LL Cool J records 'MTV Unplugged' at the Apollo Theater

Why it matters

September 4, 1991. MTV taped an episode of Unplugged with LL Cool J at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. LL came out with a backing band (which was the whole concept of Unplugged: rappers and rockers playing their songs with live musicians instead of programmed beats) and performed material from across his catalog plus new songs from Mama Said Knock You Out. This was one of the first hip-hop episodes Unplugged had ever done. The franchise had been built around rock acts. Hip-hop's transition onto the Unplugged stage matters because it is one of the moments rap acquires the kind of institutional-music-show legitimacy that other genres had been getting for years. The performance also helps reset LL's momentum heading into the 1992 Grammy run for "Mama Said Knock You Out" (he won Best Solo Rap Performance). The Apollo, in Harlem, is the venue where this all happens, which is a good place for it. You can find clips of the performance on YouTube. The shot of him doing "Mama Said Knock You Out" with the live drummer locking onto Marley Marl's beat is still satisfying.