LL COOL J’s “Rock The Bells” video, a new clip made for the monumental 1985 single, took home the Best Music Video award at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival. LL took home the honor alongside director Gregory Brunkalla, Keith Brown, Def Jam, and UMe.
The clip was featured in the Shorts category along with music videos from Jack White, Kid Cudi, Rae Khalil, and others. The video debuted before the feature film The Sixth Borough during the fest.
Regarding the win, Tribeca said: “To honor our first-ever Music Video Jury Competition winner, we found it only fitting to celebrate the great city of New York—with a music video that captures the style, swag, and sound of Tribeca’s hometown.”
The video was released around the same time as vinyl reissues for two of LL COOL J albums: 1996’s All World: Greatest Hits and 1997’s Phenomenon. The rap superstar’s first hits compilation featured the aforementioned “Rock The Bells,” “Mama Said Knock You Out,” and “Around The Way Out.” He produced the record with Rick Rubin, Marley Marl, L.A. Posse, Rashad Smith, Quincy Jones III, and Tone. It was certified Platinum in 2001.
Back in February when the video was released, Brunkalla told The FADER in a statement: “I pitched LL this idea of having real [New Yorkers] rap lyrics all over the city and he thought it would be perfect to celebrate the 40th anniversary of ‘Rock The Bells’ which came out in 1985. I think it works so well because it’s a song so many people already know. On the day we were filming the shot in the basketball court, we showed up to the location and a random Jeep drove by with the windows down blasting ‘Rock The Bells’ — that’s some crazy synchronicity. Makes you feel like things are truly lining up!”
In other LL news, he’s gearing up for the 2025 edition of the Rock The Bells festival, set for June 28 at the Prudential Center in New Jersey. In an announcement revealing the lineup in April, COOL J wrote on X: “Class of 2025. It’s not a reunion it’s a reminder.”
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