LL Cool J

Released: October 4, 1993

Songwriter: LL Cool J Marley Marl Bobcat Meli’sa Morgan Lesette Wilson Slick Rick Doug E. Fresh

Producer: Marley Marl

[Intro: LL Cool J]
Yeah this one goes out to all the ladies in the house
("For alla y'all")

[Verse 1: LL Cool J]
I need you to stand by me when the chips are down and
Stick around while I defend my crown and
No sellout, the trip is too rough and
Although your skin is soft, I need your mind to be tough
And I might seem rough but life is much rougher
To see success sometimes you gotta suffer
I need a woman that's stronger than material needs
And isn't motivated by greed
Dry my tear-drops and feelin' my pain and
Watchin' my back while I strive to maintain and
Makin' love like a medicine doctor
I knew that she was bad from the day that I clocked her

[Chorus: Dawn Green]
Stand by your, man, stand by your man
You got to stand by your baby
Stand by your, man, stand by your man
You got to stand by your man

[Verse 2: LL Cool J]
My enemies come and my fake friends talk but
You recognize game, roll your eyes and walkin'
Baby ain't no way I'll let the vultures attack you
So I'll teach you the game and tell you how to react to
The conversation, sexy vibration
Visual stimulation, slick persuasion
Times is hard, I need a woman that rolls with God
And the only man she loves is Todd
But will you be around when the raindrops fallin'
Or could it be you never loved me at all and
I need a trooper, a soldier, a agent
I need someone who can roll with my arrangement
The reproducer factor and
The Queen of the Universe, not an actor and
Standin' by her man 'til the end
Not only as a lover but a friend

[Chorus: Dawn Green (LL Cool J)]
Stand by your, man, stand by your man
You got to stand by your baby (yeah)
Stand by your, man, stand by your man
You got to stand by your man

[Verse 3: LL Cool J]
Then, when things get better
We can look back at the whole aerators
Remember the times when they said I couldn't do it
But I was rougher than rough and baby you knew it and
You held back when your Love Jones called in
You had faith when they said that I'd fall and
You understood that what we had was good
You stood by your man like a real queen should
That's why now I got you livin' your dream as
A beautiful wisdom, a part of my team and
As long as I live on this earth
Anything you want is what your loyalty's worth

[Chorus: Dawn Green (LL Cool J)]
Stand by your, man, stand by your man
You got to stand by your baby
(I wanna send this one out to all the ladies in the house)
Stand by your, man, stand by your man
You got to stand by your man
Stand by your, man, stand by your man
You got to stand by your baby (stand by your man, word)
Stand by your, man, stand by your man
You got to stand by your man (peace)
You got to stand by your baby
You got to stand by your man
Stand by your, man, stand by your man
You got to stand by your baby
Stand by your, man, stand by your man
You got to stand by your man
Stand by your, man, stand by your man
You got to stand by your baby
You got to stand by your man
You got to stand by your baby
Stand by your, man, stand by your man
You got to stand by your man

Deriving his name from the statement “Ladies Love Cool James,” LL Cool J became a superstar rapper after his Def Jam debut in 1984. He mixed a hardcore hip-hop style from songs like “I’m Bad” with R&B style on songs like “I Need Love,” which led him to multi-platinum success and several awards. He would later venture into movies and television, write several books, and start different business ventures.

Born January 14, 1968, Queens, New York native James Todd Smith began rapping at the age of nine and started to seriously pursue rapping when he was 16 years old after his grandfather bought him music equipment, which he used to create a demo tape that was sent to numerous labels. He was signed by upstart independent label Def Jam, working with founders Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin to release his debut single “I Need a Beat” in 1984, which sold over 100,000 copies. This success helped Def Jam secure a distribution deal with Columbia Records.

LL released his debut album Radio in 1985, which achieved platinum status with help from the hit singles “I Can’t Live Without My Radio” and “Rock the Bells.” After working exclusively with Rick Rubin on his debut, LL worked with the West Coast production crew L.A. Posse on his second album Bigger and Deffer, released in 1987. The album featured two of LL’s signature the hard-edged “I’m Bad” and the “rap ballad” “I Need Love,” which was a Top 20 pop hit, helping the album achieve double platinum status.

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14 Shots to the Dome

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14 Shots to the Dome (1993)

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LL Cool J

14 Shots to the Dome