Latest news with #RocktheBellsFestival
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
LL Cool J Takes a Trip Through NYC Rap History in New ‘Hip-Hop Was Born Here' Trailer
LL Cool J digs into how New York City shaped the creation and evolution of rap in the new trailer for the upcoming docuseries, Hip-Hop Was Born Here. The five-part series will offer a kind of historical and musical tour of the five boroughs as LL Cool J visits the neighborhoods and meets with the MCs and producers who were instrumental to hip-hop's rise. A plethora of hip-hop luminaries will feature on the show, including Big Daddy Kane, Grandmaster Caz, Jadakiss, Method Man, Rev Run, Roxanne Shante, Salt of Salt-N-Pepa, and Marley Mal. More from Rolling Stone Lil Wayne Fleetingly Reminds Us Why He's One of the Best Rock the Bells Festival Is Back With a Class of 2025 Edition Lainey Wilson to Co-Host 2024 CMA Awards With Luke Bryan, Peyton Manning The new trailer for Hip-Hop Was Born Here fittingly begins at the actual birthplace of hip-hop, with LL Cool J making a pilgrimage to the Bronx park where DJ Kool Herc set up his equipment and threw his first parties. It goes on to feature Rev. Run recalling the block parties in his Hollis, Queens neighborhood; Jadakiss speaking about how hip-hop became an outlet after NYC public schools cut music education programs; and Roxanne Shante succinctly defining her legacy: 'I gave birth to most of them MCs.' And while the rest of the clip teases other NYC-centric stories, the doc will also explore how hip-hop ultimately went global. 'Who would ever think that we could be world famous doing something that we love?' Method Man wonders at the end of the trailer. 'I would've never imagined that.' Hip-Hop Was Born Here is set to premiere on July 22 on Paramount+. LL Cool J executive produced and co-created the series with Peyton Manning (yes, that Peyton Manning). For LL, the new docuseries comes on the heels of a busy 2024 for the rapper, during which he released his first album in over a decade, The Force. Best of Rolling Stone Sly and the Family Stone: 20 Essential Songs The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
LL Cool J, Jazmine Sullivan Cancel Philadelphia Festival Gig in Solidarity With Striking City Workers
LL Cool and Jazmine Sullivan canceled their appearances at a Fourth of July festival in Philadelphia in solidarity with the city workers who are on strike in Philly. Both the rapper and the Philadelphia-born R&B singer were scheduled to perform at the Wawa Welcome America Festival on Friday, but hours before the performance, LL Cool J announced in a video statement on social media that he would forego the gig in support of the 10,000 city employees — ranging from 911 dispatchers to trash collectors to water department workers, the Associated Press reports — who walked off the job Tuesday in an effort to secure better pay and benefits. More from Rolling Stone LL Cool J Takes a Trip Through NYC Rap History in New 'Hip-Hop Was Born Here' Trailer Lil Wayne Fleetingly Reminds Us Why He's One of the Best Rock the Bells Festival Is Back With a Class of 2025 Edition 'I understand there's a lot going on in Philadelphia right now, and I never, ever, ever wanna disappoint my fans, especially in Philadelphia…but there's absolutely no way that I can perform, cross a picket line and pick up money when I know that people are out there fighting for a living wage. I'm not doing that,' LL Cool J said. 'I've been coming to Philly my whole life. I have respect for the city. And I hope, I hope, I hope that, you know, the mayor and the city can make a deal. I hope it works out.' Sullivan wrote on her Instagram Stories, 'In this life we are only measured by how we uphold our morals and standards, by what we choose to fight for through participation or protest. Today I choose not to perform at the Wawa Welcome America concert and stand with Philly's DC33 until the city and union find a way to bring fair living wages to our working class. I love my city and I believe in you. Hopefully we will get to celebrate when things are better.' LL Cool J added that he would still travel to Philadelphia with the hope that an agreement between the workers and the city could be reached, but no deal materialized by Friday. 'I'm not gonna cross a picket line and perform for money when people are hurting,' he reiterated. Best of Rolling Stone Sly and the Family Stone: 20 Essential Songs The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked
