I guess it would leave you scarred, at four years old, based on how the people around you dealt with it and encouraged you to deal with it. His father shot his mother and grandfather, nearly killing them both. [48], On February 8, 2013, it was announced that the title of LL's upcoming album would be changed from Authentic Hip-Hop to Authentic with a new release date of April 30, 2013. To this day, there are limited details on the incident, but witnesses say it was a . [77] He also guest-starred on 30 Rock in the 2007 episode "The Source Awards", portraying a hip-hop producer called Ridikulous who Tracy Jordan fears may kill him. [33][34] Rubin's production credit on the back cover reads "REDUCED BY RICK RUBIN", referring to his minimalist production style, which gave the album its stripped-down and gritty sound. Speaking about the traumatic experience he had with his mother's boyfriend, he said: "He would beat me for watching television, for lookin at him funny, for looking out the window watching other kids play. Awards. Beat with belts like a slave with a whip. The 'NCIS: Los Angeles' star and his mother Ondrea sat down with ET to share their fondest (and most embarrassing) memories of LL's upbringing. The album went gold. I've been here for years!" James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), better known as LL Cool J (acronym for Ladies Love Cool James) is an American rapper and actor. Photos. placement: 'Right Rail Thumbnails', Advertisement LL Cool J is a legendary rapper who has recorded over nine albums in the last 15 years and won many awards, including three Grammys. LL Cool J's mother forgave his father for shooting her in the back. He has been in films such as "Any Given Sunday", "In Too Deep", and "Deep Blue Sea" just to . His mother, Ondrea, was a nurse's assistant while his father, James, was a truck driver. I guess it would leave you scarred, at four years old, based on how the people around you dealt with it and encouraged you to deal with it. LL Cool J's tenth album The DEFinition was released on August 31, 2004. He has been nominated in 2010, 2011, 2014, 2018, 2019, and 2021 as a performer. Relationships. He shot him in the stomach before shooting his estranged wife, Ondrea, LL Cool J's mother. On October 6, 2012, LL Cool J released a new single from Authentic Hip-Hop called "Ratchet". [102], In an episode of Finding Your Roots, Smith learned that his mother was adopted by Eugene Griffith and Ellen Hightower. LL Cool J achieved an 'MTV Video Music Award' for his hit track 'Mama Said Knock You Out in . [101] He married Simone Johnson in 1995. According to Hollywood.com; Truck driver James Nunya shot his father-in-law Eugene in the stomach and estranged wife Ondrea in the back out . On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. "This song is the musical interpretation of what I felt after meeting with NCIS agents, experienced Marines and Navy SEALs," LL Cool J said. His fourth book, LL Cool J (Hip-Hop Stars) was cowritten in 2007 with hip-hop historian Dustin Shekell and Public Enemy's Chuck D. LL Cool J started his own businesses in the music industry such as the music label in 1993 called P.O.G. Roscoe beat me for just about anything. We collect and tell stories of people from all around the world. "[22] That same year, Smith made his professional debut concert performance at Manhattan Center High School. container: 'taboola-right-rail-thumbnails', We also encourage everyone to report any crime incident they witness as soon as possible. }); Copyright 2015 . August 22, 2019. Yet, the scars never fully healed. placement: 'Right Rail Thumbnails', At the beginning of their marriage, Simone ignored her husband for two weeks because he did not honor their honeymoon. [32], Radio's release coincided with the growing new school scene and subculture, which also marked the beginning of hip-hop's "golden age" and the replacement of old school hip hop. LL Cool J thanked Canibus in the liner notes of the album, "for the inspiration". The agreement angered the rapper's father, truck driver James Nunya, who ended up pointing a gun at his father-in-law Eugene. There is no more complete source for urban news than the Electronic Urban Report. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. They shot the video for "Control Myself" on January 2, 2006, at Sony Studios, New York. Roscoe beat me for just about anything. 253 comments. He shot him in the stomach before shooting his estranged wife, Ondrea, LL Cool J's mother. He'd long been open about his adoption, but all he knew, based on some . When he was very young his parents got a divorce and it angered his biological father, James, so much that he shot both LLs mother and grandfather with a shotgun. According to Hollywood.com; Truck driver James Nunya shot his father-in-law Eugene in the stomach and estranged wife Ondrea in the back out of frustration over the couples divorce in 1972, when the Grammy winner and awards host was just a young boy. [10], In 2002, LL Cool J supported George Pataki's bid for a third term as Governor of New York. _taboola.push({ It eventually reached 1,500,000 copies sold in the US.[30]. Young James had a rather traumatic childhood. LL Cool J has an enviable relationship with his wife, Simone Smith, and they share four kids. LL and his mother moved into his grandparents' home in St. Albans, Queens in 1972 where he was raised. The two have been touring together since 2011, with future dates planned through 2012 and beyond. "[107] In his 2020 book LL Cool J's Platinum 360 Diet and Lifestyle, he included Obama in a list of people he admired, stating that the then-president had "accomplished what people thought was impossible. They made amends and until later when he felt his father was mismanaging his money and he cut ties with him again. It was just a power trip.". 16 on the Billboard Hot 100. His father, , it would be years before LL was able to forgive his father. NEW BEDFORD After Tito Jackson lost the Boston mayor's race in 2017, he began to take stock of his life and heritage. container: 'taboola-right-rail-thumbnails', _taboola.push({ His fourth book, LL Cool J (Hip-Hop Stars) was cowritten in 2007 with hip-hop historian Dustin Shekell and Public Enemy's Chuck D. By the 90s, he already established himself as an actor and juggled both careers seamlessly. Here is the truth behind the rapper's life. In 1996, Def Jam released this "greatest hits" package, offering a good summary of Cool J's career, from the relentless minimalism of early hits such as "Rock the Bells" to the smooth-talking braggadocio that followed. "It represents the collective energy in the room. *In his 1997 biography I Make My Own Rules,. LL Cool J extends his reach during Gray Line New York's "Ride Of Fame" induction ceremony, which honored the native New Yorker Monday at Manhattan's Pier 78. His second book was the children-oriented book called And The Winner Is published in 2002. It was the first mixtape of his 24-year career and includes freestyling by LL Cool J in addition to other rappers giving their renditions of his songs. LL Cool J came out and said that Jay and LL Cool J stand for Jackson. The album was originally scheduled to be executively produced by fellow Queens rapper 50 Cent. After this experience, the couple's relationship became stronger. In this week's heart wrenching episode, Dr. Henry Louis Gates uncovers the emotional history of both Sean "Puffy" Combs and LL Cool J 's families. In that same year, he released the album Phenomenon. According to Hollywood.com, it would be years before LL was able to forgive his father. [103] In 2003, LL Cool J spoke at a U.S. Senate Committee hearing on the RIAA lawsuits against Americans distributing or downloading copyrighted music over peer-to-peer networks. mode: 'thumbnails-rr1', [40] LL won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance in 1992 for the title track. Designs include influences from LL's lyrics and tattoos, as well as from other icons in the hip-hop community. During his time at Def Jam, LL released an album every two or three years from 1987 to . LL Cool J starred in In the House, an NBC sitcom, before releasing Mr. Smith (1995), which went on to sell over two million copies. [104] He also voiced his support for New York State Senator Malcolm Smith, a Democrat, during an appearance on the senator's local television show;[105] he worked with Smith in putting on the annual Jump and Ball Tournament in the rapper's childhood neighborhood of St. Albans, Queens. Both survived. Now, LL explains how heand his motherlearned to forgive. 's debut album, to combine the vocal approach of hip hop and rapping with the musical arrangements and riffing sound of rock music, pioneering the rap rock hybrid sound. The song contains LL Cool J rapping over the instrumental to Maino's "Hi Hater". Aired on 01/27/2013 | CC. LL was a young boy growing up in New York when his parents separated in 1972. [62], LL hosted the 2022 iHeartRadio Music Awards on March 22, 2022. LL (birth name James Todd Smith) recounted his painful childhood memories in his biography I Make My Own Rules and the details are shocking. His mother, Ondrea, was a nurses assistant while his father, James, was a truck driver. James Todd Smith, popularly known as LL Cool J, is a well-known artist in the movie and music industry. Released November 18, 1985, on Def Jam Recordings in the United States,[26] Radio earned a significant amount of commercial success and sales for a hip hop record at the time. In January 2012, the pair released the track "Super Baller" as a free download to celebrate the New York Giants Super Bowl victory. As a young boy growing up in New York City LL witnessed a few traumatic events that he carried with him into his adulthood. [67] From 1995 to 1999, he starred in his own television sitcom In the House. As a result LL fired James and hired a new manager. Description: James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968) is an American hip hop artist better known by his stage name, LL Cool J ("Ladies Love Cool James"). ", "LL Cool J Todd Smith Clothing Collection Launch and Video", "Here's LL Cool J's Emotional Opening To WrestleMania 31", "Encyclopedia - Britannica Online Encyclopedia Def Jam, LL, & new school hip hop", "LL Cool J:: Radio ** RapReviews "Back to the Lab" series ** by Steve "Flash" Juon", EntertainmentSimone Smith, LL Cool J's Wife: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, "LL Cool J's Kids With Wife Simone Smith", "Senator Malcolm Smith Show w. 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The rapper/actor took to Twitter to inform fans that his dad, James Nunya, passed away at the age of 65. }); Copyright 2015 . [25] When he was very young his parents got a divorce and it angered his biological father, James, so much that he shot both LL's mother and grandfather with a shotgun. READ MORE: LL Cool J Revealed in 1997 Memoir That His Dad Shot His Mom, Grandfather. [24], Radio was released to critical acclaim, both for production innovation and LL's powerful rap. At the age of four, he saw his mother and grandfather shot by his own father. When 4-year-old Smith found them, blood was everywhere. His second book was the children-oriented book called And The Winner Is. Thankfully for the family, both of them survived the incident. Yet, the scars never fully healed. Eventually Ondrea left Roscoe but after all of the trauma LL suffered it was too little too late. And LL was the one who discovered . His mother did survived, but once she divorced LL's dad, she hooked up with a . But even with all of that negativity LL still found a way to forgive his father for everything hes ever done to him. [58], In October 2018, LL Cool J was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Please fill in your e-mail so we can share with you our top stories. [31] Another milestone of LL's popularity was his appearance on American Bandstand as the first hip hop act on the show,[32] as well as an appearance on Diana Ross' 1987 television special, Red Hot Rhythm & Blues. And LL was the one who discovered them! The last LL COOL J album, Authentic, was released in 2013, five years after his last Def Jam album, Exit 13. The second single was the 7 Aureliusproduced, "Hush", which peaked at No. LL Cool J, Simone Smith and family at The Fashion Institute of Technology on May 25, 2017 | Source: Getty Images. My mother forgave my father He came back into my life and made amends for a lot of things by helping to guide me with my music career early on, and kinda helping me in that area (sic). It debuted at number one on the Billboard album charts,[42] and went platinum. Before the separation was finalized, however, things ended up getting violent. The show is a spin-off of NCIS, which itself is a spin-off of the naval legal drama JAG. LL Cool J partnered with DJ Kay Slay to release a mixtape called "The Return of the G.O.A.T.". [31] Another milestone of LL's popularity was his appearance on American Bandstand as the first hip-hop act on the show. The iconic rapper and actor tops the list as one of the few black entertainers with a happy home and no controversies. It was like the scene in `Glory when Denzel Washington was getting beat down like a slave, except I was like 8 years old. A few years later, Simone was diagnosed with bone cancer. LL Cool J was born James Todd Smith in Bay Shore, New York on January 14, 1968 to James Louis Smith (AKA James Nunya) and Ondrea Griffith. news.AmoMama.com speaks out against the above mentioned and news.AmoMama.com advocates for a healthy discussion about the instances of violence, abuse, sexual misconduct, animal cruelty, abuse etc. [98] The decline of the old-school form of hip hop also led to the closing of Sugar Hill Records, one of the labels that helped contribute to early hip hop and that, coincidentally, rejected LL's demo tape. In September 2009, LL Cool J released a song about the NCIS TV series. . He didnt need a good reason. [93] This period of hip hop was marked by the end of the disco rap stylings of old school, which had flourished prior to the mid-1980s, and the rise of a new style featuring "ghetto blasters". LL Cool J's friend and mentor, Run-DMC's Jam Master Jay, was shot and killed at his studio in Queens in 2002. and the Fat Boys. "Father", which was an auto-biographical song that detailed LL's abuse from his mother's boyfriend, would prove to be the most successful single from the album, it made it to #18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became his eighth . Shortly after that, they started dating, and they married in 1995. Over the weekend, a video began to circulate of a young artist by the name of LoveBenJi saying that he is the "hidden" son of Hip Hop pioneer LL Cool J, but he . My father made a massive blunder, but he also did a lot of things right.. I was doing all kinds of wild things by then and getting in all kinds of trouble.. The new boyfriend was not a father figure to him at all and was abusive. [4] He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip hop acts Beastie Boys and Run-DMC. Rock the Bells Records was also responsible for the Deep Blue Sea soundtrack for the 1999 movie of the same name. In March 2011 at South by Southwest, LL Cool J was revealed to be Z-Trip's special guest at the Red Bull Thre3Style showcase. Production came from Timbaland, 7 Aurelius, R. Kelly, and others. When LL was four years old, his father shot his mother and grandfather. Dante Boyles MUS 211 LL Cool J Cultural Analysis Paper LL Cool J has done a lot in the hip-hop industry and has also branched out to the entertainment business as well. [18], In the VH1 documentary Planet Rock: The Story of Hip Hop and the Crack Generation, Smith revealed that he initially called himself J-Ski, but did not want to associate his stage name with the cocaine culture (The rappers who use "Ski" or "Blow" as part of their stage name, e.g., Kurtis Blow and Joeski Love, were associated with the rise of the cocaine culture, as depicted in the 1983 remake of Scarface.) "Father" is the third single from LL Cool J's seventh album, Phenomenon. The pair are highly supportive of their kids and have taught them the value of being confident and determined about their goals. He started rapping when he was 9 years of age, his biggest influencers were the sugarhill gang and the treacherous tree. Roscoe would flog him at any given opportunity, and the actor described that time in his life as "hell." [9], James Todd Smith was born on January 14, 1968, in Bay Shore, New York to Ondrea Griffith (born on January 19, 1946) and James Louis Smith Jr,[10] also known as James Nunya. In the beginning, his mother, Ondrea, also lived in the home after the initial split from LL Cool J's father but left at some point. Actor and rapper LL Cool J, best known as Special Agent Sam Hanna in NCIS: Los Angeles, has had a very successful life. [50][51][52], On October 16, 2013, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced LL Cool J as a nominee for inclusion in 2014. [79], Since 2009, LL Cool J has starred on the CBS police procedural NCIS: Los Angeles. When he was very young his parents got a divorce and it angered his biological father, James, so much that he shot both LL's mother and grandfather with a shotgun. In this neighborhood, the kids grow up in rap. [66] He landed the role of Captain Patrick Zevo in Barry Levinson's 1992 film Toys. The first single was the Jermaine Dupri-produced "Control Myself" featuring Jennifer Lopez. LL opened up about Roscoes constant abuse during an interview with Oprah back in the day. (4 years old) when his father shot his mother during a dispute between the two. [28] LL Cool J has lost his father, James Nunya. published in 2002. The new track is based on his experiences playing special agent Sam Hanna. James Todd Smith was born on January 14, 1968, in Bay Shore, New York to Ondrea Griffith (born January 19, 1946) and James Louis Smith Jr, also known as James Nunya. (Power Of God) and formed the company Rock The Bells to produce music. He would beat me for watching television, for lookin at him funny, for looking out the window watching other kids play. LL Cool J has written four books, including I Make My Own Rules, (1997), an autobiography cowritten with Karen Hunter. And LL was the one who discovered them! We humbly honor the old school soul music era and will keep pushing forward to keep it alive. [29] It entered the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart on December 28, 1985, and remained there for 47 weeks, while also entering the Pop Albums chart on January 11, 1986,[29] remaining on that chart for thirty-eight weeks. L.L. LL Cool J's second album was 1987's Bigger and Deffer, which was produced by DJ Pooh and the L.A. LL Cool J, whose real name is James Todd Smith, was born in January 1968 in Queens, New York, in a middle-class and catholic family. [96] A leading example of the new school sound is the song "I Can't Live Without My Radio", a loud, defiant declaration of public loyalty to his boom box, which The New York Times described as "quintessential rap in its directness, immediacy and assertion of self". Rapper/actor LL Cool J has forgiven his dad for shooting his mother and grandfather and leaving them for dead when he was only four years old. [35] Rubin's early hip hop production work, before his exit from Def Jam to Los Angeles, helped solidify his legacy as a hip hop pioneer and establish his reputation in the music industry.[35]. LL Cool J is one of the most respected rappers in the game but even he has endured his fair share of obstacles. The album's success also helped in contributing to Rick Rubin's credibility and repertoire as a record producer. We humbly honor the old school soul music era and will keep pushing forward to keep it alive. I was doing all kinds of wild things by then and getting in all kinds of trouble.. Once there, his friend offered to introduce his cousin, Simone. He would beat me for watching television, for looking at him funny, for looking out the window watching other kids play. LL Cool J launched a clothing line (called "Todd Smith"). Together, they share four children named Najee, Samaria, Italia, and Nina. I'm an Independent, you know? At the age of four, he saw his mother and grandfather shot by his own father. In July 2006, LL Cool J announced details about his final album with Def Jam Recordings, the only label he has ever been signed to. Right then and there I said 'This is what I want to do'. [76], In 2005, he returned to television in a guest-starring role on the Fox medical drama House; he portrayed a death row inmate felled by an unknown disease in an episode entitled "Acceptance". LL Cool J (Getty) *In his 1997 biography "I Make My Own Rules," LL Cool J recounts the time his father shot his mother and grandfather because he was bitter about getting a . }); Copyright 2015 . L.L. But even with all of that negativity LL still found a way to forgive his father for everything hes ever done to him. Although his childhood was a difficult time in his life, LL Cool J chose to forgive his father for what had happened before. Yet another single from the album, "I Shot Ya Remix", included debut vocal work by Foxy Brown. He actually had to overcome many challenges to get to where he is today. His father shot his mother and grandfather, almost killing them both. By Kory Grow. He came to the top with his single "I Want a Beat" and his presentation studio collection, Radio, in 1985. He was born on January 14, 1968, as James Todd Smith, in New York. A track entitled "Hi Haterz" was leaked onto the internet on June 1, 2008. 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