LL Cool J and Ice-T’s New TV Show: What to Know

Hip-hop legends LL Cool J and Ice-T are coming together for a new TV project. While it’s not the NCIS and Law & Order crossover fans have wished for, it’s still a special show their fans will want to tune in to. The two rappers are the faces of A&E Network’s newest series, Hip Hop Treasures. The show, premiering Aug. 12 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, chronicles the search for lost hip-hop memorabilia.

The rappers/actors/hosts will work alongside field collectors and museum curators, as the team tells the story of some of Hip Hop’s greatest artists and the items they made famous in the culture. Some artifacts include The Notorious B.I.G.‘s jersey from his debut music video for “Juicy,” Flavor Flav’s trademark with the huge clocks he wore around his neck, and DMX’s car decked out in tribute to Aaliyah. The show comes from an exclusive partnership between A&E, Pulse Films, Rock The Bells and the Universal Hip Hop Museum. Hip-hop’s birthplace, The Bronx, is at the center. 

According to a press release, the show offers a behind-the-scenes look at the people and items that contributed to the birth and staying power of hip-hop. Field collectors on the show include Cipha Sounds and Yo-Yo, as well as Chief Museum Curator Paradise Gray, and curator Pete Nice. Some of the items investigated will be put on display at The Universal Hip Hop Museum. The museum is lauded as the official “Record of Hip-Hop” and is currently in the process of building the world’s largest hip-hop memorabilia collection. Visitors will be able to view the museum upon its final competition, which is estimated to be in 2024. 

Throughout the show, viewers will get a nostalgic look at all artifacts. LL Cool J and Ice-T will also share personal stories along the way. Hip-hop icons featured on the show include DMC (Run DMC), CeeLo Green, Flavor Flav, Fat Joe, Treach (Naughty by Nature,) and Master P. Tributes to The Notorious B.I.G., DMX, Biz Markie and Coolio will also be shown.

The show is produced by Pulse Films and Rock The Bells for A&E Network. Executive producers on the project are Pulse Films are Erica Hanson, Tracey Baker-Simmons, Andrena Hale, and Mira King. Paradise Gray and Pete Nice also serve as EP’s, as well as Elaine Frontain Bryant, Shelly Tatro, and Jonathan Partridge of A&E Networks. The network holds worldwide distribution rights.