LL Cool J

A Teenager From St. Albans

LL Cool J was born James Todd Smith on January 14, 1968, in Bay Shore on Long Island, and grew up in St. Albans, Queens, where he and his mother moved into his grandparents' house in the early 1970s. He started rapping as a young kid and chose a name built on the phrase "Ladies Love Cool James." While still a teenager he mailed demo tapes to labels, and one landed with Rick Rubin, who was then launching Def Jam out of his NYU dorm with Russell Simmons.

Def Jam's First Star

"I Need a Beat" (1984), a spare, pounding 12-inch produced by Rubin, sold more than 100,000 copies and helped put Def Jam on the map. His debut album Radio arrived in November 1985, with Rubin's minimal drum-machine production framing tracks like "I Can't Live Without My Radio" and "Rock the Bells." It became Def Jam's first full-length release and eventually went platinum. LL also made a memorable cameo in the 1985 film Krush Groove.

Bigger and Deffer (1987) was even bigger, holding the top of the R&B album chart for 11 weeks. It paired the swaggering "I'm Bad" with "I Need Love," a slow, tender love song that became one of the first rap ballads to reach No. 1 on the R&B chart and showed that rap could work on quiet storm radio.

Knocking Them Out

Walking with a Panther (1989) sold well but drew complaints that LL had gone soft and flashy. He answered with Mama Said Knock You Out (1990), produced with Marley Marl, a hard, confident record that went double platinum. The title track earned him the Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance, and "Around the Way Girl" became another crossover hit. He won the same Grammy again for "Hey Lover," his 1995 duet with Boyz II Men from Mr. Smith, an album that also produced "Doin It" and "Loungin."

His recording run continued through 10 (2002), which included the Neptunes-produced "Luv U Better," and Exit 13 (2008). After a long break from Def Jam, he returned to the label with The FORCE in 2024, produced largely by Q-Tip.

Beyond the Mic

Few rappers have built a second career as durable as his. LL starred in the NBC sitcom In the House in the late 1990s, then played Special Agent Sam Hanna on NCIS: Los Angeles for 14 seasons beginning in 2009, later carrying the character to other NCIS series. He also hosted the Grammy Awards several times and fronted Lip Sync Battle.

In 2017 he became the first rapper named a Kennedy Center Honoree, and in 2021 the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted him with its Award for Musical Excellence after several nominations. Alongside labelmates Run-DMC and the Beastie Boys, LL Cool J defined the early Def Jam sound, and his mix of battle-ready bravado and open-hearted love songs became a model for rap stars who wanted to reach every audience at once.