Everything about Ll Cool J totally explained
James Todd Smith III (born
January 14,
1968), better known as
LL Cool J, is an
American hip hop rapper and actor. LL Cool J stands for "Ladies Love Cool James." He is known for romantic ballads such as "
I Need Love" and "
Hey Lover" as well as pioneering hip-hop like "I Can't Live Without My Radio", "I'm Bad", "Boomin' System", "
Mama Said Knock You Out", and "
4, 3, 2, 1". L has also appeared in several films. LL Cool J is one of a few hip-hop stars of his era to sustain a successful recording career for more than two decades. He has released 12 albums and a greatest hits compilation so far, with his next album,
Exit 13, set to be released early 2008. The album will be the last for LL's record deal with
Def Jam Recordings, a deal which has lasted for over twenty two years, making it the longest single hip hop deal
to date. He now resides in
Manhasset, NY with his wife and four children.
He has achieved significant commercial success as a rapper, with record sales of over 15 million in the U.S. alone.
Early life
He was born
James Todd Smith III in the working-class neighborhood of
St. Albans, Queens, and raised between there and
Bay Shore, New York on
Long Island, the only child of Ondrea (
née Griffith) and James Smith, Jr. He spent his youth singing in the church choir, participating in the
Boy Scouts and
delivering newspapers.
Music career
Radio (1985)
Radio was released to critical acclaim, as LL Cool J was one of the first rappers to use conventional song structure to make pop oriented rap. "I Can't Live Without My Radio" and "Rock the Bells" were successful and helped the album go platinum.
Bigger and Deffer (1987)
In 1987, he released
Bigger and Deffer. The ballad "I Need Love" was one of the first hit pop-rap songs. Also featured on the album was "Go Cut Creator Go," which pays homage to the DJ. The album was met with commercial and critical acclaim going 2x Platinum. In 1998, The Source Magazine named it as one of the top 100 albums ever. At this point LL was on top of the rap world, and was making frequent appearances on television shows and on radio as he was being featured on other Def Jam artists' work.
"I Need Love" was the second single from LL Cool J's second album, Bigger and Deffer. The song is considered the first rap ballad and was released in the fall of 1987. It reached #1 on the R&B/Hip Hop charts and was a well-received single on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, reaching #14, while becoming one of the first rap songs to enjoy mainstream popularity in the UK, reaching #8 in the UK Singles Chart. The single won a Soul Train Music Award for Best Rap - Single in 1987. The song was parodied in 2000 by Brooklyn rapper
Necro in his song "I Need Drugs", which alters the lyrics to a narrative of a man's addiction to crack cocaine. The song ranked #13 on the 100 Greatest Rap Songs.
Walking with a Panther (1989)
LL Cool J would return in 1989 with his third album,
Walking with a Panther. The album featured the hit singles "Goin Back to Cali," "I'm That Type of Guy," "Jingling Baby," and "Big Ole Butt." The album was a commercial success, but failed horribly from a critical standpoint. The album was a critical failure due to it being overly commercially oriented. This album came out during a time that the
West Coast hip hop scene was beginning to really become popular and its gangsta themes were dominating radio. Despite this, the album still managed to go platinum.
"Don't call it a comeback"
Around the late 1980s, hip hop began experiencing a shift in consciousness away from the music's early themes of partying and braggadocio, to more socially aware issues such as drug abuse, race and racism, and economic empowerment. LL Cool J, as a result, experienced a drop in popularity due to the view that his music was behind the times and materialistic.
Mama Said Knock You Out (1990)
Following this, LL released
Mama Said Knock You Out, generally leaning towards a tough street image. The record reestablished his reputation in the hip-hop community. It spawned three hit singles, "The Boomin' System," "Around the Way Girl," and the title track, which received special notice after LL Cool J's dynamic performance of it during an episode of
MTV Unplugged. It was also featured in the film
The Hard Way. The album included themes of police misconduct (
Illegal Search), spirituality (
Power of God), his career troubles ("Cheesy Rat Blues"), along with back-to-basics hip-hop party rocking and balladry ("Around the Way Girl").
Mama Said... eventually went on to sell over two million copies. It marked the first of many self-reinventions LL Cool J would undergo to adapt to hip-hop's often changing atmosphere.
14 Shots to the Dome (1993)
14 Shots to the Dome was LL's fifth album. It was more leaning to the west coast gangsta element versus the hardcore east coast sound of his previous release. The album had three singles ("How I'm Comin'", "Back Seat" and the strangely titled "Pink Cookies in a Plastic Bag Getting Crushed by Buildings") and guest-featured labelmates
Lords of the Underground on "NFA-No Frontin' Allowed". The album was considered a commercial and critical flop. It was criticized for not being original, instead sounding more like the music of
Ruthless Records and
Death Row Records. Fans turned a deaf ear because of its lack of a pop song or a lack of a single being released. The album still managed to certify Gold.
Mr. Smith (1995)
After acting in
The Hard Way and
Toys, he released
14 Shots To The Dome (1993) to muted sales and mixed reviews, despite producing the small hit "Back Seat of My Jeep." He starred in
In the House, an
NBC sitcom, before releasing
Mr. Smith (1995), which went on to sell over two million copies. Its singles, "Doin' It" and "Loungin", were two of the biggest songs in 1996 and both songs'
music videos were hugely successful on
MTV. Another of the album's singles, "Hey Lover", featured
Boyz II Men sampling
Michael Jackson's "
The Lady in My Life," which eventually became one of the first hip hop music videos to air on American
VH1. The song also earned LL a
Grammy Award. Yet another single from the album, "I Shot Ya Remix", is notable for providing the opportunity for upcoming rapper
Foxy Brown to start her career. In
1996, LL also helped to launch a clothing line named
FUBU — an acronym for "For Us, By Us", meaning the clothes were made for, and marketed to, African-Americans by African-Americans. Around this time he became partially involved in the
East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry when
2Pac dissed him, apparently in response to LL Cool J's "I Shot Ya" and its remix, both of which were featured on his "Mr. Smith" album. Neither of the songs however mention 2Pac or the simmering East Coast-West Coast conflict.
Life after "Mr. Smith"
Phenomenon and Beef with Canibus (1997)
After the double
platinum success of "Mr. Smith", LL began work on his next album. In
1997, he released the album
Phenomenon. The first single, "
Phenomenon" as well as the
autobiographical "Father" were minor hits. The official second single from
Phenomenon was "4, 3, 2, 1," which featured
Method Man,
Redman and introducing
DMX and
Canibus. In the original version of the song, Canibus rapped "Yo L, is that a mic on your arm? Lemme borrow that", referring to LL's
tattoo of a microphone on his arm. LL heard the verse, interpreted it as a diss, and responded to it with his own verse. This essentially created a battle between two MCs in the same song. In an attempt to calm tension, LL later called Canibus to say he saw the line as disrespect, and asked him to change it, to which Canibus complied. LL didn't remove his verse, believing that with Canibus' verse gone no one would know who he was referring to in his verse. However, the original version of the song was leaked to the public. This would set up a
rivalry. Canibus released his single "Second Round K.O.", containing lyrics dissing LL, who later responded with "Ripper Strikes Back." In this song he not only dissed
Wyclef, Canibus' producer, but went on to berate ex-friend
Mike Tyson for appearing on "Second Round K.O." LL did another diss, with "Back Where I Belong" featuring
Ja Rule. Canibus replied to both tracks with his "Rip the Jacker" using LL's "I'm Bad" backing track.
G.O.A.T. (2000)
In
2000, he released the album
G.O.A.T., which stood for the "greatest of all time." It debuted at number one on the
Billboard 200, giving him his first chart-topper on that chart. Nonetheless, the album failed to produce the numbers of LL's previous releases, stalling at gold. The album featured the infamous diss record "Back Where I Belong," featuring
Ja Rule. Ironically, LL thanked Canibus in the linear notes of the album, "for the inspiration".
10 (2002)
Cool J's next album
10 from
2002, which denoted LL's 10th studio album, didn't fare much better than his 9th. Although it included the popular singles "
Paradise" (featuring
Amerie), "
Luv U Better," and the hit 2003
Jennifer Lopez duet, "
All I Have," the album only reached gold status.
The DEFinition (2004)
LL's eleventh album
The DEFinition was released on August 31, 2004. The album debuted at #4 on the Billboard charts. Production came from
Timbaland,
7 Aurelius,
R. Kelly, and others. The lead single was the Timbaland-produced "Headsprung," which peaked at #16 on the Billboard Hot 100. The second single was the
7 Aurelius-produced, "Hush," which stalled at #26. The album sold moderately well and went Gold.
Todd Smith (2006)
LL's latest studio album,
Todd Smith, was released on
April 11,
2006. It includes collaborations with
112,
Ginuwine,
Juelz Santana,
Teairra Mari and
Freeway. The first single was the
Jermaine Dupri produced "Control Myself," another song with singer
Jennifer "J-Lo" Lopez. Cool J and J.Lo shot the video for "
Control Myself" on
January 2,
2006 at Sony Studios,
New York. The second video, directed by
Hype Williams, was "Freeze" featuring
Lyfe Jennings. LL has blamed the disappointing sales of the album on Def Jam President
Jay-Z.
Exit 13 (2008)
In
July 2006, LL announced details about his final album with Def Jam recordings, the only label he's ever been signed to. The album is titled
Exit 13. The album will reportedly be executively produced by fellow Queens rapper
50 Cent. The duo have worked together previously on the remix to the single "Freeze" from the
Todd Smith LP, which was titled "Bump This".
Exit 13 had been slated for a fall 2006 release, however, the album didn't emerge and now seems likely to surface in 2008 instead. It will be LL's final Def Jam Album.
Other works and ventures
Fashion
Cool J launched a clothing line (also called
Todd Smith), which is aimed towards the higher end of the market while a less expensive range will be released called "
T.S". Consultancy work by
Dolce & Gabbana and
Marks & Spencer is an influence on the designs. LL partnered with fashion executives, Ronald and William Gallo to form a company called
Standard Fashion, where Ronald & Smith are both co-managing directors. The aim of marketing for the clothes line is to be oriented towards the clothing rather than LL Cool J. Smith had previously dabbled in fashion, having worked behind the scenes with the mid-eighties Hip-Hop sportswear line TROOP and, as mentioned earlier, he helped launch the Hip-Hop fashion line FUBU in the 1990s. The future face of Todd Smith fashion line is rumored to be Sean John/Ralph Lauren model
Kevin Navayne.
Books
LL Cool J has authored three books, with his first venture in 1998 “I Make My Own Rules”, his autobiography co-written with
Karen Hunter. His second venture into the literary world came with the children-oriented book called “And The Winner Is...” in
2002. In
2006, LL and with his personal trainer, Dave "Scooter" Honig wrote a book "The Platinum Workout".
Businessman and entrepreneur
LL has started his own businesses in the music industry such as the music label in 1993 called P.O.G. (Power Of God) and formed the company
Rock The Bells to produce music. With the Rock The Bells label, LL had artists such as
Amyth, Smokeman and Simone Starks. LL's involvement with the artists would extend to co-producing and writing songs for his artists.
Rufus "Scola" Waller was also signed to the label, but was released when the label folded
(External Link
). LL has sold his part ownership of Def Jam
(External Link) and turned down the Def Jam president job 10 years ago (as of year 2007) based on LL not believing he was qualified enough.
(External Link)
Acting career
LL has had his share of acting roles and cameos in various television shows and movies. LL has stated that his main inspiration and influence for becoming an actor is from the late martial artist
Bruce Lee. His first major acting role was as Captain Patrick Zevo, the militant cousin of
Robin Williams in the cult classic
Toys, although previously he'd a non acting cameo in the
1985 hip-hop movie,
Krush Groove. He also had a supporting role in the Renny Harlin film
Deep Blue Sea as Preacher, a recovering alcoholic who had
found religion and worked as the chef for the wet-lab.
LL has appeared in many TV series, with one of his earliest guest appearance as the teacher Mr. Throneberry on the cult
Nickelodeon children's series
The Adventures of Pete & Pete, to more recent as a death row convict on the show
House. His longest role on television was Marion Hill in the
NBC and
UPN sitcom
In the House for five seasons before the show was cancelled. The show received rave reviews for its depiction of African-American males (Marion was a vegetarian, meditated, and rarely swore). In 1999, LL starred as a
drug kingpin Dwayne Gittens, who called himself "God", in the movie
In Too Deep. LL also co-starred in the 2003 featured film remake of 1975 TV series
S.W.A.T. Playing "Deacon 'Deke' Kay".
LL has also expanded his career with providing voice-over for animations where he was originally in the film
Rugrats Go Wild! as the voice of a Piki doll, but his character was removed from the final cut.
LL is currently working on a
CBS pilot called
The Man with The OC's
Melinda Clarke.
Discography
Filmography
Awards
MTV Video Music Awards
1991 - MTV Video Music Award for Best Rap Video, for "Mama Said Knock You Out"
1997 - MTV Video Music Vanguard Award, for "career achievement"
NAACP Image Awards
1996 - Best Rap Artist, for "Mr. Smith"
1997 - Best Rap Artist, for "Mr. Smith"
2001 - Outstanding Hip-Hop/Rap Artist, for "G.O.A.T."
2003 - Outstanding Male Artist
Grammy Awards
1991 - Best Rap Solo Performance, for "Mama Said Knock You Out" from Mama Said Knock You Out
1996 - Best Rap Solo Performance, for "Hey Lover" from Mr. Smith
Soul Train Music Awards
1987 - Soul Train Music Award for Best Rap - Single for "I Need Love"
2003 - Quincy Jones Award, for "outstanding career achievements in the field of entertainment"
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards
2000 - "Favorite Supporting Actor - Action" from Deep Blue Sea
The New York Music Awards
15 New York Music Awards
Soul Train Awards
10 Soul Train Awards
Billboard Awards
1 Billboard Awards
Rock The Vote Award
1997 - "Patrick Lippert Award"
Source Awards
2003 - Source Foundation Image Award, for "his community work"
Long Island Music Hall of Fame
2007 - Inducted as part of the Inaugural Class of Inductees for his contribution to Long Island's rich musical heritageFurther Information
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