The American Society
of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) will honor LL Cool J, born James
Todd Smith, at its 19th Annual Rhythm & Soul
Music Awards on June 26, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.
The invitation-only
event will honor the songwriters and publishers of the most performed ASCAP
songs on the 2005 R&B, hip-hop and rap charts.
LL Cool J will
be presented with the ASCAP Golden Note Award, an honor given to songwriters
and composers who have achieved extraordinary milestones in their career.
With nine platinum-plus
selling albums and eight gold singles over a 20 year span, LL Cool J is revered
a pioneer in the Hip-Hop world.
"LL Cool J
is one of the most important figures in the history of hip-hop. He has weathered
all the trends in the rap world and is as commercially viable today as he was
when he started out in 1985," said ASCAP President and Chairman Marilyn
Bergman. "We are very pleased to honor LL Cool J by adding his name to
the very elite group of our Golden Note-winning songwriters and composers."
Past recipients
of the esteemed award include Hip-Hop heavyweights Sean "Diddy" Combs
Jay-Z and Jermaine Dupri, along with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Quincy Jones,
Stevie Wonder and a host of others.
Since the 1985
release of his debut album, "Radio," the first Def Jam album ever released,
LL Cool J has become a renaissance man in the entertainment industry.
In addition to
winning two Grammys for his singles "Mama Said Knock You Out" and
"Hey Lover," an NAACP Image Award and the Quincy Jones Award for Outstanding
Career Achievements at the Soul Train Music Awards, LL Cool J has also been
recognized for his acting abilities in several feature films, including In
Too Deep, Any Given Sunday,
Deliver Us From Eva and many others.To add to his ever-growing
list of accomplishments, LL Cool J will be launching his "Todd Smith"
clothing line this Autumn, which is aimed towards the higher end of the market.
The rapper is also
releasing a less expensive range will be released called " T.S."
LL Cool J has also
teamed up with his personal trainer, Dave "Scooter" Honig to release
a book called LL Cool J’s Platinum Body, which will give fans insight
into what LL Cool J does physically in terms of his diet, workout, and philosophy
to stay fit.
The book is being
published by Rodale and scheduled to be released in January 2007.
