LL Cool J picks the most misunderstood song of his career
LL Cool J has had a long-lasting and exceptional career that has seen the Queens emcee organically transform from a b-boy to a platinum-selling artist and actor. As a New York native, the rapper first arose on the scene as part of the Extravagant Three and went on to reach dizzying heights.
The little-known 1980s trio served as LL Cool J’s launchpad into the industry, and by 1983, the former b-boy was working with the legendary Rick Rubin. LL swiftly began releasing solo material, and with the help of Rubin and the pioneering Jazzy Jay, in 1985, the rapper released his debut studio album, Radio.
Following Radio, LL Cool J released two more albums, Bigger And Deffer and Walking With A Panther. However, in 1990, he released his highly successful fourth album, Mama Said Knock You Out. Although the ‘Rock The Bells’ rhymer was less prominent in the charts by the late ’90s, LL Cool J has contributed so much to rap culture that it’s impossible to deny his talent. That said, his discography spans decades and features various sounds and aesthetics; irrespective of his musical dominance, he has always been a genre’s mainstay.
As such, in an interview earlier this year, the hip-hop icon revealed his opinions on his own music, reflecting on his highs and lows and also on some of his most misunderstood tracks of all time. Some of his hot takes were interesting, to say the least.
While discussing his greatest hits, he was asked what he believes his best song of all time is. Many would think, the star mentioned ‘Rock The Bells’. However, he cose one of his later tracks, stating, “I would say ‘Doin’ It.’ I think the beat, the lyric, the flow, the collaboration, the moment, the visual — it’s perfect!
Elaborating further, LL explained, “It was a different time, so the explicit version isn’t even really explicit in this day and age. But at that time, it was risqué. I mean, it’s sexy, but it’s pretty mild compared to what’s going on now. You know, they talking about brown booty holes now.”
Reflecting on his career with Vulture, he began to speak about the baddest bar he ever wrote, and he insisted it was the opening of ‘Mama Said Knock You Out’ where he raps, “Don’t call it a comeback, I been here for years / I’m rocking my peers, putting suckas in fear / Making the tears rain down like a monsoon / Listen to the bass go boom!”
Emphasising why that bar is so great to him, the lyricist explained, “It’s not just about hip-hop and LL. It transcends all that. People go through things and switch their lives up and use “Don’t call it a comeback. It just says so much. Tiger Woods had that moment — he came back and said, ‘Don’t call it a comeback.'”
He spoke about how, when the song was released in 1990, only seven years after his breakout, people were already considering him washed-up, recalling, “At the time, people had essentially written me off. Me wearing the diamond chains and the fancy cars and the fur coats and having the girls on the cover — all the things that would become synonymous with hip-hop, I was introducing those elements to the game, and I was paying for it. That was a song that was written out of frustration. I was clawing my way back. I was snatching victory out of the jaws of defeat.”
One of LL’s most interesting choices, however, was his decision when he was asked what the most misunderstood verse of his career is, to which he responded, “‘Accidental Racist’, Yo, I completely blew that one. Like, in terms of my intention versus how it came off to people. Oh my God. Like, I missed the mark crazy. And it always bothered me because my intention was absolutely not how it came off.”
He concluded, “I completely screwed that one up and didn’t mean to. It was the worst kind of miss because it’s one thing to fail; it’s another thing to fail when you’re looking to do the right thing, and you’re looking to say the right thing.”