James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for L adies L ove Cool J ames), is an American rapper, actor, and entrepreneur from Queens, New York. He is known for his hip hop hits such as "Going Back to Cali", "I'm Bad", "The Boomin 'System", "Rock the Bells" and "Mama Said Knock You Out", as well as romantic ballads such as "Doin' It "," I Need Love "," All I Have "," Around the Way Girl "and" Hey Lover ".
LL Cool J has released 13 studio albums and two greatest hits compilations. Her twelfth album Exit 13 (2008), is the last one for her long-term deal with Def Jam Recordings. His latest album, Authentic , was released in April 2013. In 2010, VH1 thinks it is on their "100 Greatest Artists Of All Time" list.
LL Cool J has also appeared in many movies, including In Too Deep , Any Given Sunday , SWAT , Mindhunter , and Edison . He is currently playing NCIS Special Agent Sam Hanna in the CBS crime drama series NCIS: Los Angeles. LL Cool J is also the host of Lip Sync Battle on Paramount Network.
Video LL Cool J
Early life and family
James Todd Smith was born on January 14, 1968, at Bay Shore, New York, and he is known as the son of Ondrea Griffith (born January 19, 1946) and James Louis Smith, Jr. In an episode Finding Your Roots, LL learned that his mother was adopted by Eugene Griffith and Ellen Hightower. Geneticist series pedigree, CeCe Moore identifies LL biological grandparents as Ethel Mae Jolly and Nathaniel Christy Lewis through his DNA analysis. LL's biological great uncle is the famous boxing hall, John Henry Lewis.
He started knocking at the age of 9, influenced by the hip hop group The Treacherous Three. In March 1984, sixteen-year-old Smith made demo tapes at his grandparents' house. His grandfather, a jazz saxophonist, bought him $ 2,000 equipment, including two turntables, an audio mixer and an amplifier. Smith states that "By the time I get the equipment, I've become a rapper.In this neighborhood, kids grow up in rap.It's like speaking Spanish if you grow up in a Spanish house.I understand it when I'm around 9pm, and since then all I want to do is make a recording and hear it on the radio. "At the same time, NYU student Rick Rubin and promoter-manager Russell Simmons founded the independent Def Jam label. Using the mixer he received from his grandfather, Smith produced and mixed his own demos and sent them to record companies throughout New York City, including Def Jam.
In the documentary film VH1 Planet Rock: The Story of Hip Hop and Crack Generation, LL Cool J reveals that he initially wanted to call himself J-Ski but did not want to link his stage name to cocaine. cultures (rapers who use "Ski" or "Punch" as part of their stage name, for example, Kurtis Blow and Joeski Love, are associated with the emergence of the cocaine culture, as depicted in the 1983 Scarface remake).
Under his new stage name, LL Cool J (short for L adies L ove Cool J ames), Smith signed by Def Jam, which led to the release of his first official record, a 12-inch single "I Need a Beat" (1984). This single is a hard b-boy street song, with beats and ballistic lyrics. Smith then discusses his search for the label, stating "I sent my demo to many different companies, but Def Jam where I found my home." That same year, Smith made his professional debut concert performance at Manhattan Center High School. In the next interview, LL Cool J recalled the experience, stating "They pushed the lunch table together and me and my DJ, Cut Creator, started playing... Soon after that there were girls screaming and asking for autographs. said 'This is what I want to do'. "LL's debut single sold over 100,000 copies and helped set Def Jam as a label and Smith as a rapper. The commercial success of "I Need a Beat", along with Beastie Boys single "Rock Hard" (1984), helped lead Def Jam to a distribution deal with Columbia Records the following year.
LL Cool J married Simone Smith in 1995. They have four children.
Maps LL Cool J
Musical career
1985-1987: Radio
Radio was released for critical acclaim, both for strong production innovation and rap from LL. Released on November 18, 1985, at the Record of Def Jam in the United States, Radio got a huge amount of commercial and sales success for a hip hop record at the time. Shortly after its release, the album sold over 500,000 copies in the first five months, eventually selling over 1 million copies in 1988, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. Radio peaked at number 6 on the Top R & amp; B/Hip-Hop and at number 46 on the Billboard album chart 200. It enters the Top R & amp; B/Hip-Hop on December 28, 1985, and remained there for forty-seven weeks, while also entering the Pop Albums chart on January 11, 1986, remaining on the chart for thirty-eight weeks.. In 1989, the album received platinum status from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), with sales exceeding one million copies; had previously gained gold certification in the United States on April 14, 1986. "I Can not Live Without My Radio" and "Rock the Bells" are the singles who helped the album to reach platinum. It eventually reached 1.5 million in US sales.
With the breakthrough success of his hit single "I Need a Beat" and LP Radio, LL Cool J became one of the first hip-hop actions to achieve mainstream success along with Kurtis Blow and Run-DMC.Gigs in place The larger one is offered to LL as he will join the 1986-'87 tour Raising Hell , opening for Run-DMC and Beastie Boys. Another milestone of LL's popularity was his performance on American Bandstand as the first hip-hop acting on the show, as well as appearances on Diana Ross's 1987 special television, Red Hot Rhythm & amp; Blues .
The success of the album also helps in contributing to the credibility and repertoire of Rick Rubin as record producer. Radio , along with Raising Hell (1986) and Licensed to Ill (1986), will form a New York City based trilogy, Rubin -help albums that help diversify hip-hop. Rubin's production credit on the back cover reads "REDUCED BY RICK RUBIN", referring to its minimalist production style, which gives this album a stripped and rough sound. This style will serve as one of the trademarks of Rubin production and will have a major impact on future hip-hop production. Rubin's early hip hop production work, before leaving Def Jam to Los Angeles, helped establish his legacy as a pioneer of hip hop and built his reputation in the music industry.
1987-1993: Breakthrough and success
LL Cool J's second album was 1987's Bigger and Deffer , produced by DJ Pooh and L.A. Posse. It stands as the biggest selling career album, selling over three million copies in the United States alone. It spends 11 weeks at # 1 on Billboard ' s R & amp; album album B. It also reached # 3 on the Billboard ' Pop album chart. The album featured the single "I'm Bad", a revolutionary "I Need Love" - ​​â € <â €
While Bigger and Deffer, which was a huge success, was produced by LA Posse (at the time consisting of Dwayne Simon, Darryl Pierce and, according to him, the most important for creating LP sounds, Bobby "Bobcat" Ervin) , Dwayne Simon is the only one left who is willing to work to produce Walk with Panther . Bobcat said he wanted more money for the album after realizing how successful the previous album actually became, but Def Jam refused to change the contract, which made him decide to leave Cool J. According to Bobcat this is the reason that Walking with Panther greeted with a very diverse reception at the time of its release.
In 1990, LL released Mama Said Knock You Out , his fourth studio album. The Marley Marl produced the album receiving critical acclaim and eventually sold double Platinum over two million copies according to the RIAA. LL won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance in 1992 for the title track.
1993-2005: Continuous career success and prosperity
After acting in The Hard Way and Toys, LL Cool J released the 14 Shots to the Dome. The album has four singles ("How I'm Comin '", "Back Seat (from My Jeep)", a whimsical entitled "Pink Cookies in a Plastic Bag Getting Destroyed by Building", "Stand By Your Man") and guests -makes labelmates Lords of the Underground on "NFA-No Frontin 'Allowed". This album became gold.
LL Cool J starred in In the House , an NBC sitcom, before releasing Mr. Smith (1995), which sold over two million copies. His singles include "Doin 'It" and "Loungin". Another single album, "Hey Lover", featured Boyz II Men, and sampled Michael Jackson's "The Lady in My Life"; eventually becoming one of the first hip-hop music videos to be broadcast on VH1. The song also earned him a Grammy Award. Yet another single from the album, "I Shot Ya Remix", included vocal work by Foxy Brown. In 1996, Def Jam released this "greatest hit" package, offering a good summary of Cool J's career, from the initial minimalism of endless hits like "Rock the Bells" to a smoothly followed braggadocio. Classic albums including Bigger and Deffer and Mama Said Knock You Out are well represented here. In 1997, he released the album Phenomenon . Singles include "Phenomenon" and "Father". The official second single from Phenomenon is "4, 3, 2, 1", featuring Method Man, Redman & amp; Master P and introduce DMX and Canibus.
In 2000, LL Cool J released the album G.O.A.T. , which stands for "Greatest of All Time." It debuted at number one on the Billboard album chart, and went platinum. LL Cool J thanked Canibus on the liner notes of the album, "for inspiration". LL Cool J's album 10 from 2002, was her 9th studio (10th overall including her Allest's greatest hit compilation), and included the single "Paradise" (featuring Amerie), "Luv U Better ", produced by Pharrell and Neptunes, and the 2003 Jennifer Lopez duet," All I Have ". This album achieved platinum status. The tenth album LL Cool J The DEFinition was released on August 31, 2004. The album debuted at No. 1. 4 on the Billboard chart. Production comes from Timbaland, 7 Aurelius, R. Kelly, and others. The main single was "Headsprung" produced by Timbaland, which reached number 16 on Billboard Hot 100. The second single was 7 Aurelius-produced, "Hush", peaking at No. 1. 26 on the Hot Billboard .
2006-2012: Careers and touring tour
The 11th album LL Cool J, Todd Smith , was released on April 11, 2006. It included collaborations with 112, Ginuwine, Juelz Santana, Teairra Mari and Freeway. The first single was "Control Myself" produced by Jermaine Dupri featuring Jennifer Lopez. They recorded a video for "Control Myself" on January 2, 2006 at Sony Studios, New York. The second video, directed by Hype Williams, is a "Freeze" featuring Lyfe Jennings.
In July 2006, LL Cool J announced details about her latest album with Def Jam Recordings, the only label she ever signed. This album is titled Exit 13 . The album was originally scheduled to be executed executive by fellow Queens rapper 50 Cent. Exit 13 was originally scheduled for release in the fall of 2006, but, after a 2-year delay, it was released September 9, 2008 without 50 Cent as an executive producer. The tracks worked by both leaks were leaked onto the internet and some of the tracks produced with 50 made it to Exit 13. LL Cool J partnered with DJ Kay Slay to release a mixtape called "The Return of the G.O.A.T.". This is the first mixtape of a 24-year career and includes freestyling by LL Cool J in addition to other rappers who deliver their songs. A song titled "Hi Haterz" leaked onto the internet on June 1, 2008. The song contains LL Cool J tapping instrument for "Hi Hater" Maino. She toured with Janet Jackson on the Witchu Rock tour, playing only in Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto and Kansas City. In September 2009, LL Cool J released a song about the TV series NCIS . It is single and available on iTunes. The new track is based on his experience playing Sam Hanna's special agent. "This song is a musical interpretation of what I feel after meeting with NCIS agents, experiencing Marines and Navy SEALs," says LL Cool J. "It represents the collective energy in the room, I am so inspired I write songs on the set.
In March 2011 at South by Southwest, LL Cool J was revealed to be a special Z-Trip guest at the Red Bull Thre3Style showcase. This marks the beginning of the creative collaboration between the rap and the DJ superstar. The two took part in an interview with Carson Daly where they discussed their partnership. Both artists have promised future collaboration on the road, with LL Cool J calling the duo "organic" One early song to showcase LL talent is a Z-Trip remix of the British rock rock song entitled "Days Are Forgotten", named by the influential DJ Zane Lowe as "His Top Record in the World" and received a good reception in Belgium and the UK. In January 2012, the couple released the song "Super Baller" as a free download to celebrate the New York Giants Super Bowl victory. Both have been on a joint tour since 2011, with upcoming dates planned for 2012 and beyond.
2012-present: Authentic , GOAL 2 and upcoming projects
In June 2012, LL Cool J began working on a thirteen studio album. Declare, "I will do a little album on [My Connect Studio], make sure it's official."
On October 6, 2012, LL Cool J released a new single from Authentic Hip-Hop called "Ratchet". After that, on November 3, 2012, LL Cool J collaborated with Joe and Trackmasters producer with their second single, "Take It".
LL Cool J has been holding the Grammy Awards Show for five consecutive years, from the 54th Grammy Awards on February 12, 2012, through the 58th Grammy Awards on February 15, 2016.
On February 8, 2013, it was announced that the album title will be changed from Authentic Hip-Hop to Authentic with a new release date April 30, 2013, and a new one. The cover is unveiled at the same time. At about the same time, it was announced that LL Cool J had collaborated with Van Halen guitarist Eddie Van Halen on two tracks on the album.
On October 16, 2013, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced LL Cool J as a nomination for inclusion in 2014.
In October 2014, he announced his upcoming 14th studio album will be called G.O.A.T. 2 with the 2015 release window. LL Cool J stated about the album "the concept behind the album to give artists a chance to shine, and put myself in a position where I have to spit on the bar with some of the hardest rhymes in-game "; However, the album was suspended. LL Cool J explains why, saying, "That's good but I'm not ready yet."
On January 21, 2016, LL Cool J received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In March 2016, LL Cool J announced its resignation in social media, but quickly announced out of retirement and another new album was on its way.
In July 2016, LL appeared on ABC Greatest Hits .
Acting career
While LL Cool J first appeared as a rapper in the movie "Krush Groove" (performing "I Can not Live Without My Radio"), her first acting role was a small role in a high school soccer film called Wildcats . He continues to pursue acting, reciting the role of Captain Patrick Zevo in the 1992 film Toys where he shares a silver screen with Robin Williams. In 1995, he landed on his own TV sitcom, At Home . She starred as a former Oakland Raiders back runner who finds herself in financial trouble and forced to rent part of her home to a single mother and her two children.
In 1998, she played a role in the movie Halloween H20 . In 1999, he starred alongside Samuel L Jackson, Saffron Burrows, Thomas Jane and Jacqueline McKenzie in the Deep Blue Sea. He plays an ingenious chef on a secret marine base surrounded by a genetically upgraded shark. He received a warm welcome for his role as Dwayne Gittens, a boss of the underworld, dubbed "God" at In Too Deep . Later that year, she had a lead role on Any Given Sunday , in which she played Julian Washington, a talented but selfish player who ran back to a dysfunctional Miami Sharks. Since then, LL Cool J has appeared in films, such as the 2002 remake of Rollerball, Delivering Us from Eva , Mindhunter , and > SWAT
In 2005, she returned to television in a guest starring role on the Fox House medical drama as a death row inmate who was cut down by an unknown illness in the episode "Reception".
LL Cool J also appeared as Queen Latifah's love in 2006's Last Holiday .
She was also a guest star at 30 Rock in the 2007 episode of "The Source Awards" as a hip-hop producer Ridikulous, who feared Tracy Jordan would kill her.
LL Cool J performed at Sesame Street in season 39 where she introduced the word today, "Unanimous", in episode 4169 (September 22, 2008) and performed "The Addition Expedition" in episode 4172 (30 September 2008).
LL Cool J is currently a regular series on the CBS police procedure of NCIS: Los Angeles, the spin-off of NCIS (which itself is a spin-off of the drama's legal drama < i> JAG ). He described NCIS Special Agent Sam Hanna, a former Navy SEAL who is fluent in Arabic and a cultural expert in West Asia. The series debuted in the fall of 2009, but the character was introduced in the April 2009 crossover episode on the main event.
LL Cool J appeared in a cameo role, in which he was credited as the Google product leader Gmail Tap, an April Fools joke launched by the Gmail team, claiming to bring the Morse Code keyboard to the platform.
Since April 2015, LL has hosted the Lip Sync Battle event.
Other businesses
LL Cool J worked behind the scenes with the mid-1980s TROOP hip-hop exercise line. LL Cool J launches a clothing line (called "Todd Smith"). This brand produces popular urban clothing. The design includes influences from lyrics and LL tattoos, as well as from other icons in the hip-hop community. LL Cool J has written four books, including 1998 I Make My Own Rules , an autobiography written with Karen Hunter. Her second book is a children-oriented book titled And The Winner Is... published in 2002. In 2006, LL Cool J and her personal trainer, Dave "Scooter" Honig, wrote a fitness book titled The Platinum Workout . Her fourth book, LL Cool J (Hip-Hop Stars) was written roughly in 2007 with hip-hop historian Dustin Shekell and Public Enemy Chuck D.
LL Cool J started his own business in the music industry such as the 1993 music label P.O.G. (Power Of God) and formed the company of Rock The Bells to produce music. With The Rock The Bells label, he has artists like Amyth, Smokeman, Natice, Chantel Jones, and Simone Starks. Rock the Bells Records is also responsible for the Deep Blue Sea soundtrack for the 1999 film of the same name. Rufus "Scola" Waller was also signed to the label, but was released when the label folded. LL Cool J founded and launched Boomdizzle.com, a record label/social networking site launched in September 2008. The website received music uploads from aspiring artists, mainly from hip-hop genres, and site users rated songs through contests, voting, and other community events.
LL Cool J is the initial investor of Apache HTTP Server, and some of the lyrics are initially still hidden in the lines of code. LL Cool J also appeared in the introduction to Wrestlemania 31.
Political engagement
In 2002, LL Cool J endorsed the offer of New York Republican Governor George Pataki for a third term. In 2003, LL Cool J appeared before the senate committee hearing on P2P file-sharing, voicing its support with the RIAA, stating that he only hopes "music can be downloaded legally." He also voiced his support for New York State Senator Malcolm Smith, a Democrat, during his appearance on the senator's local television show and has worked with Smith in placing the annual Jump and Ball Tournament (since 2003) in the childhood rapper of St. Albans, Queens. In a television interview February 10, 2012 with CNN host Piers Morgan, LL Cool J expressed sympathy to President Obama and assumed a negative impression of his leadership on the Republican obstruction designed to "make it look like you have coordination problems." He quickly added that no one should "assume that I am also a Democrat." I am an Independent, you know? " In LL Cool J's Platinum 360 Diet and Lifestyle, he put Barack Obama on the "People I admire" list that says, "He achieves what people consider impossible."
Legacy
With the breakthrough success of his hit single "I Need a Beat" and LP Radio, LL Cool J became one of the first hip-hop actions to achieve mainstream success along with Kurtis Blow and Run-DMC.Gigs in place The larger one is offered to LL as he will join the 1986-'87 tour Raising Hell , opening for Run-DMC and Beastie Boys. Another milestone of LL's popularity was his appearance on American Bandstand as the first hip hop acting on the show.
The success of the album also helps in contributing to the credibility and repertoire of Rick Rubin as record producer. Radio , along with Raising Hell (1986) and Licensed to Ill (1986), will form a New York City based trilogy, Rubin -help albums that help diversify hip-hop. Rubin's production credit on the back cover reads "REDUCED BY RICK RUBIN", referring to its minimalist production style, which gives this album a stripped and rough sound. This style will serve as one of the trademarks of Rubin production and will have a major impact on future hip-hop production. Rubin's early hip hop production work, before leaving Def Jam to Los Angeles, helped establish his legacy as a pioneer of hip hop and built his reputation in the music industry.
The Radio ' release coincided with the growth of new schools and subcultures, which also marked the beginning of the "golden age" of hip-hop and the replacement of old school hip hop. This hip-hop period is marked by the end of the old school disco-rap style, which had evolved before the mid-1980s, and the emergence of new styles featuring "ghetto blasters". Radio served as one of the earliest records, along with the debut album Run-DMC, to combine hip hop and rap-vocal approach with music arrangement and rock music riffing, pioneering rap hybrid rock sound.
The new school scene that emerged was initially characterized by the minimalism of the drum machine, often colored with rock elements, as well as the boast about rap being delivered in an aggressive and confident style. In the image as in the song, the artists project the b-boy street stance is hard and cool. These elements are in stark contrast to the 1970s P-Funk and disco-influenced clothing, live bands, synthesizers, and party poems from the usual acts of 1984, which made them old-fashioned. Unlike the long, clock-like dominant forms at the beginning of hip hop ("King Tim III", "Rapper's Delight", "The Breaks"), new school artists tend to compose short songs that will be more accessible and have the potential to play the radio, and understand more cohesive LPs than their old school counterparts; a style symbolized by LL Cool J's Radio . A prime example of a new school voice is the song "I Can not Live Without My Radio", a loud and challenging public loyalty statement against its boom box, The New York Times is described as "classic rap in directness, immediacy and self-affirmation ". It was featured in the movie Krush Groove (1985), based on the emergence of Def Jam and new school actions like Run-D.M.C. and Fat Boys.
Delivering energy and hardcore and rap music styles featured on Radio and other recording of other schools by artists such as Run-DMC, Schooly D, T La Rock and Steady B, proved influential for hip hop acts of the "age golden "like Boogie Down Productions and Public Enemy. The decline of the old hip hop school form also led to the closure of Sugar Hill Records, one of the labels that helped contribute to early hip-hop and that, by chance, rejected LL's demo tape. Because this album serves as an example of the expansion of artistic possibilities of hip hop music, commercial success and different sounds soon lead to an increase in multi-racial hearings and listeners, adding to album and hip hop heritage as well.
He is mentioned in 2015's biopic Straight Outta Compton .
In 2017, LL Cool J. became the first rapper to be honored at the Kennedy Center Honors.
Discography
- Studio album
- Radio (1985)
- Bigger and Deffer (1987)
- Walking with Panther (1989)
- Mama Said Knock You Out (1990)
- 14 Shots to the Dome (1993)
- Sir. Smith (1995)
- Phenomenon (1997)
- G.O.A.T. (2000)
- 10 (2002)
- DEFinition (2004)
- Todd Smith (2006)
- Exit 13 (2008)
- Authentic (2013)
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