LL Cool J will become the first rapper ever to be honored by the Kennedy Center this year. LL Cool J tweeted: "To be the first rap artist honoured by the @kencen is beyond anything I could have imagined." He added: "Dreams don't have deadlines. God is great." He will be awarded alongside musician Lionel Richie, singer Gloria Estefan, TV writer Normal Lear and dancer Carmen de Lavallade. Set to take place on 3 December in the Kennedy Centre Opera House, this will be the first ceremony to take place under President Trump.