LL Cool J

Released: November 18, 1985

Songwriter: El Shabazz LL Cool J

Producer: Rick Rubin

You ready killa
Tell me when you're ready
One two, One two
Please man don't get with that bullshit

So let's do a little somethin' like this

El Shabazz! Yo J! It's time to rock a rhyme
What kind of rhyme? The kind of rhyme that digs y'all behind
I'll rhyme it, I'll mix it, and we both do fine
Take a skeezer to the (?) (?) Calvin Klein
El Shabazz! Yo J! Our rhymes are fly
How fly? So fly that they're sweet like pie
And the pie is so fly, the girls will all wanna try
El Shabazz! Yo J! It's time to rock our shit
What kinda shit? The kinda shit that made Wilson Flip
So you use a brush, I use a comb not a pick
El Shabazz! Yo J! El Shabazz! Yo J!
We gonna rock this mother fucker like Three The Hard Way
Like this y'all! This y'all, This y'all, This y'all
Dededede dededede this y'all

Yeah boy
Now that you done bought it, ha ha ha ha
Check this shit out, Check this shit out
Yo, turn this shit on the other side, I'm tellin' you, the other side is liver than this side
You like this side, but you'll like the other side, cause the other side is better

Yo, Shabazz, is it live? It's definitely live. Is it live? It's live
It's live? It's live. It's live, it's live, it's live, it's live
Like this y'all, this y'all, this y'all, this y'all
Rock it to the beat, to the beat y'all

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

Radio

From the album

Radio (1985)

LL Cool J popular songs

3 The Hard WayLL Cool J

LL Cool J

Radio