LL Cool J

Released: September 14, 1990

Songwriter: Marley Marl LL Cool J

Producer: Marley Marl

[Intro]
Somethin real smooth
Yeah, yeah
Yeah
We'll get into the groove
Power of God move
Somethin real smooth
Somethin you need to take heed to

[Verse 1]
A basehead cleaned up his act
He stopped smokin crack and took his soul back
Decided, he could find a much better way to live
You know the way - positive
Without all the negative chemicals and drugs
Without all the hangin with the envious thugs
Never before was a man so far behind
And came back to rule for a long time
Positive will explode when you light me
My enemies lurked, and they held the dagger tightly
Wanted to taste my blood, but they got scarred
When they felt the power of God

[Verse 2]
Wickedness got crushed when the Lord came
Down with the King, cause he's evil and vain
He doesn't understand the power of a ???
Doesn't realize I'm rollin with a team
Avengin angels will come and burn
All those who saw, but refused to learn
He has no color, no shape, and no form
And like I told you before, I'm just gettin warm
Get up, get down, get on it, it ain't that hard
You can feel the power of God

[Verse 3]
Money is small and the soul stands tall
All those who don't realize this fall
The mind of a drunken fool is a useless tool
And it's cool to be in school
And overcome and overpower, but still uplift
Your mind is a gift
You're somebody, whether you know it or not
Outside the weather is hot
People walk around with their minds in a daze
Never take the time to stop and give praise
You're lucky to live in this world
Even the starvin boys and girls
Cause life is a gift in itself
And only certain people are blessed with good health
I'm Uncle L, but you can call me Todd
I can feel the power of God

[Hook]
Y’know what i’m sayin’

And G is the seventh letter made
Yeah
G is the seventh letter made

The power of God

Yeah

[Verse 4]
The babies, we gotta teach em, and hold em
Send em to school, so we can teach em, and mold em
Shape em, and make em take form
Cause their mind is like a ball of clay when it's wet and warm
Harmless and innocent
Until they're taught to be violent, and militant
This mentality gotta be erased by faith
The 12th hour is comin', we're close to the 8th
Get a chapter, and gain some knowledge
If not from the Bible or Koran, get a book from college
It's not about bein black or white
It's about everybody bein a right
I pulled out my mic, and the devil got hit hard
He felt the power of God

[Hook]
And G is the seventh letter made
Power of god
G is the seventh letter made

[Outro]
That was just a word to the wise
Uprise
Cause we definitely gotta unify
And we need unity in times like these
We got to stick together
Cause we as a people
All people
Gotta make it to the promised land
Peace

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.

more tracks from the album

Mama Said Knock You Out

From the album

Mama Said Knock You Out (1990)

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