Nelson Mandela is remembered at Grammy nominations announcement as LL Cool J offers eloquent words of praise

By Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 02:42 EST, 7 December 2013 | UPDATED: 04:28 EST, 7 December 2013

On Thursday, the world mourned the loss of Nelson Mandela, the South African activist who dedicated his life to fighting apartheid while offering a message of peace.

His life touched many people in many different walks of life - including those in the music industry.

While hosting the Grammy nominations announcement on Friday, LL Cool J paid tribute to the great man by paying respect to his memory with a few well-chosen, eloquent words during the live telecast.

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Paying tribute: 'Tonight we remember the great Nelson Mandela, who has completed his long walk to freedom,' said LL Cool J during the live telecast of the Grammy nominations on Friday night

Paying tribute: 'Tonight we remember the great Nelson Mandela, who has completed his long walk to freedom,' said LL Cool J during the live telecast of the Grammy nominations on Friday night

'Tonight we remember the great Nelson Mandela, who has completed his long walk to freedom,' began the rapper as an image of Mandela appeared in the background of the stage.

'Mr Mandela taught us what a difference one person can make, and as he said, "The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear,''' quoted LL.

'May this brave man rest in peace,' concluded the rapper.  

Honouring his memory: 'May this brave man rest in peace'

Honouring his memory: 'May this brave man rest in peace'

Prior to the nominations show, the star of NCIS: Los Angeles took to social media to pay his respects to the activist.

'Nelson Mandela: What a difference one person can make,' tweeted LL on Thursday afternoon.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly on Thursday, the hip-hop artist shared his thoughts on the passing of the anti-apartheid peace advocate and the legacy he left behind.

In memoriam: Nelson Mandela 1918 - 2013

In memoriam: Nelson Mandela 1918 - 2013

I said this to other people, and I'll say this to you as well: he just showed the world what a difference one person can make,' stated the musician.

'The principles of moderation, courage, truth, justice, wisdom...he represented those principles, those eternal principles, that go beyond ego, that go beyond the mundane, everyday silliness that we deal with,' stated LL.

'He was a special guy and may he rest eternally,' he concluded.

Comments (3)

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Beautiful words

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that is lovely. instead of getting irritated by too much on tv , make this legacy yours too and burn a candle for this man and what he stood for. It was for the good of all races still in South Africa.

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I see everyone is going to jump on this Nelson Mandela bandwagon. I hate it when pop stars go all political. It's embarrassing.

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