LL Cool J brought energy to the VMAs stage with a mix of his classic hits and new songs

Hollywood: LL Cool J took the stage at the MTV VMAs on Wednesday night for a mix of classic hits and new songs to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Def Jam Records.

The rapper — whose performance also included two of LL's original labelmates, Public Enemy's Flavor Flav and Chuck D — took the stage at the end of the three-hour show.

LL then sang 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 a medley before finishing with "Doin' It," which he performed at the 1996 VMAs.

LL began with a high-energy performance of "Headsprung," which had the audience wearing the rapper's signature Kangol hats, all in red. The camera then showed several people in the audience holding goat signs, including LL performing his song "The G.O.A.T." Flavor Flav and Chuck D joined him on stage to perform their own "Bring the Noise."

Busta Rhymes introduced the play, calling L.L. a "hero" and a "true pioneer." "He's not just a hip-hop originator; he's not just a godfather, a great friend and a mentor," Rhymes said, adding that L.L. was also the first artist to release an album on Def Jam.

LL's new album, The Force (an acronym for Frequency of Real Creative Energy), will be released Friday. In addition to Eminem, the album, produced by A Tribe Called Quest's Q-Tip, also features collaborations with artists such as Rhymes, Saweetie, Nas and Snoop Dogg.

The play was produced by L.L. This comes just hours after Cool J released a video for his new single "Murdergram Dex," featuring Eminem, who kicked off the 2024 VMAs with a performance of "Houdini" and "Somebody Save Me."