Released: August 28, 1990

Songwriter: Marley Marl LL Cool J

Producer: Marley Marl

[Verse]
The big showdown, the display of skill
I'm that type of guy so put your girl on the pill
Take a family snapshot and kiss your wife
'Cause I'm like a knife, I cause grief and strife
And I'll take your life, and choke you like a python
I'mma do you wrong
Any emcee, who you wanna name?
I'm one panther that can't be tamed
Talking about guns, punk it don't alarm me
Got enough cash to make a whole damn army
I can't hold back the way that I feel
'Cause when I bust a rhyme it's like you're slipping on banana peels
You're like fruit cake and fruit cocktails
First your title now I'm takin' your female
All of a sudden you're so proud of black
A baseball hat, but you ain't saying jack
The ripper is back and you can't escape
'Cause one of my records'll sell more than your whole tape
I want beef, bring on the rookies
I got more than just Cool J cookies
Rip, rock, crush, stomp the comp, I'm poison come and take a chomp
I bet you your teeth'll end up around the corner kid
Don't ask me why I did
Uncivilized damage to a nobody
And I'm carrying a gun if I'm rhymin' at the party
New York, Chicago, Detroit, LA
I'll slay wherever you play
D.C. or Philly, or Baltimore
I murder the rich and maim the poor
Perpetratin' in your video, here's the real schoolin'
Country accents, who you think you're foolin'?
I play Russian Roulette not Craps
You're only known 'cause of Yo MTV raps
And Rap City and B.E.T
And Channel 31, but now here I come
To save the day and now you're getting done
Like a hooker, don't drop the soap, crumb
The first sign of the battle you little fink
Is you see blood coming out your kitchen sink
Your mic's a baby bottle son
Some say they ain't but I am the one
To slice and dice and fry and boil, to bake and serve a nerd
I heard a word occurred to him that he could move and wouldn't get
Moved on, like a shotgun blast
Big mouth emcees I'll bet you none last
'Cause they ain't stable or able
And I boost the party like jumper cables
So plug me in and put me on
Arsenio Hall so I can battle 'em all
From coast to coast, blind, crippled and crazy
You use a dictionary but you still don't phase me
Listen and weep, you sound cheap
Preach about blackness but you represent wackness
You're knocking on the castle door but when you fall in the moat
I won't see you no more
Let's get together and diss LL
Use his name and your records might sell
I can't believe your band of dead maggots
Crawling all over my name I won't have it
You better look in the mirror and re-think your plan
Why walk in quicksand?
When you can stand on your own two feet
I'm rippin' emcees from Funky Drummer to Big Beat
Name the date and the arena
You three year old ballerina
I can't believe that suckers try to throw down
Whether you're new or older than Motown
Just kick back, I don't slack attack a wacker slapper rap
They can't handle the format
Whether you're suave or smooth
Rough or rugged all I need is a groove
I display a way to slay, punk play to pay
Mr Morris has entered the buffet
Some of y'all are sitting in bowls
Plates of the hot buttered rolls
Beat you with baloney, stab you with salami
'Cause when I get hot I get hot like pastrami
Then I make you wonder
Why you don't hear bass, but you feel the thunder
You get cute, I'll knock out your tooth
We'll be fighting from the lobby to the roof
You annoy me like a roach at dinner time
Yo Marley (What's up?) It's Miller Time
(Nah man, just kick a little more)
Pass the brass knuckles let me break his jaw
When I'm on the microphone I want silence
Let KRS-One stop the violence
Ain't no rivals, ain't no competition
Punk, I'm beatin' you into submission
I'm gettin' busier than ever before
Never more will I slack I'mma keep it real raw
Eat you up like a pack-jam
Video's more popular than Batman
Rippin' you to shreds, tap you in the head
Then leave the battle lookin' happy as a newlywed
Give me a Tec-9 to spray
Save the beef and put it on lay-away
I'm in command your man abandons on the table fans will understand
Then you weep about the murdergram

LL Cool J

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.