Host LL Cool J riffs on his favorite Grammy moments
Ladies love Cool James — and the Grammys do, too. For the fifth time in a row, LL Cool J, 48, will host the ceremony Monday at 8 p.m. ET on CBS. The multihyphenate artist shares with USA TODAY’s Jaleesa M. Jones his top Grammy memories, the vision for th
QI feel like it’s no question who’s hosting the Grammys anymore. What’s your secret to nailing it every time? A Well, I’ve only hosted four times, so I don’t know if I have the secret to that, but I just try to be myself. ... And you know, just knowing that it’s not even about me. It’s about the artists and the energy in the room. I just try to keep the show running smoothly ... and keep the vibes positive.
Q Looking back on the past four years, what are some of your top Grammy moments?
A Ah, there were so many. It wasn’t a fun moment, but the craziest moment for me was obviously when I found out about Whitney (Houston) passing. I think that’s something I’ll always remember because I saw (executive producer) Ken Ehrlich, I saw (president and CEO of The Recording Academy) Neil Portnow, I saw the people behind the scenes scrambling to make it right. I saw Jennifer Hudson show up and make that
special and that was, I thought, very, very powerful.
And there were so many other great moments. That whole same-sex marriage theme that Ryan Lewis and Macklemore had (in 2014) when they brought out Madonna and Queen Latifah. Those moments were amazing. Pink sailing through the air on those ropes and doing that whole Cirque du Soleil thing (in 2010), I thought that was crazy.
Stevie! That moment (in 2014) with Stevie Won- der, Nile Rodgers, Pharrell and Daft Punk. When Nile was singing Get Lucky and Stevie broke into Another Star, that transition was, like, electrifying.
Q You’ve said this year’s ceremony will be more of a spiritual journey. How so?
A I was speaking more about all of the amazing musicians that have recently passed. We’re going to celebrate the lives and legacies of some of those artists and, at the same time, celebrate the current success that a lot of these other artists have. You know, they don’t need to attend a wake.
Q And you’re celebrating with a stacked lineup of performers. Who are you most excited to see? A For me, it’s never really been about seeing one person. It’s really been about enjoying the whole experience and enjoying those moments one by one that create that experience. So, whether it’s Justin Bieber with Diplo and Skrillex or The Weeknd or flipping the script all the way to John Legend or to Lionel Richie. ... I’m glad we’re giving love to Lionel now.
Q Absolutely, but if you had to pick one person?
A If it was one person, my heart is in hip-hop, so I’m looking forward to seeing Kendrick (Lamar).
Q It’s been a great year for hip-hop — 11 nominations for him.
A And I hope people know that Kendrick getting all of those nominations — there’s a lot of people in the background, rooting and hoping that (the awards) increasingly become a reflection of society. ... And you know, the Grammys, they might not get into the deepest part of every single genre of music — and everybody’s always gonna have the thing that they think is being left out — but I think they do a pretty good job of keeping it pretty fair and pretty just.
Q The question of fairness has been the talk of Hollywood. Are things moving forward, at least with this awards show? A Well,
I hope that my role as host has moved our overall culture in entertainment forward some. I hope people can say: “He’s represented us well. He’s made inroads.” I also hope that people see that we’re doing our best and the Grammys are doing their best.