LL Cool J to Be Honored at Urban One Honors in Atlanta

LL Cool J will receive the entertainment icon award at the fifth Urban One Honors, which will tape at The Eastern in Atlanta on Friday, Dec. 2. David and Tamela Mann will receive the inspirational impact award. R&B singer and actor Tank will host the show.

The two-hour telecast, with the theme “Celebrating Icons of the Culture,” is set to premiere on Monday, Jan. 16, 2023 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day) on TV One and Cleo TV, a division of Urban One.

A lifetime achievement honor, music innovation honor, and the first-ever Phoenix honor will also be presented on this year’s show. Those honorees are expected to be announced on Thursday, Dec. 1.

LL Cool J received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2017 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the award for musical excellence category in 2021. He’s a two-time Grammy winner for best rap solo performance and a five-time host of the annual Grammy Awards telecast.

Tamela Mann won a Grammy for best gospel performance/song six years ago for “God Provides.” She and her husband David Mann star in TV One’s The Manns.

The show will include a performance by Keke Wyatt and a celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip hop with DJ Spinderella (Salt-N-Pepa), Monie Love and Doug E. Fresh. The show will also include appearances by Rev. Run (Run DMC, “Run’s House”) and Lamman Rucker (TV One’s Bad Dad Rehab: The Next Session).

LeToya Luckett will host a backstage pass segment featuring interviews with the show’s honorees, performers and presenters.

Urban One Honors is executive produced by Eric Tomosunas and Robert A. Boyd II of Swirl Films. Kim Burse serves as musical director. Marilyn Gill serves as executive producer. Kashon Powell is vice president of programming for Radio One and Susan Henry is executive producer in charge of production for TV One.

For more information, visit TVOne.tv.

Paul Grein

Billboard