LL Cool J reveals his toughest rap opponent
It’s been almost 40 years since the release of his debut album, and during that lengthy career LL Cool J – like many rappers before and after him – has been caught up in his fair share of feuds, rivalries, beefs, and diss tracks.
He never went any longer than three years without dropping a new record between 1985’s Radio and 2013’s Authentic, but with September 2024’s 14th studio album The FORCE marking his first in over a decade, the hip-hop favourite and prolific actor has been caught in a retrospective mood.
During his decades in the spotlight, LL Cool J has been at odds with Kool Moe Dee, Ice-T, MC Hammer, and more, but none of them was named by the man himself as his toughest opponent. Theirs was a rivalry that lasted more than ten years before the differences were finally resolved when they took the stage together at a 2014 concert in Brooklyn.
“I would say out of all of them, probably Canibus because he was a pain in the ass,” LL told Ray Daniels. “I was a little more disconnected so it made it way more difficult. It’s like one of them Rocky movies when he’s driving through the tunnel with the fucking Rolls-Royce and he’s having flashbacks and shit, you got this Mr. T motherfucker over here rapping out the basement. That was the vibe.”
When LL began placing more emphasis on his acting exploits, it only made him an easier target for Canibus, who stayed true to hip-hop bar a couple of on-camera detours in Spike Lee’s satirical dramedy Bamboozled.
“He’s rapping in my ears, biting at my calf muscles, over here doing sitcoms and shit,” LL continued. “I’m like, ‘Yo, this shit is crazy right now!’ This motherfucker fucking with me, bothering me in the middle of the night. Our culture is crazy because they won’t leave you alone about this shit. ‘What you gonna do about your man?’ You just gotta deal with this shit, right? So I would say Canibus.”
Canibus fired the first shot on ‘4,3,2,1’ in the late 1990s, where he appeared to reference LL’s microphone tattoo. When the target caught wind, he interpreted it as being a sign of disrespect, which forced Canibus to alter his verse on the track featuring Redman, Method Man, and DMX.
It became a recurring habit of Canibus’ to take aim at LL, with a number of songs featuring digs at his opponent. The latter did admit to playing his part in the feud, confessing how “I think it was more my fault because I could have addressed him a little differently” instead of immediately going on the defensive.
The hatchet was buried a long time ago, though, even if he remains LL’s toughest-ever rap rival.