http://www.allhiphop.com/hiphopnews/?ID=5735
ASCAP Honors LL Cool J
By Fawn Renee
Date: 6/2/2006 1:44 pm
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 disc 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.