LL Cool J isn’t just receiving his induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, he’s also giving back to the org by donating something special … with horsepower to spare.
You might’ve seen clips of the Queens-born rapper doing his thing on stage when he got the huge honor this past weekend, but what you didn’t see is LL hooking up the HOF with a red Audi that’s near and dear to his heart.
The whip was featured on the cover of his second album, “BAD” — which came out in 1987 — and LL sought out the help of custom auto body shop Unique Rides in NYC to restore it for the Hall.
The shop’s owner, Will Castro, tells TMZ … LL approached him about this last year during the pandemic, asking if the UR crew could help him out.
Little back story on the ride — it was one of LL’s first big purchases after signing his initial Def Jam record deal … which explains why he held on to it after all these years. Castro says it was being stored at LL’s grandma’s house in NYC for nearly 3 decades!!!
He says it was in pretty bad shape — it’s an ’87 Audi 5000, after all, and as you can see, it was pretty torn up from the inside out.
We’re told the tweaks made include … new bodywork, a fresh paint job, installing a custom 2-tone black leather interior with red piping, a full stereo system with Blaupunkt cassette deck (truly old school), amps and subs, red lighting, putting in OG BBS wheels and a full engine rebuild.
All in all, Castro says the work cost around $35k, and then LL donated it straight to the HOF. Doin’ it, and doin’ it and doin’ it big!!!