A statue honoring LL Cool J has been built in his hometown of Queens, New York.
Artist Sherwin Banfield crafted the sculpture, which is currently placed in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. Titled the G.O.A.T. monument, it portrays a younger LL with his once-signature Kangol bucket hat, a braided chain and a boombox, which reportedly plays actual audio of playlists created by the rapper‘s friends and fans.
“I am proud to present my latest & most ambitious public sculpture: ‘Going Back to The Meadows, A Tribute to LL COOL J and Performance at FMCP,'” wrote Banfield alongside images of his recent project. Photos of the statue were later posted by LL, who shouted the artist out for the honor.
“Anything is possible,” wrote the “Headsprung” emcee. “Statue of me in Corona Park, Queens by the talented @sherwintheartist.”
The random tribute to LL comes after his induction to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame — an honor presented to him by Dr. Dre.
“I’d like to thank all of the people who voted for LL to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame year after year…,” LL said during the ceremony in October. “A lot of people, when I told them I got inducted, they’d say to me, ‘Isn’t it is about time?’ You see, what people don’t realize is, I wasn’t thinking about the people who voted against me. I was thinking about the people who voted for me. It was love. Like what I was feeling was, wow, here’s some people over there who won’t take no for an answer. They like, ‘Yo this guy got to be in here and we’re going to keep fighting for you ‘til we get him in here.’ So I thank you.”
He also credited rock and roll for having a positive influence on hip hop culture. “Rock and roll, hip hop loves you,” said the Queens star. “We borrow your beats. We sample ’em. We turn them into hits. And we know where we came from. We know where things come from. We love and appreciate you.”
The G.O.A.T. Monument will be on display at David Dinkins Circle within Corona Park until November of next year. See the posts from Banfield and LL Cool J below.