Skip to main content

LL COOL J

Artist
Kehinde Wiley, born 1977
Sitter
James Todd Smith, LL COOL J, born 14 Jan 1968
Date
2005
Type
Painting
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Stretcher: 243.8 x 182.9cm (96 x 72")
Frame: 261.6 x 203.2 x 7.6cm (103 x 80 x 3")
Topic
Costume\Jewelry\Earring
Costume\Jewelry\Ring
Home Furnishings\Furniture\Seating\Chair\Armchair
Equipment\Sports Equipment\Boxing glove
Symbols & Motifs\Emblem\Coat of arms
Decorative
Costume\Headgear\Hat\Cap\Baseball cap
James Todd Smith, LL COOL J: Male
James Todd Smith, LL COOL J: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician
James Todd Smith, LL COOL J: Performing Arts\Performer\Actor
James Todd Smith, LL COOL J: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Singer\Rapper
Portrait
Credit Line
Owner: James Todd Smith, LL COOL J

This record is part of the Catalog of American Portraits, a research archive of the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Permission to reproduce images (if available) must be obtained from the portrait owner. Please note that if an owner is listed above, this information may not be current.

Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Copyright
© Kehinde Wiley
Object number
L/NPG.42.2006
Exhibition Label
Born Queens, New York
Two-time Grammy Award winner and multi-platinum hip hop legend LL Cool J strikes a pose reminiscent of John D. Rockefeller in John Singer Sargent’s 1917 painting. LL Cool J had just read a biography of Rockefeller when he sat for Kehinde Wiley, who was commissioned to paint this portrait for the 2005 VH1 Hip Hop Honors. The heraldic crest contains boxing gloves that reference LL Cool J’s single “Mama Said Knock You Out” (1990) and the boxers in his family; his signature Kangol hat; and a boom box that “symbolizes all things that hip hop was and is.”
Born James Todd Smith III, LL Cool J (short for “Ladies Love Cool James”) changed his name at sixteen when he released his first single and helped transform rap from an underground genre into a mainstream cultural force in the 1980s. In 2017, he became the first rapper to receive the Kennedy Center Honor.
Nacido en Queens, Nueva York
Dos veces ganador del Premio Grammy y leyenda del hip hop con múltiples discos de platino, LL Cool J asume aquí una pose que recuerda a John D. Rockefeller en la pintura de 1917 de John Singer Sargent. Acababa de leer una biografía de Rockefeller cuando posó para Kehinde Wiley con motivo de los VH1 Hip Hop Honors de 2005. En el escudo de armas vemos unos guantes de boxeo que aluden a su sencillo “Mama Said Knock You Out” (1990) y a los boxeadores de su familia, su típica gorra Kangol y una radiocasetera que “simboliza todo lo que fue y es el hip hop”.
James Todd Smith III cambió su nombre a LL Cool J (abreviatura de “Ladies Love Cool James”) a los 16 años, cuando lanzó su primer sencillo y contribuyó a transformar la subcultura del rap en una corriente dominante hacia la década de 1980. En 2017 se convirtió en el primer rapero que recibió el Premio de Honor del Centro Kennedy.
Data Source
Catalog of American Portraits
Back to Top