Having grown up in the Greater Jamaica Queens, NY area only half a mile or so from LL Cool J on the
infamous Farmers Blvd., this writer has been keenly aware of LL’s career from early on.
His explosion onto the rap scene as Def Jam’s first signee came with much-shared pride in his accomplishments. Many were proud to see this home-grown product extoll the virtues of growing up in the borough that embodied the ideal of being raised in a family environment, while simultaneously suffering the struggles of a society seemingly bent on you and your family’s destruction. I have often described growing up in Southside Jamaica Queens as being exposed to all the vagaries and disfunction that society offers on all of the major boulevards that run through it, Sutphin, Linden, Merrick, Springfield, Guy R. Brewer, Francis Lewis, and the aforementioned Farmers, while at the same time having the opportunity to fall back off those same boulevards into a family home with mowed lawns and cars parked in driveways. Though they weren’t always the most expensive homes, they provided enough love and cover for one to be able to grow professionally, educationally, or in LL Cool J’s case, artistically.
LL’s career and positioning as an artist has exemplified the Queen’s ethos of seeming tough enough to handle himself in a fight while at the same time being smart and smooth enough to take your girl. It is that type of career positioning and balancing that has provided him the credibility and respect of the streets and corporate benefactors.
All these years later, LL gets to preside and reside in the Hip Hop world as both an elder and a son. His string of hits speaks to a career steeped in success and longevity, while his recent career moves into ownership of “Rock the Bells” Radio and Festival allow him to pay homage and respect to the music and the culture that raised him.
The “Rock the Bells Festival” 2023 was a revelation. Now in its second year at its current location in Forest Hills Stadium, was an homage and tribute to all the things that inspired and were inspired by Hip Hop Culture. Activations presented by sponsors Walmart and Procter & Gamble featured graffiti-covered NYC subway entrances, basketball courts, and tagging locations where fans could get their name or the name of their favorite Hip Hop artist painted on their shirts.
The concert featured a dizzying array of Hip Hop acts that would delight any fan who has enjoyed and supported the culture during its first 50 years. Though many of the artists were at one time headliners of massive tours and may have faced challenging times since their 1990s-early 2000s prime, the Golden Era, at the “Rock The Bells” Festival, everyone received the welcome of a headliner. The fans’ emotional connection to their music provided a spark of enthusiasm and embrace that ran throughout the day. It also provided an anticipatory air to the proceedings as fans eagerly awaited to see who the lineup had in store next. Each set ran smoothly as artists made the most of their time delivering an all-hit set that reminded everyone what they were doing the first time they heard those songs ringing from boomboxes and cars in their respective hoods.
With some 20 artists and D. J.’s on the show, Hip Hops’ innate camaraderie and competitiveness reigned as acts were determined to deliver their best shows, and they did not disappoint. Method Man and Redman gave an energetic set of their hits including “How High”, “Da Rockwilder”, and “Blackout” which had fans wondering how they maintained such vigor at their seemingly advanced ages. Big Daddy Kane smoothly ripped through a set of hits including “Warm It Up Kane”, “Smooth Operator”, and “I Get The Job Done” that had the ladies in the audience remembering why they fell in love with the “Chocolate Boy Wonder” all those years ago. He also took the time to ensure and reaffirm for everyone in the audience that their lives had value and to keep striving regardless of obstacles or lack of support. Brand Nubian gave an enthusiastically enlightening set of their 5% Nation-inspired hits, “Slow Down”, “One For All” and “Love Me Or Leave Me Alone”. MC Lyte graced the stage and showed fans that even as a grown woman she could still “Cold Rock A Party” with enough class and grit to deliver “Gotta Get A Roughneck” without irony. Though Queen Latifah brought her own band, the “Roots” provided a powerful backup band that many artists including LL used to aplomb. Latifah showed fans why she is still the Queen with a set of hits that included “Give To Em Queen”, “U.N.I.T.Y“, and a reunion of her Flavor Unit mates including Naughty By Nature, Zhane, Monie Love, Rhapsody, and Outcast’s Big Boi. The highlight of her set featured the Brandi “I Wanna Be Down” remix with MC Lyte and West Coast First Lady YoYo who also gave an inspired set earlier in the day. Run-DMC entered the stage to a Kings welcome and lost no time reminding fans that they were Hip Hop’s first trendsetters and mega hitmakers with a set that included “Sucker MC’s”, “Rock Box”, “Peter Pepper”, “Walk This Way”, “Runs House” and “Down With The King”. LL closed the ceremonies in true headliner fashion as his set had the “Roots” and DJ Z-Trip blending their cutting, scratching, and musicianship into a sonic feast that superbly augmented the knock-in LL classics like “Around The Way Girl”, “Mama Said Knock You Out”, “Love You Better”, “I’m Bad”, “Going Back To Cali” and many others into a show-closing sonic boom that left the audience both fulfilled and delightfully exhausted. He also displayed graciousness by having De La Soul perform their classics during his set as they were missed during the “Native Tongue” Reunion part of the show.
The ”Rock the Bells” Festival is the right festival at the right time to celebrate the culture of Hip Hop. A culture that has provided life-altering circumstances and blessings to many of the artists and fans in attendance. Hip Hop should be so proud.
– By Kamell Ellis- Special Correspondent for the 50th Anniversary of Hip Hop