LAS VEGAS — LL Cool J will headline Rock the Bells: The Residency, an 11-show run at Dolby Live at Park MGM, beginning May 15, 2027, People reported Thursday in an exclusive announcement.
It is the first Las Vegas residency for the rapper and actor, 58, born James Todd Smith.
The production is billed as a “cultural odyssey” celebrating hip-hop across generations, with “DJs, immersive storytelling, dynamic production, and a lineup of special guests to be revealed in the coming weeks,” according to a press release. No guests have been named.
“Hip-hop started in a few neighborhoods in New York, and now it belongs to the whole world,” LL Cool J said in the release. “This isn’t me doing a show in Vegas. It’s all of us.”
Chris Baldizan, MGM Resorts’ executive vice president of entertainment, called him “a true hip-hop icon.”
“We’re proud to collaborate with him to debut this groundbreaking, new concept at Dolby Live at Park MGM in 2027,” Baldizan said.
Dates and Tickets
Shows are set for May 15, 16, 19, 21 and 22 and July 9, 10, 11, 14, 16 and 17, 2027. All begin at 8 p.m.
A Citi and AAdvantage cardmember presale begins Friday, Oct. 30, at 10 a.m. PT. MGM Rewards, Live Nation and Ticketmaster presales run from Saturday, Oct. 31, at 10 a.m. PT through Sunday, Nov. 1, at 10 p.m. PT.
General sales open Monday, Nov. 2, at 10 a.m. PT through Ticketmaster. Prices have not been announced.
From Festival to Business
Rock the Bells began as a touring hip-hop festival in 2004, founded by the promoter Guerilla Union. LL Cool J launched Rock the Bells as a company in 2018, focused on classic hip-hop.
The business now spans a SiriusXM radio channel, branded content, merchandise and live events. It raised $8 million in a Series A round led by Raine Ventures in 2021, and later $15 million in a Series B round led by Raine, Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group and Paramount Global.
The Rock the Bells Festival returns Sunday, Nov. 29, at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., with LL Cool J, SWV, Method Man & Redman, Lil’ Kim and Raekwon & Ghostface Killah, among others.
Dolby Live, which opened as Park Theater in 2016, has hosted residencies by Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, Usher and Silk Sonic.
LL Cool J also stars in NCIS: New York, which premiered Oct. 6, reprising Special Agent Sam Hanna, a role he has played for 17 seasons.
Rock the Bells: The Residency runs May 15 to July 17, 2027, at Dolby Live at Park MGM in Las Vegas. Tickets go on sale November 2 via Ticketmaster. Read Popdecay’s analysis, LL Cool J Vegas Residency: Hip-Hop Is a Vegas Institution, or see the full announcement at People.