LL Cool J soon led to an increase in multi-racial audiences and listeners, adding to the legacy of the album and hip hop as well. In 2017, LL Cool J became the first rapper to receive Kennedy Center Honors. LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American hip hop recording artist, record producer, actor, author and entrepreneur from Queens, New York. He is known for such hip hop hits as "Going Back to Cali", "I'm Bad", "The Boomin' System", "Rock the Bells" and "Mama Said Knock
James Lecesne James Lecesne James Lecesne (born November 24, 1954) is an American actor, author, screenwriter, and LGBT rights activist best known for his screenplay of the Academy-award winning short film "Trevor." He has written several books including "Absolute Brightness" and "Virgin Territory," and is also active in the entertainment industry as an actor and producer. Lecesne wrote the 1995 short film "Trevor", which won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. He based the screenplay for "Trevor" on a character from his one-man show "Word of Mouth". Also in 1995, "Word of Mouth" won the Drama Desk Award for