Forest Hills Stadium hosted LL Cool J’s Rock the Bells Festival on Saturday. In addition to Hollis native LL Cool J, other artists at the event included Z-Trip, Ice Cube, Rick Ross, Busta Rhymes, Lil Kim, The Diplomats with Cam’ron, Jim Jones and Juelz Santana, Fat Joe and Remy Ma, Jadakiss, Scarface performing The Fix 20th Anniversary, Trina, Digable Planets and Queens native artists NORE, Onyx, Havoc of Mobb Deep and Large Professor. Hip-hop rapper Roxanne Shanté acted as the host of the event.
Along with live performances from artists, DJs, and break dancers, the festival also featured art exhibits, food, and more. Several community leaders were present at the event, including Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and New York City Councilwoman Selvena Brooks-Powers. Richards presented LL Cool J with a key to Queens and declared August 6, 2022 as LL Cool J Day in the borough.
President Adams presented him with a proclamation acknowledging his impact on the musical genre of hip-hop as well as popular culture.
“As a native of Hollis, I was personally honored to share the stage and present a New York City Council proclamation to LL Cool J, a Queens legend and hip-hop icon,” said the President Adams. “We are filled with pride to see him not only rise to the top of the industry, but also remember his roots in the World’s Borough. Proceeds from Rock The Bells were donated to the Universal Hip Hop Museum, which will benefit our city for generations. I thank LL Cool J and all the artists who helped make Rock The Bells a successful and wonderful community event.
“It was an honor to join hip-hop legend LL COOL J at Rock The Bells on Saturday and present him with the key to Queens while declaring ‘LL COOL J Day’ in his home borough,” the chairman of the club said. Borough of Queens, Donovan Richards. “As a hip-hop fan myself, I congratulate him and everyone who made Rock The Bells possible. Events like these not only expose us to stellar music, they help elevate our great Borough. There’s no better way to celebrate Queens.
This event marked the first live concert hosted by Rock the Bells. The day before the event, the Empire State Building’s lights turned cyan blue to honor LL Cool J and the Rock the Bells festival.
Honored to have the@EmpireStateBldgturned cyan blue as New York celebrates The Rock the bells festival coming to my hometown.@RockTheBells pic.twitter.com/Oq2JdqycwB
— LLCOOLJ (@llcoolj) August 6, 2022
“I feel like hip-hop is indispensable,” LL Cool J said. the impression that these artists, these kings and queens, deserve the same treatment for this form of art.”
LL Cool J performed the final Rock the Bells Festival set, featuring some of his most popular songs including “Luv You Better”, “Around The Way”, “Jingling”, “Going Back To Cali”, ” I Need A Beat” and “Flava In Ya Ear.” He also performed a new song, “Run it Back,” before closing the festival with “Rock the Bells.”
Food at the Rock the Bells festival was provided by the Trill Mealz Food Court. Hosted by Bun B, this was the first ever hip-hop infused food court experience. The selection of food and drink vendors came from iconic hip-hop artists including Sweet Chick by Nas, Goon with the Spoon by E-40, Juices for Life by Jadakiss and Styles P, Killah Koffee by Ghostface Killah, Team Whip Them Pots and Bun from Mia X. B’s Trill Burgers, plus a handful of local restaurants.
