LL Cool J, L.A. '88: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A color photograph of LL Cool J captured in Los Angeles in 1988.

LL Cool J is standing in the center of the image with two other men who have their backs to the camera. All three men wear identical red and white jackets and pants. The back of the jackets have red and white stripes and white lettering reading [TROOP / L.L. COOL J] with a gold crown in the center. LL Cool J faces the camera, his arms thrown over the shoulders of the men on either side of him. He wears a red bucket hat with white [KANGOL] label, a large gold rope chain, gold and diamond bracelets, and several diamond rings on each hand. The background is black. Beneath the image is a handwritten inscription reading ["L.L. COOL J" L.A. '88] with the photographer's signature [Ricky Powell / '03].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1988; printed 2003
• Photograph by: Ricky Powell, American, 1961 - 2021
• Subject of: LL Cool J, American, born 1968
• Subject of: Kangol, British, founded 1938
• Type: chromogenic color prints
• Medium: dye and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 15 × 18 3/4 in. (38.1 × 47.6 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 9 1/2 × 14 in. (24.1 × 35.6 cm)
• Place captured: Los Angeles, California, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Fashion
• Topic: Hip-hop (Music)
• Topic: Musicians
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Rappers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2015.132.357
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © Ricky Powell Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.