers in any number of countries to make their own recordings in their native tongues. I saw the evidence in person as it first happened, and I continue to see it these days during visits to India, Vietnam, and Africa. There’s no doubt that rap is the number one musical form in the world, which is another way of saying it is the new rock & roll.
“Truthfully, this is old news, but I think that many of the HOF’s members are struggling to accept it. How else to explain that only six rap acts have been voted into the hall to date? But I think one of the bigger problems is the HOF’s ongoing debate about what exactly constitutes rock & roll — even if we temporarily pull performers of color out of the equation. How much sense does it really make to say that Bill Haley & the Comets and Pink Floyd flew under the same flag…except that each of them both pledged allegiance to it?
LL Cool J Misses Rock Hall Of Fame Induction For 5th Time
He added, “Then again, it’s crucial to remember that rock & roll isn’t only a musical idiom, it’s a cultural force. More to the point, the consensus among HOF voters is that rock & roll is a disruptive, counter-cultural force. It’s that kind of thinking that helps to explain just which rappers have made it in: Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, Run-DMC, the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, NWA, and 2Pac. All of them were troublemakers and most of them at least flirted with ‘conscious rap.'”
The 2021 Rock Hall nominees were announced in February and include JAY-Z, Mary J. Blige and — yep! — LL COOL J. The 36th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is expected to take place this fall in Cleveland, Ohio. Inductees are to be announced in May and if Cohen has it his way, LL COOL J will be delivering a long overdue acceptance speech.
Read the full letter here.
jay z’s gonna get in! HOV
Jann Wenner must have a Stick up His Ass about LL Cool J the SAME way He does about Grand Funk Railroad!!
first time I ever agreed with a ‘cohen’
Das andy semidic, yo
Only reason a small hat like this Cohen here cares about blacks is to weaponize them against the only race smart enough to put an end to the j00ish supremacy, white people.
Seek help.
Well why should he be, he’s not rock n roll, he’s hip hop. He can go to the hip hop hall of fame. I wouldn’t be mad if Guns N Roses got shunned from the hip hop all of fame, they not hip hop!!! What is this all inclusive bullshit? This aint Sandals Resort it’s a music hall of fame for a certain type of music. You see Willie Mays complaining he’s not in the basketball hall of fame? Of course not. People are stupid these days. Racism and being woke and politically correct got everybody all the way fu**ed up. We don’t know which way is down and which way is up anymore.
Huh??? That doesn’t make any sense. Guns n roses aren’t rock n roll either. Guns n. Roses are a rock group. Metallica aren’t rock n roll they’re a heavy metal group. But they get nominated?? Bob Marley a reggae singer? Madonna a pop star?
Rock n roll is a 1940s and 1950s style of black music created and performed by such artists like fats domino, little Richard, chuck Berry, Elvis, Ike turner etc etc etc
It just became another name for popular music or Modern American music.
Thats why jazz, blues, soul, ROCK MUSIC, reggae, heavy metal, folk, HIP HOP and many more are considered for the rock n roll hall of fame.
If hip hop shouldn’t be nominated then neither should heavy metal.
He should of been there before 2 PAC they must don’t understand about a rapper who had his first contact at the age of 16 and who been tearing up mic’s for over 30 years