LL Cool J

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LL Cool J (2010)
LL Cool J in Stuttgart (2001)
LL Cool J (2007)

LL Cool J (real name James Todd Smith , born January 14, 1968 in Queens , New York City ), also known under the name Uncle L , The Future of the Funk , Nickelhead , GOAT ("Greatest of All Time"), is a American rapper and actor . The abbreviation LL Cool J stands for "Ladies Love Cool James". In music he is known for both romantic ballads like I Need Love and hardcore rap like I Can't Live Without My Radio , as an actor for his lead role in the television series Navy CIS: LA (since 2009).

Life

LL Cool J grew up in the New York borough of Queens. His artistic work was shaped by his difficult childhood. When he was four years old, he saw his own father shoot his mother and grandfather. As James got older, he discovered his love for music. At the age of eleven he wrote his first lyrics and made music with the equipment his grandfather gave him. At the age of 16, in 1984, he recorded his first tracks with the young record label Def Jam - including the track I Need a Beat, which was particularly successful in the underground . Due to the success he finished his schooling early and devoted himself to work on his debut album Radio , which was released in the fall of 1985. Thanks to the two hit singles I Can't Live Without My Radio and Rock the Bells , the album quickly achieved commercial success, which ultimately even went platinum . At the same time, however, LL Cool J had to let himself be accused of being too musically addicted to mainstream pop.

In 1987 the second album was released, entitled Bigger and Deffer , from which came with I Need Love one of the first successful pop - rap combinations of the late 80s. Nonetheless, LL's style was again criticized and after the release of Walking with a Panther (1989) he was even booed off the stage at the Apollo Theater in Harlem , New York.

In order to convince both his audience and critics, LL Cool J produced and released his fourth studio album in 1990 with the title Mama Said Knock You Out , which is still considered one of his hardest albums and which he particularly liked from its own genre brought back. With The Boomin 'System , Around the Way Girl and the title track, three singles were released from it. The latter was especially known for his performance at the rapper's MTV Unplugged concert.

In the early 1990s, LL tried his hand at acting for the first time. He was seen in the films The Hard Way and Toys and as the protagonist of his own sitcom Ein terrible nettes Haus (original title: In the House ) on the screen and on television. At the same time he released two more albums: 14 Shots To The Dome (1993) and the extremely successful Mr. Smith (1995), which went platinum twice in the USA alone . The singles Doin 'It and Loungin became world hits .

In the summer of 2002, 10 LL Cool J's tenth album was released. The successful singles from this CD included Paradise (together with Amerie ), the Neptunes production Luv U Better and the successful duet All I Have with Jennifer Lopez . In 2004, with the help of Timbaland, the singles Headsprung and Hush as well as the follow-up album DEFinition followed .

During these years he again had a number of appearances in various television series. In the Dr. House - Episode Acceptance from 2005 ("You, Me and Hippocrates") he plays a prison inmate sentenced to death in whom hallucinations lead to tachycardia (racing heart) and collapse. In April 2006 he released his twelfth studio album with Todd Smith . This was followed by the album Exit 13 (working title was first Todd Smith Pt.2: Back to Cool ), which was released in August 2008.

Since 2009 he has played a leading role in the US television series Navy CIS: LA. His role is that of NCIS special agent Sam Hanna.

In August 2012 he announced his fourteenth album Authentic , which was released on April 30, 2013. The single Ratchet and Take It were released in October and November 2012, especially Take It (ft. Joe) received very positive reviews.

At the 55th Grammy Awards 2013 he was seen as a presenter and presented there his new single Whaddup together with Chuck D., the front man of Public Enemy . DJ Z-Trip, Tom Morello (guitarist Rage Against the Machine ) and Travis Barker (drummer for Blink-182 ) also played.

Since April 2015 he has hosted the TV show Lip Sync Battle on the US TV channel Spike together with Chrissy Teigen .

Personal

He has been married since 1995 and has one son and three daughters.

Discography

Studio albums

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
DE DE AT AT CH CH UK UK US US
1985 radio - - - UK71 (1 week)
UK 		US46
platinum
platinum

(38 weeks)US
First published: November 18, 1985
Sales: + 1,000,000
position 478 of the RS500
1987 Bigger and Deffer DE35 (4 weeks)
DE 		- - UK54 (19 weeks)
UK 		US3
Double platinum
× 2
Double platinum

(53 weeks)US
First published: July 22, 1987
Sales: + 2,050,000
1989 Walking with a panther - - - UK43 (3 weeks)
UK 		US6th
platinum
platinum

(21 weeks)US
First published: June 9, 1989
Sales: + 1,000,000
1990 Mama Said Knock You Out - - - UK49 (2 weeks)
UK 		US16
Double platinum
× 2
Double platinum

(76 weeks)US
First published: Aug 27, 1990
Sales: +2,000,000
1993 14 shots to the dome DE74 (9 weeks)
DE 		- - UK74 (1 week)
UK 		US5
gold
gold

(24 weeks)US
First published: June 1, 1993
Sales: + 500,000
1995 Mr. Smith DE75 (16 weeks)
DE 		- - UK-
silver
silver
UK 		US20th
Double platinum
× 2
Double platinum

(62 weeks)US
First published: November 21, 1995
Sales: + 2,100,000
1997 Phenomenon DE24 (6 weeks)
DE 		- CH48 (1 week)
CH 		UK37 (4 weeks)
UK 		US7th
platinum
platinum

(23 weeks)US
First published: October 14, 1997
Sales: + 1,100,000
2000 GOAT: The Greatest of All Time DE17 (11 weeks)
DE 		- CH13 (9 weeks)
CH 		UK29 (2 weeks)
UK 		US1
gold
gold

(12 weeks)US
First published: September 12, 2000
Sales: + 550,000
2002 10 DE64 (1 week)
DE 		- CH19 (6 weeks)
CH 		UK26th
silver
silver

(3 weeks)UK 		US2
gold
gold

(28 weeks)US
First published: October 15, 2002
Sales: + 500,000
2004 The DEFinition DE50 (2 weeks)
DE 		- CH35 (5 weeks)
CH 		UK66 (1 week)
UK 		US4th
gold
gold

(19 weeks)US
First published: August 31, 2004
Sales: + 500,000
2006 Todd Smith - - CH64 (4 weeks)
CH 		- US6th
gold
gold

(13 weeks)US
First published: April 11, 2006
Sales: + 500,000
2008 Exit 13 - - CH75 (2 weeks)
CH 		- US9 (5 weeks)
US
First published: September 9, 2008
2013 Authentic DE87 (1 week)
DE 		- CH57 (1 week)
CH 		- US23 (4 weeks)
US
First published: April 30, 2013

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Commons : LL Cool J  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US
personal data
SURNAME LL Cool J
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Smith, James Todd (real name); Uncle L; The Future of the Funk; Nickelhead; GOAT; Jack the Ripper
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American rapper and actor
DATE OF BIRTH January 14, 1968
PLACE OF BIRTH Queens , New York City, New York, USA