Music notes: LL Cool J’s VMA slot, John Legend’s ink and more

–LL Cool J has joined the lineup of the MTV VMAs, airing live from New York’s UBS Arena on Sept. 11. He’ll be performing five days after his new album, The FORCE, drops. GloRilla is also on the award show’s lineup. 

–John Legend went under the needle for his two youngest children, Esti and Wren, and his wife, Chrissy Teigen. He wrote on Instagram, “I don’t have much ink on my body. My first tattoo was ‘chrissylunamiles’ … on my right arm to honor my growing family.” He had the same tattoo artist add another, similar tattoo on his other arm. “Presenting ‘chrissyestiwren’ for the left arm,” he wrote. “If you zoom/squint/get reading glasses you can see it.” 

–Kelly Rowland is teaming with Pepsi to give fans a chance to have their favorite restaurant name their favorite dish after them. From now through Oct. 31, you can enter to win at PepsiLocalEats.com.
To kick off the contest, Kelly’s favorite meal at her favorite restaurant, Houston This Is It Soul Food, has been renamed the Kelly Rowland Special — it’s peppered steak, rice and gravy, green beans, peach cobbler and, of course, Pepsi. You can buy it through Sept. 24 for $15.

–Common and Pete Rock have dropped a visual for their song “Dreamin‘,” featuring footage from Common’s home videos and shots of the duo in New York. The song is built around a sample of Aretha Franklin‘s classic “Day Dreaming.” On Wednesday the legendary emcee and the iconic producer will launch The Auditorium Tour in Del Mar, California, in support of their album The Auditorium, Vol. 1.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.