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LL Cool J On Giving Back To The Hip Hop Community, Festivals, + Preserving The Culture

LL Cool J On Giving Back To The Hip Hop Community, Festivals, + Preserving The Culture

Hot97 Staff
08/05/2022 12:00 AM EDT
#celebrity#Interviews#Video

The living legend LL Cool J stopped by and chopped it up, DJ Drewski.

LL spoke on his Rock The Bell's hip-hop festival in Queens on Saturday, August 6. Hip hop icons like Lil Kim, Busta Rhymes, Ice Cube, and more will attend.

During the conversation, LL revealed he gave OG's like DJ Kool Herc, Run DMC, Roxanne Shante, Salt & Pepper, plus more, percentages of Rock The Bells the company. LL said he wanted to assure people contributing to hip hop culture would be able to reap the fruits of their labor." He said,

"Wanted to make sure that as we create this valuable thing with this culture, that our culture actually benefits from it."

LL spoke on the evolution of hip hop and how when he started in 1984, there wasn't an "industry" like the one we know today. Rap music wasn't played in the daytime. LL mentioned it was only played for about one hour on the weekends; versus now, it's played all day long.

The Rock The Bells founder, who started it in 2018, spoke on its significance. LL said he wanted to create something that will last 40-plus years from now, and we need to create our culture the way we want.

DJ Drewski wanted the younger artists to know that they're invited to Rock The Bells, even if they're not "day one fans" of the music. LL agreed and said they could learn from the OGs and the event is for every generation of artists and people.

LL talked about the festival and that it's an all-day experience. Attendees can experience some of their favorite celebrity restaurants at the food court. Like Nas' Sweet Chick and more.

Drewski spoke on the differences between festivals like Rolling Loud and Rock The Bells. Drewski mentioned a timeless artist like LL would be more of a "surprise guest" at Rolling Loud versus and headliner. LL agreed and said their concert strategy is based on selecting the hottest charting artist at the moment versus his; that's more fan based.

LL said Rock The Bells is for people to experience hip hop on a different level. Check out the full interview + let us know if you're going to the festival!