Hello,
Today's Artists legally known as James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as Ladies Love Cool James, is an American rapper, record producer, actor, author and entrepreneur from Queens, New York. With the breakthrough success of his hit single "I Need a Beat" and the Radio LP, he became one of the first hip-hop acts to achieve mainstream success..A two-time Grammy Award winner, he is known for such hip hop hits as "Going Back to Cali", "I'm Bad", "The Boomin' System", "Rock the Bells" and "Mama Said Knock You Out", as well as R&B hits such as "Doin' It", "I Need Love", "All I Have", "Around the Way Girl" and "Hey Lover". In 2010, VH1 has placed him on their "100 Greatest Artists Of All Time" list. In 2017, he became the first rapper to receive Kennedy Center Honors . ...... N Joy
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Hip-hop is notorious for short-lived careers, but LL Cool J is the inevitable exception that proves the rule. Releasing his first hit, "I Can't Live Without My Radio," in 1985 when he was just 17 years old, LL initially was a hard-hitting, streetwise b-boy with spare beats and ballistic rhymes. He quickly developed an alternate style, a romantic lover's rap epitomized by his mainstream breakthrough single, "I Need Love." LL's first two albums, Radio and Bigger and Deffer, made him a star, and in 1990 he shot to the top of the charts with Mama Said Knock You Out, which established him as a genuine musical superstar. By the mid-'90s, he had starred in his own television sitcom, appeared in several films, and racked up two of his biggest singles with "Hey Lover" and "Doin' It." In short, he had proven that rappers could have long-term careers.
Of course, that didn't seem likely when he came storming out of Queens, New York, when he was 16 years old. LL Cool J (born James Todd Smith; his stage name is an acronym for "Ladies Love Cool James") had already been rapping since the age of nine. Two years later, his grandfather -- he had been living with his grandparents since his parents divorced when he was four -- gave him a DJ system and he began making tapes at home. Eventually, he sent these demo tapes to record companies, attracting the interest of Def Jam, a fledgling label run by New York University students Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin. Def Jam signed LL and released his debut, "I Need a Beat," as their first single in 1984. The record sold over 100,000 copies, establishing both the label and the rapper. LL dropped out of high school and recorded his debut album, Radio. Released in 1985, Radio was a major hit and it earned considerable praise for how it shaped raps into recognizable pop-song structures. On the strength of "I Can't Live Without My Radio" and "Rock the Bells," the album went platinum in 1986. The following year, his second album, Bigger and Deffer, shot to number three due to the ballad "I Need Love," which became one of the first pop-rap crossover hits.
LL's knack for making hip-hop as accessible as pop was one of his greatest talents, yet it was also a weakness, since it opened him up to accusations of being a sellout. Taken from the Less Than Zero soundtrack, 1988's "Goin' Back to Cali" walked the line with ease, but 1989's Walking with a Panther was not greeted warmly by most hip-hop fans. Although it was a Top Ten hit and spawned the gold single "I'm That Type of Guy," the album was perceived as a pop sell-out effort, and on a supporting concert at the Apollo, he was booed. LL didn't take the criticism lying down -- he struck back with 1990's Mama Said Knock You Out, the hardest record he ever made. LL supported the album with a legendary, live acoustic performance on MTV Unplugged, and on the strength of the Top Ten R&B singles "The Boomin' System" and "Around the Way Girl" (number nine, pop) as well as the hit title track, Mama Said Knock You Out became his biggest-selling album, establishing him as a pop star in addition to a rap superstar. He soon landed roles in the films The Hard Way (1991) and Toys (1992), and he also performed at Bill Clinton's presidential inauguration in 1993. Mama Said Knock You Out kept him so busy that he didn't deliver the follow-up, 14 Shots to the Dome, until the spring of 1993. Boasting a harder gangsta rap edge, 14 Shots initially sold well, debuting in the Top Ten, but it was an unfocused effort that generated no significant hit singles. Consequently, it stalled at gold status and hurt his reputation considerably.
Following the failure of 14 Shots to the Dome, LL began starring in the NBC sitcom In the House. He returned to recording in 1995, releasing Mr. Smith toward the end of the year. Unexpectedly, Mr. Smith became a huge hit, going double platinum and launching two of his biggest hits, with the Boyz II Men duet "Hey Lover" and "Doin' It." At the end of 1996, he released the greatest-hits album All World, while Phenomenon appeared one year later. G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time), released in 2000, reached the top of the album charts, and 2002's 10 featured one of his biggest hits in years, "Luv U Better." With the help of producer Timbaland, he unleashed the tough DEFinition album in 2004 as his James Todd Smith clothing line was hitting the malls. "Control Myself," a hit single featuring Jennifer Lopez, prefaced 2006's Todd Smith album. His 2008 effort Exit 13 would be his last album for Def Jam as the rapper found work as a primetime television star, landing a starring role on CBS' NCIS: Los Angeles. In 2013 he returned to recording, first making news with the track "Accidental Racist," his much-maligned duet with country star Brad Paisley. Another Paisley duet landed on LL's 2013 album Authentic, a star-studded effort with Eddie Van Halen, Snoop Dogg, and Charlie Wilson also appearing as guests.
While LL Cool J first appeared as a rapper in the movie Krush Groove (performing "I Can't Live Without My Radio"), his first acting part was a small role in a high school football movie called Wildcats. He landed the role of Captain Patrick Zevo in the 1992 film Toys in which he shared the silver screen with Robin Williams. In 1995, he starred in his own television sitcom, In the House. He portrayed an ex-Oakland Raiders running back who finds himself in financial difficulties and is forced to rent part of his home out to a single mother and her two children. In 1998, LL Cool J had a role in the film Halloween H20. In 1999, he starred alongside Samuel L Jackson, Saffron Burrows, Thomas Jane and Jacqueline McKenzie in Deep Blue Sea; in that film, he played a wise-cracking cook on a top-secret sea base besieged by genetically enhanced sharks. He received rave reviews for his role as Dwayne Gittens, an underworld boss nicknamed "God", in In Too Deep. Later that year, he starred as Julian Washington—a talented but selfish running back on the dysfunctional Miami Sharks—in Any Given Sunday. Since then, LL Cool J has appeared in 2002 remake of Rollerball, Deliver Us from Eva, Mindhunters, and S.W.A.T.
In 2005, he returned to television in a guest-starring role on the Fox medical drama House; he portrayed a death row inmate felled by an unknown disease in an episode entitled "Acceptance". He appeared as Queen Latifah's love interest in the 2006 movie Last Holiday. He also guest-starred on 30 Rock in the 2007 episode "The Source Awards", portraying a hip-hop producer called Ridikulous who Tracy Jordan fears may kill him. LL Cool J appeared in Sesame Street's 39th season, introducing the word of the day--"Unanimous"—in episode 4169 (September 22, 2008) and performing "The Addition Expedition" in episode 4172 (September 30, 2008). Since 2009, LL Cool J has starred on the CBS police procedural NCIS: Los Angeles. The show is a spin-off of NCIS, which itself is a spin-off of the naval legal drama JAG. LL Cool J portrays NCIS Special Agent Sam Hanna, an ex–Navy SEAL who is fluent in Arabic and is an expert on West Asian culture. The series debuted in autumn of 2009, but the characters were introduced in an April 2009 crossover episode on the parent show.
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Well, after Mama Said Knock You Out put him on the map again, he took off 3 years before coming back in 1993 with 14 Shots to the Dome. In this album, he's jumping on the gangsta/hardcore bandwagon and his braggadocios lyrics are a lot more violent and his energy is crazy here. He almost beats Onyx at the top of their game with this energy. His posturing is a little unbelievable but with so much energy, it's impossible for the end result being bad. He's yelling all the time here and there's nothing soft including the "soft, ladies jams". On the final song, "Crossroads", LL is yelling at the top of his lungs to great results despite the rather corny hook. The Marley Marl and Bobcat production here is on that raw, funk tip with funky samples and rock hard drums that go back to the Radio days. LL Cool J is jumping on the current bandwagon but at least he does it well. As expected, this album tanked critically and commercially by only going gold with mixed reviews. This didn't work, so LL decided to go pop which he's always criticized for. Of course he went there since hardcore fans didn't seem to be interested in him doing the hard stuff. Still, this album is pretty good despite popular consensus and I think I've found my new favorite album for when I'm exercising. The energy here challenges M.O.P., Onyx and Willie D all at the top of their game.
LL Cool J - 14 Shots To The Dome (flac 392mb)
01 How I'm Comin' 5:05
02 Buckin' Em Down 4:02
03 Stand by Your Man 4:50
04 A Little Somethin' 4:26
05 Pink Cookies in a Plastic Bag Getting Crushed by Buildings 4:17
06 Straight From Queens feat. Lt. Stitchie 4:54
07 Funkadelic Relic 3:55
08 All We Got Left Is the Beat 4:38
09 (NFA) No Frontin' Allowed feat. Lords of the Underground 4:19
10 Back Seat 4:31
11 Soul Survivor 4:38
12 Ain't No Stoppin' This 4:43
13 Diggy Down 4:58
14 Crossroads 5:29
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Most people will tell you that Mr. Smith is the last good LL Cool J album, he jumped off the hardcore bandwagon of his last album "14 Shots to the Dome" which wasn't very successful and went back into Ladies Love mode. Well technically this is the first LL Cool J where he really raps for the ladies, a formula he would stick with for the rest of his career. The album is so commercial friendly, it doesn't sound like most of the hip hop of 95 as it's actually a little bit ahead of its time (in a bad way). A song like "Hey Lover" would unfortunately become the staple for mainstream hip hop and that led to the shiny suit era and y'all know the rest... There's isn't many dope songs on Mr. Smith but there is "I Shot Ya" both original and remix versions are pretty damn good but apart from that the rest is rather forgettable. Fans of hardcore hip hop should probably stay away from this one, it's not up to par with LL's classic era.
LL Cool J - Mr. Smith . (flac 381mb)
01 The Intro (Skit) 1:33
02 Make It Hot 4:31
03 Hip Hop 5:00
04 Hey Lover feat. Boyz II Men 4:44
05 Doin It with LeShaun 4:53
06 Life As.... 2:44
07 I Shot Ya 3:51
08 Mr. Smith 3:59
09 No Airplay 5:43
10 Loungin feat. Terri & Monica 4:12
11 Hollis to Hollywood 3:58
12 God Bless 3:47
13 Get Da Drop On 'Em 3:57
14 Prelude (Skit) 0:30
15 I Shot Ya (Remix) with Foxy Brown 5:03
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Album #7 for the Ladies Love Cool J and it's unfortunately a start of irrelevance... Not sales wise as he still constantly sold well, but his music was becoming very pop friendly and simply not as interesting as it was back in the 80s and early 90s. The production is very danceable and quite the opposite of "hard", it's very safe and he tries very hard to adapt to follow along with hip hop's new direction. Actually it's not that different from Mr. Smith, it just goes even further into commercial rap territories... I'm still on of the few that thinks that LL is one of the greatest rappers when he was in his prime (maybe not top 10, but top 25), but his performance here is just lazy and barely features any of his past hunger. The token street cut here is "4,3,2,1" and it's quite funny because it features Canibus dissing LL in his own track, and then LL fires back 2 verses later... Why did they leave that in that album? Anyhow it's the best song on the album. A decent album but LL really lost his direction on some tracks. The production was solid and the features didn't drag the album down, it's a decent album to peep, but a far cry from his best works. Still, Phenomenon sounds good when it's playing, and even if it doesn't leave a lasting impression, it's a solid, professional effort that illustrates why LL is still in the game, 12 years after his first record.
LL Cool J - Phenomenon (flac 301mb)
01 Phenomenon 4:04
02 Candy feat. Ralph Tresvant & Ricky Bell 4:32
03 Starsky and Hutch feat. Busta Rhymes 4:03
04 Another Dollar 3:48
05 Nobody Can Freak You feat. Keith Sweat & LeShaun 3:20
06 Hot, Hot, Hot 4:22
07 4,3,2,1 feat. Redman, Method Man, Canibus, DMX 4:16
08 Wanna Get Paid feat. Lost Boyz 4:11
09 Father 4:44
10 Don't Be Late, Don't Come Too Soon feat. Tamia 6:38
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
With his first release in the mid-'80s, LL Cool J hit the rap scene with a unique sense for freestyle lyrics. He kept it up over the years with hits like "I'm That Type of Guy," "Going Back to Cali," and "Mama Said Knock You Out." As artists age, there seems to be a natural progression in the production and lyrics that take place. With acts like Tribe Called Quest we watched as Q-Tip went from rapping about young ladies with long legs and long hair to wanting a woman with a more spiritual flair -- to quote the man loosely. Despite marriage and children, this hasn't happened with L.L., in fact it's the same lyrics, just with a different album cover. In addition, the raps of urban ills from a man who boasts publicly about his diamonds, riches, and furs (he often sports his fur coats in public during New York summer heat waves) are hard to believe. Once again, with the September 12, 2000 release of G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time), L.L. Cool J disappoints. The first single off the album, "Imagine That," puts L.L. in a school setting where he's the teacher and he needs to teach his "naughty" student a couple bad things. The theme of L.L. as the older seducer who is better than the current man of a girlish temptress has been common through L.L.'s albums ("Doin It Well," "Around the Way Girl"). It's like listening to the confessions of a horny 14-year-old teenage boy in the girl's locker room. Even with the help of popular rap acts like DMX and Redman, L.L. Cool J has made the same album he did once before, with no new twists.
LL Cool J - G.O.A.T. (flac 514mb)
1 Intro 1:52
2 Imagine That 4:56
3 Back Where I Belong feat. Ja Rule 4:06
4 LL Cool J feat. Kandice Love 4:23
5 Take It Off 3:29
6 Skit 0:45
7 Fuhgidabowdit feat. DMX, Method Man, Redman 4:32
8 Farmers feat. Tikki Diamondz 3:39
9 This Is Us feat. Carl Thomas 5:52
10 Can't Think 4:49
11 Hello feat. Amil 3:52
12 You and Me feat. Kelly Price 5:30
13 Homicide 4:58
14 U Can't Fuck With Me feat. Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, Jayo Felony 4:24
15 Queens Is feat. Prodigy 4:25
16 The G.O.A.T. 4:08
17 Funkmaster Flex & Big Kap - Ill Bomb 4:01
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Today's Artists legally known as James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as Ladies Love Cool James, is an American rapper, record producer, actor, author and entrepreneur from Queens, New York. With the breakthrough success of his hit single "I Need a Beat" and the Radio LP, he became one of the first hip-hop acts to achieve mainstream success..A two-time Grammy Award winner, he is known for such hip hop hits as "Going Back to Cali", "I'm Bad", "The Boomin' System", "Rock the Bells" and "Mama Said Knock You Out", as well as R&B hits such as "Doin' It", "I Need Love", "All I Have", "Around the Way Girl" and "Hey Lover". In 2010, VH1 has placed him on their "100 Greatest Artists Of All Time" list. In 2017, he became the first rapper to receive Kennedy Center Honors . ...... N Joy
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Hip-hop is notorious for short-lived careers, but LL Cool J is the inevitable exception that proves the rule. Releasing his first hit, "I Can't Live Without My Radio," in 1985 when he was just 17 years old, LL initially was a hard-hitting, streetwise b-boy with spare beats and ballistic rhymes. He quickly developed an alternate style, a romantic lover's rap epitomized by his mainstream breakthrough single, "I Need Love." LL's first two albums, Radio and Bigger and Deffer, made him a star, and in 1990 he shot to the top of the charts with Mama Said Knock You Out, which established him as a genuine musical superstar. By the mid-'90s, he had starred in his own television sitcom, appeared in several films, and racked up two of his biggest singles with "Hey Lover" and "Doin' It." In short, he had proven that rappers could have long-term careers.
Of course, that didn't seem likely when he came storming out of Queens, New York, when he was 16 years old. LL Cool J (born James Todd Smith; his stage name is an acronym for "Ladies Love Cool James") had already been rapping since the age of nine. Two years later, his grandfather -- he had been living with his grandparents since his parents divorced when he was four -- gave him a DJ system and he began making tapes at home. Eventually, he sent these demo tapes to record companies, attracting the interest of Def Jam, a fledgling label run by New York University students Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin. Def Jam signed LL and released his debut, "I Need a Beat," as their first single in 1984. The record sold over 100,000 copies, establishing both the label and the rapper. LL dropped out of high school and recorded his debut album, Radio. Released in 1985, Radio was a major hit and it earned considerable praise for how it shaped raps into recognizable pop-song structures. On the strength of "I Can't Live Without My Radio" and "Rock the Bells," the album went platinum in 1986. The following year, his second album, Bigger and Deffer, shot to number three due to the ballad "I Need Love," which became one of the first pop-rap crossover hits.
LL's knack for making hip-hop as accessible as pop was one of his greatest talents, yet it was also a weakness, since it opened him up to accusations of being a sellout. Taken from the Less Than Zero soundtrack, 1988's "Goin' Back to Cali" walked the line with ease, but 1989's Walking with a Panther was not greeted warmly by most hip-hop fans. Although it was a Top Ten hit and spawned the gold single "I'm That Type of Guy," the album was perceived as a pop sell-out effort, and on a supporting concert at the Apollo, he was booed. LL didn't take the criticism lying down -- he struck back with 1990's Mama Said Knock You Out, the hardest record he ever made. LL supported the album with a legendary, live acoustic performance on MTV Unplugged, and on the strength of the Top Ten R&B singles "The Boomin' System" and "Around the Way Girl" (number nine, pop) as well as the hit title track, Mama Said Knock You Out became his biggest-selling album, establishing him as a pop star in addition to a rap superstar. He soon landed roles in the films The Hard Way (1991) and Toys (1992), and he also performed at Bill Clinton's presidential inauguration in 1993. Mama Said Knock You Out kept him so busy that he didn't deliver the follow-up, 14 Shots to the Dome, until the spring of 1993. Boasting a harder gangsta rap edge, 14 Shots initially sold well, debuting in the Top Ten, but it was an unfocused effort that generated no significant hit singles. Consequently, it stalled at gold status and hurt his reputation considerably.
Following the failure of 14 Shots to the Dome, LL began starring in the NBC sitcom In the House. He returned to recording in 1995, releasing Mr. Smith toward the end of the year. Unexpectedly, Mr. Smith became a huge hit, going double platinum and launching two of his biggest hits, with the Boyz II Men duet "Hey Lover" and "Doin' It." At the end of 1996, he released the greatest-hits album All World, while Phenomenon appeared one year later. G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time), released in 2000, reached the top of the album charts, and 2002's 10 featured one of his biggest hits in years, "Luv U Better." With the help of producer Timbaland, he unleashed the tough DEFinition album in 2004 as his James Todd Smith clothing line was hitting the malls. "Control Myself," a hit single featuring Jennifer Lopez, prefaced 2006's Todd Smith album. His 2008 effort Exit 13 would be his last album for Def Jam as the rapper found work as a primetime television star, landing a starring role on CBS' NCIS: Los Angeles. In 2013 he returned to recording, first making news with the track "Accidental Racist," his much-maligned duet with country star Brad Paisley. Another Paisley duet landed on LL's 2013 album Authentic, a star-studded effort with Eddie Van Halen, Snoop Dogg, and Charlie Wilson also appearing as guests.
While LL Cool J first appeared as a rapper in the movie Krush Groove (performing "I Can't Live Without My Radio"), his first acting part was a small role in a high school football movie called Wildcats. He landed the role of Captain Patrick Zevo in the 1992 film Toys in which he shared the silver screen with Robin Williams. In 1995, he starred in his own television sitcom, In the House. He portrayed an ex-Oakland Raiders running back who finds himself in financial difficulties and is forced to rent part of his home out to a single mother and her two children. In 1998, LL Cool J had a role in the film Halloween H20. In 1999, he starred alongside Samuel L Jackson, Saffron Burrows, Thomas Jane and Jacqueline McKenzie in Deep Blue Sea; in that film, he played a wise-cracking cook on a top-secret sea base besieged by genetically enhanced sharks. He received rave reviews for his role as Dwayne Gittens, an underworld boss nicknamed "God", in In Too Deep. Later that year, he starred as Julian Washington—a talented but selfish running back on the dysfunctional Miami Sharks—in Any Given Sunday. Since then, LL Cool J has appeared in 2002 remake of Rollerball, Deliver Us from Eva, Mindhunters, and S.W.A.T.
In 2005, he returned to television in a guest-starring role on the Fox medical drama House; he portrayed a death row inmate felled by an unknown disease in an episode entitled "Acceptance". He appeared as Queen Latifah's love interest in the 2006 movie Last Holiday. He also guest-starred on 30 Rock in the 2007 episode "The Source Awards", portraying a hip-hop producer called Ridikulous who Tracy Jordan fears may kill him. LL Cool J appeared in Sesame Street's 39th season, introducing the word of the day--"Unanimous"—in episode 4169 (September 22, 2008) and performing "The Addition Expedition" in episode 4172 (September 30, 2008). Since 2009, LL Cool J has starred on the CBS police procedural NCIS: Los Angeles. The show is a spin-off of NCIS, which itself is a spin-off of the naval legal drama JAG. LL Cool J portrays NCIS Special Agent Sam Hanna, an ex–Navy SEAL who is fluent in Arabic and is an expert on West Asian culture. The series debuted in autumn of 2009, but the characters were introduced in an April 2009 crossover episode on the parent show.
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Well, after Mama Said Knock You Out put him on the map again, he took off 3 years before coming back in 1993 with 14 Shots to the Dome. In this album, he's jumping on the gangsta/hardcore bandwagon and his braggadocios lyrics are a lot more violent and his energy is crazy here. He almost beats Onyx at the top of their game with this energy. His posturing is a little unbelievable but with so much energy, it's impossible for the end result being bad. He's yelling all the time here and there's nothing soft including the "soft, ladies jams". On the final song, "Crossroads", LL is yelling at the top of his lungs to great results despite the rather corny hook. The Marley Marl and Bobcat production here is on that raw, funk tip with funky samples and rock hard drums that go back to the Radio days. LL Cool J is jumping on the current bandwagon but at least he does it well. As expected, this album tanked critically and commercially by only going gold with mixed reviews. This didn't work, so LL decided to go pop which he's always criticized for. Of course he went there since hardcore fans didn't seem to be interested in him doing the hard stuff. Still, this album is pretty good despite popular consensus and I think I've found my new favorite album for when I'm exercising. The energy here challenges M.O.P., Onyx and Willie D all at the top of their game.
LL Cool J - 14 Shots To The Dome (flac 392mb)
01 How I'm Comin' 5:05
02 Buckin' Em Down 4:02
03 Stand by Your Man 4:50
04 A Little Somethin' 4:26
05 Pink Cookies in a Plastic Bag Getting Crushed by Buildings 4:17
06 Straight From Queens feat. Lt. Stitchie 4:54
07 Funkadelic Relic 3:55
08 All We Got Left Is the Beat 4:38
09 (NFA) No Frontin' Allowed feat. Lords of the Underground 4:19
10 Back Seat 4:31
11 Soul Survivor 4:38
12 Ain't No Stoppin' This 4:43
13 Diggy Down 4:58
14 Crossroads 5:29
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Most people will tell you that Mr. Smith is the last good LL Cool J album, he jumped off the hardcore bandwagon of his last album "14 Shots to the Dome" which wasn't very successful and went back into Ladies Love mode. Well technically this is the first LL Cool J where he really raps for the ladies, a formula he would stick with for the rest of his career. The album is so commercial friendly, it doesn't sound like most of the hip hop of 95 as it's actually a little bit ahead of its time (in a bad way). A song like "Hey Lover" would unfortunately become the staple for mainstream hip hop and that led to the shiny suit era and y'all know the rest... There's isn't many dope songs on Mr. Smith but there is "I Shot Ya" both original and remix versions are pretty damn good but apart from that the rest is rather forgettable. Fans of hardcore hip hop should probably stay away from this one, it's not up to par with LL's classic era.
LL Cool J - Mr. Smith . (flac 381mb)
01 The Intro (Skit) 1:33
02 Make It Hot 4:31
03 Hip Hop 5:00
04 Hey Lover feat. Boyz II Men 4:44
05 Doin It with LeShaun 4:53
06 Life As.... 2:44
07 I Shot Ya 3:51
08 Mr. Smith 3:59
09 No Airplay 5:43
10 Loungin feat. Terri & Monica 4:12
11 Hollis to Hollywood 3:58
12 God Bless 3:47
13 Get Da Drop On 'Em 3:57
14 Prelude (Skit) 0:30
15 I Shot Ya (Remix) with Foxy Brown 5:03
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Album #7 for the Ladies Love Cool J and it's unfortunately a start of irrelevance... Not sales wise as he still constantly sold well, but his music was becoming very pop friendly and simply not as interesting as it was back in the 80s and early 90s. The production is very danceable and quite the opposite of "hard", it's very safe and he tries very hard to adapt to follow along with hip hop's new direction. Actually it's not that different from Mr. Smith, it just goes even further into commercial rap territories... I'm still on of the few that thinks that LL is one of the greatest rappers when he was in his prime (maybe not top 10, but top 25), but his performance here is just lazy and barely features any of his past hunger. The token street cut here is "4,3,2,1" and it's quite funny because it features Canibus dissing LL in his own track, and then LL fires back 2 verses later... Why did they leave that in that album? Anyhow it's the best song on the album. A decent album but LL really lost his direction on some tracks. The production was solid and the features didn't drag the album down, it's a decent album to peep, but a far cry from his best works. Still, Phenomenon sounds good when it's playing, and even if it doesn't leave a lasting impression, it's a solid, professional effort that illustrates why LL is still in the game, 12 years after his first record.
LL Cool J - Phenomenon (flac 301mb)
01 Phenomenon 4:04
02 Candy feat. Ralph Tresvant & Ricky Bell 4:32
03 Starsky and Hutch feat. Busta Rhymes 4:03
04 Another Dollar 3:48
05 Nobody Can Freak You feat. Keith Sweat & LeShaun 3:20
06 Hot, Hot, Hot 4:22
07 4,3,2,1 feat. Redman, Method Man, Canibus, DMX 4:16
08 Wanna Get Paid feat. Lost Boyz 4:11
09 Father 4:44
10 Don't Be Late, Don't Come Too Soon feat. Tamia 6:38
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
With his first release in the mid-'80s, LL Cool J hit the rap scene with a unique sense for freestyle lyrics. He kept it up over the years with hits like "I'm That Type of Guy," "Going Back to Cali," and "Mama Said Knock You Out." As artists age, there seems to be a natural progression in the production and lyrics that take place. With acts like Tribe Called Quest we watched as Q-Tip went from rapping about young ladies with long legs and long hair to wanting a woman with a more spiritual flair -- to quote the man loosely. Despite marriage and children, this hasn't happened with L.L., in fact it's the same lyrics, just with a different album cover. In addition, the raps of urban ills from a man who boasts publicly about his diamonds, riches, and furs (he often sports his fur coats in public during New York summer heat waves) are hard to believe. Once again, with the September 12, 2000 release of G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time), L.L. Cool J disappoints. The first single off the album, "Imagine That," puts L.L. in a school setting where he's the teacher and he needs to teach his "naughty" student a couple bad things. The theme of L.L. as the older seducer who is better than the current man of a girlish temptress has been common through L.L.'s albums ("Doin It Well," "Around the Way Girl"). It's like listening to the confessions of a horny 14-year-old teenage boy in the girl's locker room. Even with the help of popular rap acts like DMX and Redman, L.L. Cool J has made the same album he did once before, with no new twists.
LL Cool J - G.O.A.T. (flac 514mb)
1 Intro 1:52
2 Imagine That 4:56
3 Back Where I Belong feat. Ja Rule 4:06
4 LL Cool J feat. Kandice Love 4:23
5 Take It Off 3:29
6 Skit 0:45
7 Fuhgidabowdit feat. DMX, Method Man, Redman 4:32
8 Farmers feat. Tikki Diamondz 3:39
9 This Is Us feat. Carl Thomas 5:52
10 Can't Think 4:49
11 Hello feat. Amil 3:52
12 You and Me feat. Kelly Price 5:30
13 Homicide 4:58
14 U Can't Fuck With Me feat. Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, Jayo Felony 4:24
15 Queens Is feat. Prodigy 4:25
16 The G.O.A.T. 4:08
17 Funkmaster Flex & Big Kap - Ill Bomb 4:01
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