In hip-hop … aww hell, in popular music terms, LL Cool J is a veteran. Now, that’s just a polite way of insinuating that he’s old. C’mon, dude is 40! He’s been rockin’ a mic since the 1980s, when he took rap mainstream with cuts like “I Can’t Live Without My Radio” and the more bombastic “Rock the Bells.”
Sure, he was born James Todd Smith, but we all know him as LL Cool J, which we all know stands for “Ladies Love Cool James.” Face it, you’ve had to be smooth, be able to walk with cool confidence and rhyme with swagger to pull off a hip-hop handle like that back in the day. And he did. And, more importantly, he still does.
When you’ve been around a while, people try to position you as part of the past, not in line with the future. People have tried to call LL a has-been before, but he’s too agile, too talented, to fall into that trap. Maybe you do, or maybe you don’t remember 1990, when LL opened the title track of his then-new album Mama Said Knock You Out with the immortal line, “Don’t call it a comeback / I’ve been here for years / rockin’ my peers and puttin’ suckas in fear.” He proceeded to blow his critics out of the water and to blow more minds than ever with his lyrical deftness, his pacing, his flow, his power.
And no one has ever doubted him since.
In the subsequent years, LL has delivered hits while simultaneously developing a second career as a movie star. Plus, he’s maintained a physique that makes many a lady weak in the knees.
But with a new album, Exit 13, due Aug. 26 (his last set of a storied career with Def Jam), LL’s not afraid to poke a bit of fun at his elder status in hip-hop. Case-in-point, check out some of the Artist Of The Week promos he shot for MTV. As he lounges in a retirement home, Mr. Smith becomes the first ever two-time MTV VMA Vanguard Award honoree (he got the first one way back in 1997). Since he can’t make it to the VMAs to pick up the trophy, MTV brings it to him at the home, where he gets pampered by age-appropriate groupies, leads an exercise class and entertains fellow retirees poolside. LL also shot a hilarious set of Misery-style promos with comedian Lisa Lampanelli in the Kathy Bates role. Check ‘em out a couple of clicks down, and don’t miss the EXCLUSIVE performance of “Baby” he does just for us!
And scroll down to check out a few snaps from his shoots and check out the our gallery of photos. And visit LL Cool J’s MTV.com artist page to check out everything we’ve got on the man … and it’s a lot.
