LL Cool J Brings Energy to VMAs Stage With Medley of His Classic Hits and New Songs

LL Cool J hit the MTV VMAs stage on Wednesday night with a medley of his classic hits and new tunes to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Def Jam Records.

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The rapper — whose performance featured an appearance by Public Enemy’s Flavor Flav and Chuck D, who are two of LL’s original Def Jam labelmates — took to the stage toward the end of the three-hour show.

LL kicked off the high-energy performance with “Headsprung,” with the audience members wearing the rapper’s signature Kangol hats, all in red. The cameras then cut to several people in the audience holding signs of goats, with LL rapping his song “The G.O.A.T.,” when Flavor Flav and Chuck D joined him onstage for a performance of their own “Bring the Noise.”

LL then segued briefly into his hits “Mama Said Knock You Out,” “Rock the Bells,” “Around the Way Girl” and “Goin’ Back to Cali.” He also performed his new songs “Passion” and “Proclivities” as part of the medley, before ending with “Doin’ It,” which he performed at the VMAs in 1996.

Busta Rhymes introduced the performance, calling LL his “hero” and a “true trailblazer.” “He’s not only a hip-hop innovator; he’s not only a godfather, big homie and a mentor,” Rhymes added, noting that LL also was the first artist to release an album on Def Jam.

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The performance came hours after LL Cool J released a video for his new single “Murdergram Deux” featuring Eminem, who opened the 2024 VMAs with a performance of “Houdini” and “Somebody Save Me.”

LL’s new album, The Force (short for Frequencies of Real Creative Energy), dropped Friday. In addition to Eminem, the album, produced by Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest, also features collaborations with the likes of Rhymes, Saweetie, Nas and Snoop Dogg.

Megan Thee Stallion hosted the show, which aired live from New York’s UBS Arena. See a full list of winners.

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