Ellen scares ll cool j biography

LL Cool J's childhood was scarred by his parents' separation and violence, with his maternal grandparents stepping in to give him a loving home and appreciation of music.

But the couple kept a secret from both LL Cool J and his mother: She was adopted, as the hip-hop artist and actor learns in PBS' "Finding Your Roots."

Series host Henry Louis Gates Jr.

guides him down a winding DNA trail that uncovers his mother's adoption as a baby in 1947, her birth parents' identity and a family history that includes 1930s champion boxer John Henry Lewis.

And more: There's an unusual African-American record of 19th-century freedom from slavery on one side of LL Cool J's family tree, Gates notes.

The episode, which also traces Sean "Diddy" Combs' ancestry, airs Tuesday on PBS stations (check local listings for times), the day after LL Cool J hosts the Grammy Awards on CBS.

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