LL Cool J Surprises Cincinnati Music Festival with a Hip-Hop Pioneer

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The Cincinnati Music Festival always delivers a few surprises, but Saturday night might’ve topped them all.

LL Cool J hit the Paycor stage looking like hip-hop royalty in a yellow ski mask dripped in stones. He wasted no time running through hits “Rock the Bells” and “Doin’ It”. But just as the energy hit a high, the show was forced to pause.

“There’s a lightning order, so we gotta stop,” he told the crowd.

Within minutes, we were directed to exit the seating areas and take cover due to a storm in the area. Plenty of people dipped out early, but thousands stayed put, riding out the 45-minute delay under the concourse. And for those who stuck it out… Whew, it was worth it.

LL came back onstage and gave Cincinnati its flowers: “Shout out to the promoters and everybody who kept this thing going,” he said. “They could’ve quit on us. The lightning and all that… it gets a little dicey.”

Then, he really shook the place up.

Out walked Rev. Run. Yes, that Rev. Run. Joesph Simmons from Run-DMC. They surprised the remaining crowd with a performance of “Rock Box” and “It’s Tricky.” The two legends traded verses, giving ’80s rap realness.

At one point, Rev. Run pointed to a throwback photo of him and LL on the jumbotron and told the crowd, “That’s us back in 1986. I was like 19. Look at that. I love y’all, Cincinnati.”

Rain delay and all, Saturday night ended up being the kind of moment that only the “Jazz Fest” could pull off.