{shortcode-9949c99f3b8e3bfe4f9dc2b85c3e2f6d0d1b8705}

UPDATED: Feb. 24, 2014, at 12:57 a.m.

Donning his trademark hat and a velvet suit, LL Cool J said that receiving the Harvard Foundation’s Artist of the Year award at the 2014 Cultural Rhythms celebration should be a good omen for the rest of the year.

The Grammy Award-winning rapper, star of “NCIS: Los Angeles,” and champion of youth education was honored at Saturday’s festival by directors Aubrey J. Walker ’15 and Soyoung Kim ’14, as well as Neurology professor and Director of the Harvard Foundation S. Allen Counter, who was leading the ceremony for the 29th time.

“Each year we select, by student suggestion and vote and recommendation, a person to be honored as Artist of the Year, and this year, we’ve made a great choice,” Counter said.

LL Cool J took the stage amid cheers and applause from the packed audience in Sanders Theatre, gathered for a day-long celebration of diversity at Harvard. He told the crowd that he aimed to inspire students with lessons from his own journey.

{shortcode-e4ff816384fdc46bae01e1e4d093f520ca35cf86}

“Me being here is representative of something truly magnificent about our country,” he said. “We have our disagreements, we have our problems...but ultimately, this is proof that if you have faith, if you work hard, if you believe, if you are determined, if you are adventurous, if you dedicate your life to being creative, if you truly have faith...you can become anything you want to become.”

He also stressed the importance of creativity, not only academically or artistically but also in creating “a great life.”

“You’re the architect of your fortune, so make sure the blueprint is right and build well,” he said.

Following LL Cool J’s opening remarks, the audience watched performances from a variety of music and dance groups, representing the cultural and ethnic diversity on Harvard’s campus, including Ballet Folklórico de Aztlán de Harvard, Harvard Bhangra, Harvard College Hellenic Society, and Kuumba Singers of Harvard College, among others.