Rating- 5 stars
5 favorite
songs- Rock The Bells, I Can’t Live Without My Radio, Dear Yvette, You Can’t
Dance, & I Can Give You More
Two years after his debut, LL returned and stepped up his game a little with “Bigger And Deffer”, largely thanks to “I’m Bad”, which is basically my favorite LL song ever. He took what worked on the first album and transitioned it to “BAD”, and another classic album resulted.
Rating- 5 stars
5 favorite
songs- I’m Bad, I Need Love, Go Cut Creator Go, .357- Break It On Down, &
Bristol Hotel
Now, here’s where LL begin to falter a little. Even back in 1989, some were already cramming for commercial/mainstream success, and LL (again) was one of the first to make an attempt at it, and to say that it failed would be a slight understatement. He completely changed up his style and it was not a welcomed change from a fans perspective. When you receive a chorus of boos at a place like the Apollo Theatre, something’s wrong. This album is not bad, but LL was capable of more (as we’ll get to on the next album), and it does have a few classics as well (“Going Back To Cali”, “Big Ole Butt”, etc). Another small thing is that the Kool Moe Dee diss song “Jack The Ripper” was foolishly NOT included on this album, and that affected it a little bit too.
Rating- 3 stars
5 favorite
songs- Big Ole Butt, Droppin Em, Going Back To Cali, Jingling Baby, & I’m
That Type of Guy
“Don’t call it a comeback, I been here for years!” That one line sets the entire tone for LL’s album, arguably his best album and to this day “Radio” gives it a run for its money. LL again changed up his style, this time for the better, hooked up with a great producer in the form of Marley Marl, became more aggressive (lyricism still in tact), and what resulted was his best album since “Radio”. Classics up and down the lineup, banging beats, tight rhymes, what more can you ask for. Classic material.
Rating- 5 stars
5 favorite
songs- The Boomin System, To Da Break Of Dawn, Jingling Baby (Remixed but Still
Jingling), Murdergram (Live at Rapmania), & Mama Said Knock You Out
Welcome to 1993, where the so called “Gangsta Rap” era was in full force and the East Coast was in the midst of a complete resurgence. Oh yeah, LL underwent another change, and with hindsight being 20/20, it came off as forced. He tried to be more harder than usual, and it simply didn’t fit him. The aggressiveness worked on “Mama Said Knock You Out”, but not this time around and the results spoke for themselves. Overall, forgettable album, even with the small hits in “Pink Cookies in a Plastic Bag, Getting Crushed By Buildings” (a VERY unique song title), “Back Seat”, and “How I’m Comin”.
Rating- About
2-2.5 stars
Around this
time in 1995, his first sitcom “In The House” was starting, and based on the
episodes I’ve seen, it was a very good show (I may have to YouTube this show,
as it’s no longer on TV), which leads me to “Mr. Smith”. I still consider this
his last very good album, and even though it does hint at being a little more commercial
than in the past, LL still delivers for the most part.
Rating- 3.5-4
stars
5 favorite
songs- I Shot Ya (the original and remix), Hip Hop, No Airplay, Hollis to
Hollywood, and Get Da Drop On Em
This was the
second LL album to fall completely under the radar, but, one of the few hits on
this album is “4,3,2,1” featuring a tremendous lineup (Redman, Method Man, DMX,
& Canibus) and a very good beat by Erick Sermon. A word on “4,3,2,1”:
Long time fans
know this is how the beef between LL and Canibus begin. What started a simple
form of flattery/admiration (Canibus asking to borrow the mic on LL’s arm)
turned into a battle, and it was the first (and only) time there was a
potential battle within the song. LL asked Canibus to change the line, which he
did, and the rest is history. LL kept his original lines intact, and almost
everyone knew those lines were directed at Canibus, although LL told Canibus no
one would know. I talked about this several months ago, and the more I think
about it, LL may have intentionally did this in order to continue to further
his own career, and it worked. Short term, it helped Canibus, as he created one
of hip hop’s best diss records with “Second Round Knockout”, but once LL
returned with “The Ripper Strikes Back”, it was a literal wrap for Canibus’
career. This entire episode confirmed one thing: watch which legends you go
after.
I previously
owned this album (no longer do) and at the time I thought it was good, but I
don’t time has been kind to it at all. I haven’t heard it in YEARS, and I
honestly don’t plan to revisit it or re-add it to my collection either, and
knowing me, that may change. After taking a look at the guests (Method Man,
Redman, Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, Prodigy, & DMX, just to name a few), I *may*
change my feelings on this one!
Rating- 3-3.5
stars
“10”, “The
DEFinition”, “Todd Smith”, and “Exit 13”, all released after the GOAT album,
well, I never checked out any of them, and based on the largely mixed-negative
feedback for all four of them, I have no plans to do so. Singles such as “Luv U
Better”, “Paradise”, and “Headsprung” kept his name out there, but none of
these albums have any sort of spark to them.
When it’s all
said and done, LL Cool J will definitely go down as one of the greatest of all
time, and his track record largely speaks for itself. I don’t see him releasing
another album at this point in his career, as “Exit 13” was seen as his swan
song of sorts with Def Jam, and with him firmly being entrenched in TV, I
personally don’t feel he needs to release another album. His legacy is already
set and he doesn’t need any additional blemishes on it. Salute to one of the
greatest!
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