HIGH: LL COOL J'S PRAYER FOR WHITNEY

After, say, his last seven forgettable albums, journeyman acting career, and lip-licking public image that signified little more than a willingness to party with Jeremy Piven, LL Cool J has not distinguished himself as a man of particular show-business gravitas. So when it fell to the former self-proclaimed "baddest rapper in the history of rap itself" to address the sudden, tragic demise of Whitney Houston, one wondered if we were in the right hands. But, then, LL strode forward and spoke with reassuring force: "There's no way around it, we've had a death in our family. For me, the only thing that feels right is to begin with a prayer for a woman who we love, for our fallen sister, Whitney Houston." For this one night, James Todd Smith indeed possessed a wealth of cool. CHARLES AARON