LL Cool J, Grandmaster Flash and Darryl McDaniels of Run-D.M.C. have confirmed their attendance at the Second Annual Long Island Music Hall of Fame Induction Gala, scheduled for October 21.
The troika of rap pioneers marks another feather in the cap of the Music Hall, which over the past few years has grown from a pipe dream into a key player in the Long Island music community. Last year's inaugural ceremony surprised skeptics by securing appearances from Billy Joel, Joan Jett, Peter Criss of Kiss and Leslie West of Mountain, among others.
The strong showing by rappers may also help bring Long Island's music scene out of the classic-rock and grunge eras and into the current age of hip-hop-dominated music.
LL Cool J, a Queens native, will be inducted into the Music Hall by Grandmaster Flash, who hails from the Bronx but now lives on Long Island. Another Queens rapper, McDaniels, better known as D.M.C., will induct the Roosevelt rap group Public Enemy.
Other inductees include Simon and Garfunkel, Blue Oyster Cult, Carole King, Mariah Carey, Neil Diamond, Pat Benatar and Barbra Streisand.
The ceremony will be held Oct. 21 at the Kupferberg Center for the Arts at Queens College in Flushing.