LL Cool J bringing lineup of hip-hop legends to Memphis for concert event. What to expect
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Presented by LL Cool J’s hip-hop platform Rock The Bells and concert promoter Live Nation Urban, The F.O.R.C.E. Live Tour — which stands for Frequencies of Real Creative Energy — will arrive in Memphis next week, with a stop Tuesday at Downtown’s FedExForum.
Billed as "hip-hop's most unforgettable celebration," the multi-act package tour launched Aug. 11 in Baltimore. The tour coincides with what is being celebrated as the 50th anniversary of hip-hop’s birth — tied to Aug. 11, 1973, the date on which pioneering DJ Kool Herc inaugurated the genre during a house party in the Bronx, New York. The tour will continue across the country through November, wrapping up with a finale in Boston.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of the tour's stop at FedExForum.
The return of LL Cool J
The F.O.R.C.E. Live Tour is led by Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Kennedy Center honoree, two-time time Grammy winner and hip-hop legend LL Cool J. This run marks his first headlining arena tour in some 30 years. He also personally selected and curated the F.O.R.C.E. tour’s rotating lineup and package format.
As LL Cool J told Billboard this spring when the F.O.R.C.E. dates were announced, “the purpose of the tour is to elevate the culture and to show people what’s possible — because not many people have taken 30 years off from arena tours in hip-hop.”
He added that he wanted to “show people it’s possible to break creative grounds as an artist in hip-hop — and you could mature gracefully, have fun and embrace it. You don’t have to shy away from your artistic aspirations as your career progresses. You can still take things to the highest heights.”
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The F.O.R.C.E. Live Tour lineup
All of the F.O.R.C.E. shows will feature live performances and artist backing provided by acclaimed hip-hop live band The Roots as well as noted DJs Jazzy Jeff and Z-Trip.
Although there will be a changing list of guest artists in each city, it’s been confirmed that the Memphis/FedExForum stop will include performances by hip-hop icons Rakim, MC Lyte, Big Boi, Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick, and Jadakiss.
What to expect at F.O.R.C.E. Tour stop in Memphis
According to tour 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.”
Fans have gotten a couple previews of what the shows will look and sound like already. In February, LL Cool J and the Roots performed as part of the annual Grammy awards, for a hip-hop 50th celebration.
And although the tour officially launched last week on the road in Maryland, the real kickoff took place earlier this month as part the Rock The Bells Festival held in Queens, New York, in front of some 13,000 fans.
Reviews of that show hailed LL Cool J’s performance and the support of The Roots. Yahoo News called the show a “night of fantastic energy and celebration” capped by LL Cool J performing with The Roots and Z-Trip.
“As the creative force behind Rock The Bells, the superstar paid tribute to hip-hop and his native Queens with a set of hit after hit," wrote Matthew Allen. "With Black Thought rhyming along with him, LL postered and stalked his way across the stage as The Roots delivered explosive renditions of ‘I’m Bad,’ ‘Going Back to Cali,’ ‘The Boomin’ System,’… and 'Mama Said Knock You Out,' among others.”
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Are tickets still available to LL Cool J's show in Memphis?
As of this writing, good seats remain at all tiers for The F.O.R.C.E Live Tour stop in Memphis. The cheapest tickets in the upper-level sections are selling for $57 (though verified resale version of these seats can be had for as little as $29). Middle and lower-level seating ranges from $96 to $128. Floor seating starts at $128 and gets more expensive the closer you get to the stage, with the best seats (including a few front row options) topping out at $281 per ticket.
The F.O.R.C.E. Live Tour in Memphis
LL Cool J, with the Roots, DJ Z-Trip and DJ Jazzy Jeff, plus special guests
8 p.m. Aug. 22 at FedExForum, 191 Beale St.
Tickets: $59-$281. Go to Ticketmaster.com.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: LL Cool J brings hip-hop legends to Memphis with F.O.R.C.E. Live Tour
