LL Cool J

Biography

Innovative rap music superstar LL Cool J made the successful transition to actor/musician in the 1990s, with several major films and a TV series to his credit. Born James Todd Smith in Queens, LL Cool J established himself as one of the major figures in rap music in the 1980s and '90s; he made his movie debut as himself in the 1985 rap movie Krush Groove. Although LL Cool J also appeared as himself in B.A.P.S. (1998), his 1990s movie career revealed that he had the acting chops to go with his musical talent. Following roles in the light-hearted cop movie The Hard Way (1991) and the ill-fated fantasy Toys (1992), LL Cool J spent four seasons as one of the stars of the primetime TV sitcom In the House (1995-1999). During his years on TV, LL Cool J also showed his dramatic versatility in the romantic comedy Woo (1998), crime dramas Caught Up (1998) and In Too Deep (1999), and horror sequel Halloween: H20 (1998). After starring as potential shark bait in the mutant mako actioner Deep Blue Sea (1999), he finished the decade by winning critical kudos as an immodest football player in Oliver Stone's sports drama Any Given Sunday (1999). Hit former career in music all but forgotten, LL Cool J would give action films a shot with Charlie's Angels (2000) and Rollerball (2002) before living up to his real life reputation as a ladies man in the comedy Deliver Us from Eva. Starring as the stud wrangled into taming Gabrielle Union's shrew Eva, LL Cool J notched his first romantic comedy lead and took another step away from his musical past by billing himself under his real name. Following the less than stellar Eva, LL Cool J added his voice to the animated Rugrats Go Wild (2003). Further bolstering his action movie credits (and returning to his street moniker), LL Cool J then joined the multicultural cast of Samuel L. Jackson's elite police squad in the summer popcorn movie S.W.A.T. (2003). ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

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For The Record...

Born James Todd Smith in 1968, in St. Alban's, Queens, NY; married Simone, 1995; three children. Released first single, "I Need A Beat" (1984) and first album, Radio (1985) for Def Jam label; performed on the Raising Hell Tour alongside Run DMC and the Beastie Boys, 1986; released Bigger And Deffer, 1987, became first rap artist to hit Billboard Black Singles Chart, 1987; became first rapper on the cover of Ebony magazine, 1987; performed Ivory Coast benefit concert, 1988; released Mama Said Knock You Out, 1990; made debut movie appearance in film The Hard Way, 1991; became first rapper on MTV's Unplugged series, 1991; released 14 Shots to the Dome, 1993, Mr. Smith, 1995; Walking with a Panther, 1995; star of NBC/UPN series In The House, 1995-98; released compilation All World Greatest Hits, 1996; released Phenomenon, 1997; starred in numerous films, 1990s-; released G.O.A.T. Featuring James T. Smith: The Greatest of All Time, 2000; 10, 2002; released Timbaland-produced The DEFinition, 2004; Todd Smith, 2006; released final effort for Def Jam, Exit 13, 2008. Awards: Village Voice Award, Album of the Year, 1990; New York Music Awards, Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, 1991; Grammy Awards, Best Rap Solo Performance, for Mama Said Knock You Out, 1991, Best Rap Solo Performance, for "Hey Lover," 1996; Soul Train Awards, Best Rap Single, for "I Need Love," Best Rap Album, for Bigger and Deffer, 1988; Soul Train Award, R&B/Soul or Rap Album of the Year, for 10, 2003; Long Island Music Hall of Fame inductee, 2008. Addresses: Record company—Def Jam Recordings, 652 Broadway, New York, NY 10012,Web site: http://www.defjam.com. Web site—LL Cool J Official Web site: http://www.defjam.com/site/artist_home.php?artist_id=202.

Rap musician

In the turbulent climate of rap music, careers are often brief moments of success cresting atop long stretches of obscurity. For LL Cool J, this is not so. He helped lay down the groundwork for rap during the genre's early days, and refined and reinvented it for nearly three decades. A veteran in a field with few veterans, LL Cool J has broken numerous commercial records as well as artistic barriers by appealing to so-called "crossover" audiences and developing a thriving acting career. The winner of two Grammy Awards, the rapper sees his longevity as only just beginning.

The experience of growing up in the tough neighborhood of St. Alban's in Queens, New York, provided LL Cool J, born James Todd Smith in 1968, with the tenacity and experience that has shaped many rappers. However, unlike many of his "gangsta" contemporaries, LL Cool J later celebrated the strength gained from his youth, but not affiliations with gangs. "I did everything you could possibly name in the street," LL Cool J told Vibe magazine. "I really came from that realness. I have that Queens experience on my mind, and it'll never leave me. The things I've been through … the gunshots fired at me because me and my friend put blanks inside snowballs and threw them on people's windshields. We was nuts to a certain extent, but for the most part, I'm glad I did everything I did because it helped mold me as a person."

Def Jam Took Notice
Not only did the streets provide LL Cool J with life lessons, they were also the place where he began rapping at a very young age. Experimenting from age nine, LL Cool J was fronting local rap crews at eleven years old, and in less than two years he was tinkering with recording equipment. After his grandfather bought him a two-track recorder in lieu of a dirtbike, the precocious LL Cool J cut his first demo tapes when he was only 13, and soon began mailing them out. The tapes captured the attention of producers Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons, founders of the budding label Def Jam, and LL Cool J was almost immediately locked on a track for stardom.

In 1984, a time when rap music was only just gaining credibility with mass audiences, Def Jam was a gutsy venture. By releasing then 16-year-old LL Cool J's "I Need A Beat" as their maiden single, Rubin and Simmons were taking a true risk. However, their faith in LL Cool J's talents was well-founded, and the single took off in popularity. A year later LL Cool J recorded his debut album (and their first long player), Radio, for Def Jam, to wide acclaim. The album was a showcase of bass-driven favorites such as "Rock The Bells," as well as tender ballads, justifying his full moniker, Ladies Love Cool James. The album went platinum, as did many of LL Cool J's full-length releases that followed.

Already a recording star, LL Cool J quickly proved to be a powerful live presence as well. He was invited to perform in the rap film Krush Groove, to deliver a version of his song "I Can't Live Without My Radio." Within the next several years, LL Cool J would figure prominently in several major rap tours under the Def Jam banner: the Raising Hell Tour of 1986, featuring Run DMC and the Beastie Boys, and the Def Jam Tour a year later, whose roster included Public Enemy, Eric B. and Rakim, and Whodini. "See LL live," urged Los Angeles Times critic Robert Hilburn, "and it's easy to understand why he is emerging as a legitimate culture hero. His confidence and way with rhymes suggest a young Mohammed Ali, but some of his stage antics are reminiscent of Prince." With his low brimmed floppy cap and massive gold chains, LL Cool J's image neatly summed up all that was "old school" rap.

With the release of his second album, Bigger and Deffer (1987), LL Cool J scored with audiences across the board, helping to broaden the audience for rap. The album's single "I Need Love" became the first rap song to top Billboard magazine's R&B chart, and proved that rap could embrace romantic modes as well as rock 'n' roll. As the album joined Radio in platinum territory, LL Cool J's track "Going Back To Cali" for the film Less Than Zero help push that movie's soundtrack to gold sales.

Gave Back to Society
By the end of the 1980s, LL Cool J began to show a genuine commitment to social issues. In November of 1988 he performed in Abidjan, the capital of the Ivory Coast, as a benefit to a local hospital, and consequently was crowned honorary Chief Kwasi Achi-Brou by the elder council of the nearby village Gran-Bassan. In addition to later appearing in a set of drug awareness public service announcements for television, LL Cool J was approached by then-First Lady Nancy Reagan to headline an anti-drug benefit concert at New York City's Radio City Music Hall. Just as the general public was developing uneasiness over a link between rap music, gang violence, and narcotic addiction, LL Cool J's concert took a strong stand against violence and drug use.

LL Cool J continued to release platinum-selling albums, and amassed awards and nominations for his recordings. Although the massive 18-track Walking With A Panther (1989) was perhaps LL Cool J's low point among critics, it was still a commercial smash, and harbored at least one impressive single, "I'm That Type Of Guy." However, the 1990 follow-up, Mama Said Knock You Out, was hailed as LL Cool J's best album yet, through which he "reclaim[ed] his persona as the most articulated of homeboys, above uncluttered funk riffs assembled by the producer Marley Marl," according to New York Times columnist Jon Pareles. Indeed, while the album contained some of LL Cool J's smoothest compositions, such as the memorable "Around The Way Girl," yet another single that peaked on multiple charts, it was the bass-thumping, confident drive of "The Boomin' System" and the album's title cut that ultimately gave Mama Said Knock You Out its appeal.

The onset of the 1990s saw LL Cool J explore the media of film and television, both as a musician and as an actor. On the big screen, he turned in an impressive performance as an undercover cop in the drama The Hard Way in 1991, which led to a part in director Barry Levinson's 1992 film Toys. For MTV, LL Cool J took part in two groundbreaking specials, both in 1991. In May he performed acoustic versions of songs such as "Mama Said Knock You Out" and "Jingling Baby" for the popular series Unplugged, becoming the first rap artist to appear on the show. Shortly thereafter, he appeared in the music network's History of Rap documentary, discussing classic rap acts like Afrika Bambaata and The Sugarhill Gang, as rap began to get the recognition it deserved as a cultural phenomenon. In addition, LL Cool J was given his own television series, In The House. First shown on the NBC network in 1995, it was moved to the UPN network before ending its run in 1998.

Style Changed with the Times
By the 1990s, rap had undergone a myriad of changes and upheavals, branching into countless factions and styles, and LL Cool J's next several albums proved that he was able to retain his vitality throughout. His 1993 album 14 Shots To The Dome provided the rapper with yet another platinum-seller. Mr. Smith, released in 1995, rated as one of the artist's most successful fusions of hard-edged attitude and laid-back eroticism. As Rolling Stone critic Cheo H. Coker noted, Mr. Smith did not always "deliver the haymaker punches of Mama Said Knock You Out, but it has enough force to prove that the king from Queens is no punk." The sexually charged singles "Doin' It" and "Hey Lover" scored among the album's highlights.

The year 1997 saw the release of LL Cool J's Phenomenon, which was followed by a three-year break from the recording studio while the rapper focused on his film acting career. He appeared in the films Halloween: H20 (1998), Deep Blue Sea (1999), Any Given Sunday (1999), In Too Deep, (1999), and Charlie's Angels (2000). Returning to the studio while continuing to act, LL Cool J released G.O.A.T. Featuring James T. Smith: The Greatest Hits of All Time (2000), which quickly climbed to the top of the music charts. LL Cool J returned to the silver screen in Kingdom Come (2001), Roller Ball (2002), and Deliver Us from Eva (2003). The latter earned the performer a 2004 BET Comedy Award.

Continuing to juggle his careers in music and in film, he released 10 in 2002. A single from this album, "Luv U Better," became one of the star rapper's biggest hits. LL Cool J re-signed his contract with Def Jam in 2003, continuing his relationship of more than two decades with the groundbreaking label.

LL Cool J worked with hip-hop hit maker Timbaland on his 2004 release The DEFinition. The album's first track, "Headsprung," became a minor hit and earned LL Cool J a nomination for "Club Banger of the Year" from Vibe, while the album itself cracked the top five of the Billboard 200 and hip-hop charts. Acting also remained a significant force in the performer's career. LL Cool J appeared in the 2004 film Mindhunters, co-starred in the 2005 action flick Slow Burn, and acted in the 2005 straight-to-DVD release Action Force. LL Cool J also returned to television, guest-starring in an episode of the medical drama House.

The End of the Def Jam Era
The year 2006 opened with LL Cool J appearing in the film Last Holiday alongside fellow hip-hop legend Queen Latifah. In March the rapper co-hosted the annual BET fashion show Rip the Runway, at which he also showed his Todd Smith clothing line. Despite this busy schedule, LL Cool J found time to record his twelfth studio album, Todd Smith. Fronted by "Control Myself" featuring Jennifer Lopez, the album was packed with collaborations between the nearly 40-year-old rapper and MCs of a generation that had grown up listening to him. The slow jam heavy disc received a mixed critical response, with critic Peter Relic of Rolling Stone wondering "whatever happened to the immortal MC who could carry an album by himself without needing a breath," while Vibe's Michael A. Gonzales attested that "this offering proves the G.O.A.T. is still swinging." Faithful audiences, disregarding the critical jockeying, pushed Todd Smith to the upper reaches of the charts, proving LL Cool J's continuing commercial appeal. Shortly after the release of Todd Smith, the rapper announced that his next outing with Def Jam would be his last, and that he had also signed a development deal with television network CBS.

This deal led to a 2007 pilot for the crime show The Man. Although the show was not picked up for a full run, LL Cool J did take a turn on the silver screen later that year, appearing as rap impresario Ridikolus on an episode of the NBC comedy 30 Rock. The rapper soon returned to the studio to cut his final album for Def Jam, 2008's aptly titled Exit 13. A strong effort in the vein of contemporary mainstream rap, Exit 13 showed LL Cool J actively asserting his long-running rhyme dominance and namechecking cultural aspects of the hip-hop culture he helped inspire. The following year, LL Cool J co-anchored the final date of the second Grammy Celebration Concert Tour, a cross-country collection of live performances by Grammy-nominated and award-winning artists, in his native New York City. He also made guest appearances on the popular CBS crime drama NCIS, in a role intended to segue into a proposed prime-time spinoff series.

Never one to rest on his laurels, LL Cool J has continued to expand his career and musical style, and at the same time to remain a devoted father. As he told Vibe magazine, "I keep it all in perspective. At the end of the day, I'm not doin' this just to see how many women I can get or how many gold chains I can wear. I'm doin' this so my family can sleep comfortable at night. That's why I break my neck where most people think I wouldn't have to."

Selected discography
Radio, Def Jam, 1985.
Bigger and Deffer, Def Jam, 1987.
Walking With A Panther, Def Jam, 1989.
Mama Said Knock You Out, Def Jam, 1990.
14 Shots To The Dome, Def Jam, 1993
Mr. Smith, Def Jam, 1995
Phenomenon, Def Jam, 1997
G.O.A.T. Featuring James T. Smith: The Greatest of All Time, Def Jam, 2000
10, Def Jam, 2002
The DEFinition, Def Jam, 2004
Todd Smith, Def Jam, 2006
Exit 13, Def Jam, 2008

Sources
Periodicals
Daily Variety, July 10, 2003, p. 18.
Entertainment Close-Up, April 15, 2009.
Los Angeles Times, July 19, 1987, p. C58.
New York Times, November 18, 1990, sec. 2, p.32.
Rolling Stone, February 8, 1996, pp. 49-50.
Vibe, March 1997.

Online
"L.L. Cool and Gabrielle Union Host BET's Rip the Runway," Vibe, http://www.vibe.com">http://www.vibe.com">http://www.vibe.com">http://www.vibe.com (May 13, 2009).
"L.L. Cool J," All Music Guide, http://www.allmusic.com (February 12, 2004; May 7, 2009).
"L.L. Cool J," Internet Movie Database, http://www.imdb.com (May 7, 2009).
"L.L. Cool J: Todd Smith," Rolling Stone, http://www.rollingstone.com (May 13, 2009).
"L.L. Cool J: Todd Smith," Vibe, http://www.vibe.com">http://www.vibe.com">http://www.vibe.com">http://www.vibe.com (May 13, 2009).
"L.L. Cool Lands Development Deal," Vibe, http://www.vibe.com">http://www.vibe.com">http://www.vibe.com">http://www.vibe.com (May 13, 2009).
"LMHOF 2nd Induction Class," Long Island Music Hall of Fame, http://www.limusichalloffame.org (May 13, 2009).
"NCIS: Cooler Toys at OSP, Less Chemistry," Entertainment Weekly, http://www.ew.com (May 13, 2009).
Recording Academy Grammy Awards, http://www.grammy.com (February 12, 2004).
"Vibe Awards," Vibe, http://www.vibe.com">http://www.vibe.com">http://www.vibe.com">http://www.vibe.com/awards/2004/banger.html (May 13, 2009).

• Genres: Rap

Biography

Hip-hop is notorious for short-lived careers, but LL Cool J is the inevitable exception that proves the rule. Releasing his first hit, "I Can't Live Without My Radio," in 1985 when he was just 17 years old, LL initially was a hard-hitting, streetwise b-boy with spare beats and ballistic rhymes. He quickly developed an alternate style, a romantic -- and occasionally sappy -- lover's rap epitomized by his mainstream breakthrough single, "I Need Love." LL's first two albums, Radio and Bigger and Deffer, made him a star, but he strived for pop stardom a little too much on 1989's Walking With a Panther. By 1990, his audience had declined somewhat, since his ballads and party raps were the opposite of the chaotic, edgy political hip-hop of Public Enemy or the gangsta rap of N.W.A, but he shot back to the top of the charts with Mama Said Knock You Out, which established him as one of hip-hop's genuine superstars. By the mid-'90s, he had starred in his own television sitcom, In the House, appeared in several films, and had racked up two of his biggest singles with "Hey Lover" and "Doin' It." In short, he had proven that rappers could have long-term careers.

Of course, that didn't seem likely when he came storming out of Queens, NY, when he was 16 years old. LL Cool J (born James Todd Smith; his stage name is an acronym for "Ladies Love Cool James") had already been rapping since the age of nine. Two years later, his grandfather -- he had been living with his grandparents since his parents divorced when he was four -- gave him a DJ system and he began making tapes at home. Eventually, he sent these demo tapes to record companies, attracting the interest of Def Jam, a fledgling label run by New York University students Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin. Def Jam signed LL and released his debut, "I Need a Beat," as their first single in 1984. The record sold over 100,000 copies, establishing both the label and the rapper. LL dropped out of high school and recorded his debut album, Radio. Released in 1985, Radio was a major hit and it earned considerable praise for how it shaped raps into recognizable pop-song structures. On the strength of "I Can't Live Without My Radio" and "Rock the Bells," the album went platinum in 1986. The following year, his second album, Bigger and Deffer, shot to number three due to the ballad "I Need Love," which became one of the first pop-rap crossover hits.

LL's knack for making hip-hop as accessible as pop was one of his greatest talents, yet it was also a weakness, since it opened him up to accusations of him being a sellout. Taken from the Less Than Zero soundtrack, 1988's "Goin' Back to Cali" walked the line with ease, but 1989's Walking With a Panther was not greeted warmly by most hip-hop fans. Although it was a Top Ten hit and spawned the gold single "I'm That Type of Guy," the album was perceived as a pop sell-out effort, and on a supporting concert at the Apollo, he was booed. LL didn't take the criticism lying down -- he struck back with 1990's Mama Said Knock You Out, the hardest record he ever made. LL supported the album with a legendary, live acoustic performance on MTV Unplugged, and on the strength of the Top Ten R&B singles "The Boomin' System" and "Around the Way Girl" (number nine, pop) as well as the hit title track, Mama Said Knock You Out became his biggest-selling album, establishing him as a pop star in addition to a rap superstar. He soon landed roles in the films The Hard Way (1991) and Toys (1992), and he also performed at Bill Clinton's presidential inauguration in 1993. Mama Said Knock You Out kept him so busy that he didn't deliver the follow-up, 14 Shots to the Dome, until the spring of 1993. Boasting a harder gangsta rap edge, 14 Shots initially sold well, debuting in the Top Ten, but it was an unfocused effort that generated no significant hit singles. Consequently, it stalled at gold status and hurt his reputation considerably.

Following the failure of 14 Shots to the Dome, LL began starring in the NBC sitcom In the House. He returned to recording in 1995, releasing Mr. Smith toward the end of the year. Unexpectedly, Mr. Smith became a huge hit, going double platinum and launching two of his biggest hits, with the Boyz II Men duet "Hey Lover" and "Doin' It." At the end of 1996, he released the greatest-hits album All World, while Phenomenon appeared one year later. G.O.A.T. Featuring James T. Smith: The Greatest of All Time, released in 2000, reached the top of the album charts, and 2002's 10 featured one of his biggest hits in years, "Luv U Better." With the help of producer Timbaland, he unleashed the tough DEFinition album in 2004 as his James Todd Smith clothing line was hitting the malls. "Control Myself," a hit single featuring Jennifer Lopez, prefaced 2006's Todd Smith album. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

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