As acceptance speeches go, they’re either short and sweet or long-winded moments of self-appreciation. At last night’s BET Hip Hop Awards 2011 rap icon LL Cool J accepted the “I Am Hip Hop Icon Award” and, like he’s done throughout his illustrious career, he dropped another jewel on ‘em.

Uncle L delivered a passionate verse to show his appreciation to fans that have followed him over the last three decades. The golden era hip hop legend schooled the new generation on what it takes to make it that far and be that successful in life.

Read LL’s full speech below.

“My acceptance speech/what I won't do is try to preach/what I won't do is assume I'm smarter than you and try to teach/what I will do is set an example, inspire you to reach/for the stars beyond mars that space bars can't delete/because without a dream fulfilled, your life's incomplete, a hearse/a limousine without a backseat, the worst/think Usain Bolt without feet/real life ain't Hollywood, it's Halloween, every day is trick or treat/it ain't a red carpet, it's a sidewalk bloody from the wolves eating red meat/and these spotlights don't come with money, they come with police/millionaires crying 'bout raising taxes on the elite/they won't feed us as they'd rather defeat us/like an aborted fetus but you're greatest feat is to get back up on your feet/did I mention/life ain't a sprint, it's a marathon/really stressful on these tendons/and with the shape that's the economy today, you better turn to these polls like skinny Kenyans/26 miles in 2 hours 3 minutes/it wasn't weeks or months /it took us over 400 years to raise the debt limit/so don't lose faith/there's a sweet life out there and one day you will taste/but just like any marathon, you must monitor your pace/and watch out for the haters/putting drinks up in your face/maintain your focus through the ups and downs, the arguments and debates/and when you win your award, make sure you put it in a safe place/and be prepared for whatever, just in case.”

Words so sweet, all he needed was a beat.

(Photo: Jeff Daly/PictureGroup)