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 READ MORE:  Black History is American History: Schomburg Center, other institutions preserve New York City's story Just 200 years ago, enslaved people made up more than 10% of the New Rochelle population, a painful fact in a city that now prides itself as welcoming and diverse. "And if we're honest with each other, and have the opportunity to talk about our differences, it happens when we each come from a place of pride, a place of respect for our heritage and the heritage of others," said Leslie Demus of the New Rochelle Council on the Arts.

  "I'll definitely keep that invitation in mind,  Vanessa, and you never know. We'll see what happens . Maybe I'll come play a little bit, we'll see," he teased. "Anything is possible." Though he may be saying goodbye to his NCIS: LA family, he is working on his upcoming album, which is executive produced by rapper-producer Q-Tip.  "It's really solid. It's my first album I'm putting out through Def Jam, through Universal. I haven't done that in many, many years. I think Q-Tip did a phenomenal job. I'm not going to talk about my vocals or the songwriting and all that, I have to let the world judge that, but... objectively the work that Q-Tip did on the record and the music is crazy," LL Cool J credited, hinting that there are "a lot of collabs on there." No street date has been set yet, but he promised it will arrive "this year." "It's definitely '23... it's coming," he said.