Originally named James Todd Smith, the American hip hops star and actor LL Cool J has been one of the longest running hip-hop stars of all time. He is known mainly for his major hip-hop ballads and singles that have been prominently romantic in nature.
His stage name is Ladies Love Cool James or LL Cool J. He has parlayed his successful music career into a major movie career and has been featured on over a dozen records. He currently resides in Manhasset, New York and is married with children.
LL Cool J started his career at the age of 16, after he was given a mixing table. He started producing and creating demo tapes and would send them to all major record labels, but nothing happened for a short amount of time. He would gain his stage name and Def Jam Recordings would come calling. He made the most of his opportunity and released his first single "I Need a Beat" which went on to sell over 100,000 copies.
With that major success he received a distribution and recording deal with Def Jam and Columbia in 1985 and upon doing so dropped out of high school and recorded his very successful debut record. The first record "Radio" was a smash hit, and it was the first time a rapper used conventional song structures to create songs. Critics would call it "pop rap" and with the success of several hit singles, the album would quickly sell platinum (1.5 million in sales).
The hip-hop train kept rolling and LL Cool J soon released his second record and it was another huge success. He continued to rap and record in a "pop" style, which garnered a lot of crossover success, and created a massive fan following. The album sold over 2.3 million copies and was later named one of the top 100 hip hop records of all time by Source Magazine. One of the largest hit songs on the record was "I Need Love" which went on to win a Soul Train Music Award, and was later parodied by others. The song was also ranked as the #13 best hip-hop song by VH1.
It is interesting to note that LL Cool J stayed with one record company throughout his 13-album career. He worked with Def Jam throughout his career and upon releasing his last record with the company; "Exit 13" had become a legend in Hip Hop. "Exit 13" was produced by 50 Cent and after being delayed for 2 years, and without 50 Cent as producer, the record came out in 2008. The album peaked at #9 on the Billboard Charts, and has been the last major record for the rapper.
LL Cool J continues to act in film, produce music, and is an icon in hip-hop. With each record he has made several big time hits, and no matter who you ask, he is still a legend.
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