Hip-hop celebration: LL Cool J headlines 'F.O.R.C.E. Live Tour' at Sandia
Aug. 25—For 50 years, hip-hop has been interwoven into popular culture.
This is the reason legendary rapper LL Cool J wanted to headline the "F.O.R.C.E. (Frequencies of Real Creative Energy) Live Tour."
The arena tour makes a stop in Albuquerque at 8 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 27, at Sandia Resort & Casino.
"To our knowledge, the Albuquerque show is the only non-arena stop for the tour," says Adrian Montoya, general manager of Resort Operations at Sandia Resort & Casino. "We're excited to get this tour, and it's a big deal for us. It's also a big deal for New Mexico to get this high caliber show at one of the best venues."
LL Cool J is on his first arena tour in 30 years.
He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip-hop acts Beastie Boys and Run-DMC.
Signed to Def Jam Recordings in 1984, his breakthrough came with his single "I Need a Beat" and his landmark debut album, "Radio" in 1985. He achieved further commercial and critical success with the albums "Bigger and Deffer," "Walking with a Panther," "Mama Said Knock You Out," "Mr. Smith" and "Phenomenon."
He's also transitioned to film and TV, where he is most known for his role of NCIS Special Agent Sam Hanna in the CBS crime drama series "NCIS: Los Angeles."
On this stop, the Grammy winner will be joined by The Roots, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Rakim, Big Boi and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.
Montoya says this summer season of music was the first full season since the pandemic.
"We wanted to have a variety of music this year," Montoya says. "When we saw that this tour was happening, our team decided to give it a shot. We were very fortunate to get the date and bring hip-hop to Albuquerque."
According to organizers, unlike the traditional "opening act — headliner" format, the show will be a nonstop musical mash up with artist performances interwoven within one continuous musical set backed by The Roots.
