Released: June 9, 1989

Songwriter: LL Cool J Dwayne Simon

Producer: LL Cool J Dwayne Simon

[LL Cool J]
Just like Paul Lynde, you're all in...

Brace yourself, I'm the ace with grace
I'm a win the race and make you feel disgrace
In any case, yo, I'm movin like a steeplechase
MC soldiers: about face
Now step off, I need room for my takeoff
My custom made lyrics slay, yours are soft
I think you better tape this, yo, you can't escape this
Yo, I planned it out just like a landscapist
Whipper-snapper back up for comin' crap up
I plan to trap a MC and kidnap a phony
So skip the baloney
You and your cronies need to jump on a pony
And roll, cause you're just a rookie
When it was time for rap school, you must have played hooky
I'm the show-stopper, your rhymes are improper
I'ma teach you like the master taught the grasshopper
Just gettin warmer, I'm a transform a
Regular rhyme into a barnstormer
Try to jump, I'll pump you, chump, my job is thorough
Any MC, state, city or borough will get ragged
I drop like a sandbag
Serious as the mob, I don't play tag
Best of the batch, no man can catch up
Holes can't be patched, our battle's a mismatch
I flip lyrics like a acrobat
And avoid combat like a diplomat
But when it's time for back-crack, or Jack to kill
It's a thrill to drill, a run-of-the-mill bill
With my skill, I'm the lord of rhymes
And I be writing at a rapid pace way past my bedtime
I rock the mic unlike some brothers I know
I guess they flow, PSYCH!

[Hook]
I'm droppin 'em
Droppin 'em

Yo, you're all in, stiff as a mannequin
I'm sharp as a pin, and I'ma teach discipline
I get busy like it's two of me
Evidently, I'm hated by a few MCs
But so what? I just max like I'm playing the sax
And take the crowd to the climax
Yo, Cool J, I never go astray
I'm funky, you can hear me at the Milky Way
You're weak, wet grass, I'm cool as jazz
Got razamatazz, ask my man Shabazz
I know you're afraid because I'm self-made
I invade, and blow up like a hand grenade
MCs are terrorstruck, I'ma run amok
Cause your rhymes suck, you made a record on potluck
Just a toyboy, can't stop my convoy
Rhymes I said last year were just decoys
I'm like a fox, you annoy me like chicken pox
I'm back with a style that's unorthodox
You must've had a teaspoon full of bull
I'm like The Hulk, with more bulk, I'm powerful
They try to get with this, to me that's an insult
Boys shouldn't mess with an adult, that's too difficult
I enter like a giant saying "fee fi foe fum"
Then rock the auditorium until there's pandemonium

[Hook]
I'm droppin 'em
Droppin 'em

Don't sleep, cause I'ma go deeper
All you sleepers, I'm the Grim Reaper
My rhymes are rising, the angle's getting steeper
I hated Mussolini, Martini so I'ma sweep a
Emcee, like he's one of the two
Break him into fragments right in front of you
Mic check, one, two, is too fundamental
My rhymes are monumental over an instrumental
In the center, I had to enter
Tormentor mentor experimenter and inventor
Of lyrics, so all you nonbelievers
It'll echo in your dreams at night when you receive a
Rude awakening, you can't do anything
You enter my kingdom and you cry as men bring
Gifts to the prince of excellence and magnificence
Alarm clock rings, you wake up, and you're convinced
That the crew invader, soloist exterminator
Greater evader of ducks, concert crusader
Is bad, my nickname's the circuit breaker
Eating up the world, acre by acre

[Hook]
I'm droppin 'em, word to motha
Droppin 'em

KnowhatI'msayin? Straight 'til 1999, droppin' 'em!
Yo, year 2000, yaknahmsayin?
Audi man
Yo, I'm droppin' 'em

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.