Media Assassin Harry Allen loves him some Twitter. Good thing he drops some jewels like this:
I don’t think LL Cool J’s legacy and value to the history of hip-hop has been, in any way, seriously addressed. Delete him, and much of hip-hop history vanishes, or becomes unfathomable. LL, in a very real way, may be the GOAT.
Good point. Why exactly is Todd Smith‘s contribution often ignored? Is the fact that he still releases music and movies, long after his creative and commercial peak, diminishing the value of his legacy? As the originator of the awkward (but widely adapted) GOAT tag, there’s no denying that LL Cool J was the ultimate MC. Arrogant to a fault, he went-up against the rap establishment of the day and destroyed them all. Never lost a battle. Your girl had his poster on her bedroom wall. You had his tape in your Walkman. Laid the blueprint for combining ‘street’ records with broad-baiting chart toppers. Had the stones to kick Champagne Rap years before it became trendy….hold up. That’s a plus? Let’s not forget the ugly part of Cool J’s legacy either – he also made a career of ‘artistic compromise’. He was kicking ‘I Want You’ and ‘I Can Give You More’ to the dames on Radio, but the drum machine was still knocking in the background, but that ‘I Need Love’ shit? There was a reason he got booed off stage under a hail of coins from betrayed hardcore b-boys in the UK. In retrospect it seems like a stroke of marketing genius, but try explaining that to a kid who had memorized every line of ‘Rock The Bells’.
LL is the reason that so many admire Jay-Z’s ability to mix hardcore, club and pop records on any given album. A purists nightmare who recorded some of the rawest examples of pure lyrically wizardry every set to a beat. Did what he had to in order to survive in the shark-infested waters of the music industry, and we loved to hate him for it. Even Mama Said Knock You Out, which contains blood-thirsty burners such as ‘Murdergram’ and ‘To Da Break of Dawn’ is littered with the usual Cool J lover man jams that no red-blooded male would ever be caught dead blasting out their car window. But how can you deny the stripes of a kid who literally had thirty garbage bags full of rhymes that he’d penned while he still in high school? Who still came out his grandma’s house even though every tough guy in Queens was gunning for him ‘cos he winked at their shorty? And who, at the height of his game, was without a shadow of a doubt the best rapper in the world.
It’s easy to blame Uncle L for many of today’s unfortunate trends – rapper’s who want to act, rapper’s who hate wearing shirts and rapper’s who love hats, but there are just as many standards that he set that have sadly been allowed to fall by the wayside. Things like advanced vocabularies.
Silver Fox, who mentored LL that summer before he signed with Def Jam, explained another aspect of the Cool J phenomenon:
‘All the old school rappers were getting older, and there was a new generation that were buying records – and you don’t want to buy a record that your dad’s making, right? And L opened up the door for a lotta these young cats to start coming out. Before there was a Will Smith, there was LL! What I love about L, man – his first album, there wasn’t a curse word on it! Wait, maybe one song [laughs] He did ‘Jack The Ripper’ – that was the baddest! Wasn’t no cursing, no talking about slinging your drugs. He didn’t talk about what kind of gold he had on – he just wore it! He didn’t talk about his watch – he just let you see it!’
That all seems like such a long time ago…actually, it was. While having a sit-com and writing fitness books might do wonders for his image with mainstream America, LL’s extra-curricular activities have gradually diminished his brand as a Top 10 Dead-Or Alive MC. Do you need to be gunned-down in your prime or become a multi-millionaire in order to be in consideration for the upper-tier of Greatest MC’s lists?
LL Cool J – ‘Rock The Bells’ [Original]
LL Cool J – Live Freestyle Over ‘It’s Yours’
LL Cool J – ‘I Need A Beat’ [Original]’
LL Cool J – ‘Murdergram’
Absolutely right. I have always thought of myself as ‘not the biggest LL fan’ and more of the Just-Ice head. Reading this made me think a bit and realise that I’ve been writing him off and not looking at his actual contribution. Very true.
Once again, kudos.
People forget that LL was def. once that MC that young aspiring rappers in high schools everywhere wanted to look/sound like at one point in time. He was one of the first to really get away with maintaining that balance of joints for the girls and the hard shit… he did catch some lumps for it too, but he weathered the backlash moreso than some others did.
Also, how many rappers can say they went thru ‘cold’ times in their careers and bounced back from it? Most artists, especially during the late-80s/early 90s, usually didn’t come back from that, but he’s been able to.
I haven’t liked an LL record in a HOT minute, but dude really is somewhat underrated as an MC and as one of the greats- when he really has every qualification it takes to be in that bracket. Good post.
-D!
LL does have a better case for GOAT than Big, Pac, Jay and most others.
But it’s funny how people say “he never lost a battle”. Moe Dee clobbered him. Canibus too. Ice-T’s the only one he really took out lyrically. I can see how people forget cause Canibus was such a disapointment but I don’t get it with Kool Mo.
But LL does deserve way more love and respect than he gets from the younger generation.
Interesting fact about “Murdergram” was he used the live version from “RapMania” on “Mama Said Knock You Out” because his boys Kid N’ Play sampled the same song & planned to make it a single (“Energy”) off of their “Funhouse” LP. Or so I heard…
One.
@ frost gamble, uhh i don’t know what ll diss you heard by canibus, but it was definitely weaker than what ll had to say, he ethered canibus, and i like to think of bus as quite the battle rapper too, but…
yeah its too bad ll went the way of the hip popper doing girly jams for moms and your moms moms, cause auntie drinkin mimosa raps < real hip hop
I still remember the first time I heard “I Need A Beat” when it dropped. I think I was in elementary school then and it floored me. Like you said, this was a dude in his mid-teens with a vocabulary like that killing it. It’s a shame now that that’s frowned upon by the industry and the consumer.
LL was that dude all the way until he dropped “14 Shots To The Dome”. I could barely get with him after that.
Yo-
” L.L. ” sent Moe Dee for a tailspin……I agree that ” Cannibus “murked him though…Anyway, how can you have a “Rock The Bells” concert without ” L.L. ” ?
Rock The Bells ( original ) is one of the hardest joints ever recorded….PERIOD
A good argument could be made for LL being the goat.But you would have to be a fool not to think that 2nd Round Knockout didn’t put his rap career on life support.
Name one “hardcore” record he put out after that that was taken seriously.
Go head, I’ll wait.
I’ve always said that LL gets little respect because he’s forgotten but he can get ill when he wants to and he has hit songs for days. And I’ll say this again, too…if he somehow manages to get lucky in the next couple of years and releases another gold selling record, he’ll be the first rapper with gold/platinum in FOUR completely different decades of hip-hop. No one else has lasted that long AND been that successful at it.
Sorry folks.. I disagree with a lot of what’s being said here.
1) Canibus made an example of LL. From a lyrical standpoint, Canibus ran circles around LL. He was able to completely disassemble LL’s whole persona in 3 minutes without even dropping his name! LL’s attempts to dis Canibus were forced. People are just quick to disregard Canibus because his career never went anywhere.
2) LL hasn’t made a good album since “Mama Said Knock You Out”.
The only good songs on LL’s albums after “Mama” were posse cuts where he was outshined by everybody from Keith Murray, to DMX, to Canibus, etc.
Maybe it’s a generational thing. Folks who’s hey day was in the 80’s are always pushing that “LL is the greatest ever… LL smoked Canibus, blah blah blah”… I’m sorry, but from a strictly lyrical standpoint, LL couldn’t hol
cont.
I’m sorry, but from a strictly lyrical standpoint, LL couldn’t hold a candle to Lyricists in the 90’s like Big Pun, Redman, Ghostface, Raekwon, etc. This is why he abandoned his roots as a lyricist and started making records for the ladies. It was dumbed down and simple, and it was the easy way to make a buck.
LL didn’t invent the “GOAT” tag. Ali did
LL in his prime (pre-14 shots to the dome) was incredible. he has classic albums, classic songs, didn’t need to curse to be super fuckin hardcore (like you said), and had the female market on smash too.
ONLY THING I’LL SAY IS THAT CAN-I-BUS MOST DEFINITELY DESTROYED HIM!!!! didn’t end his career or anything obviously but he clearly got the “W” in that battle. i get so pissed off when i see people trying to say that LL won that. NO WAY NO HOW. it’s almost not even a matter of opinion!! LOL
but yeah, LL still makin cream after all these decades…
side note: anyone notice that diddy was his manager on (at least) the BAD album?
you really think i need love is NOT a classic?
and where are the truly bad songs on mama said knock you out, cause i sure cannot find any?
I’ve always considered LL as part of my top ten, and he is closer to the top five. Personally, I haven’t listened to his stuff since the mid-90’s, but he still will make a song, here and there, that is catchy. He is fine in the acting roles he takes, and he is pretty smart with the marketing and advertising he is involved with.
LL just bought Coca-Cola? OMG! now he’s officially the greatest mc. yea it don’t make sense Robbie.
“Do you need to be gunned-down in your prime or become a multi-millionaire in order to be in consideration for the upper-tier of Greatest MC’s lists?”
yep its too bad LL has resorted to makin catchy tunes for his new tv shows..NCIS anyone?
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/ncis_los_angeles/video/?pid=6xlbVvfd5b_PDor_F8fTv5W8iW_dIe58&play=true&vs=Default
LL makes my Top 5.
1.Jay-Z (Irrefutable body of work)
2.KRS (Ran shit from 87-93)
3.Nas (Irrefutable body of work. But “Iam” and Nastradamus” were straight BASURA!
4.Rakim (Legacy tarnish by keeping us waiting and dropping so so records like his new joint(This ain’t 1988 Knukka).
5.LL
Biggie is 6 but his body of work is (obviously)not as long
For good measure my top 10 is rounded out by:
7. Daddy Kane
8. Slick Rick
9. G-Rap
10.Chuck Dee
these are some good points.i might listen to some tunes from uncle l.
Mudergram is Nails!
WOW, I ALMOST FULLY AGREE WITH BK THOROUGHBREDS LIST
JAY-Z IS MORE OF AN ACCOMPLISHED RAPPER,BUT TO ME, NEVER SURPASSED KRS,COLD ALBUMS AND ALL TO ME. THEY ARE OPPOSITES OF THE SPECTRUM THO AND NAS IS SUPER-LYRICAL, BUT PAC SONGS STICK WITH ME MORE, THAT’S THE SECRET, I BELIEVE.JUST MY OPINION THOUGH
I always liked LL because he stood alone and didn’t really have any affiliation to any crew or group. I also went to camp Cool J, which helped me to stop bed wetting and provided me with the confidence to make a success with me life.
“I also went to camp Cool J, which helped me to stop bed wetting and provided me with the confidence to make a success with me life.”
Had me in stitches with that one
P-Matik LL fell off with Walking with a Panther hard. Thats what cheesy Rat blues was about if u remember. so anyway …yeah dude falls off in 88….and boom who takes over ?Kane/juice crew….now LL is like how am i gonna make a hot record and get back in the game. I got it Ill call EPMD and Marley Marl(juice crews producer) and maybe the can make me hot again. Oh yeah one u missed Robbie “No Airplay” was the shit. there u go im out.
oh Yeah MOe dee murdered ll. anyone who says he aint kill him wasnt listening to hip hop in 87.jack the ripper was not that hot…im sorry.my opinion….and he knew it 2.thats y he tried to get at moe dee again on knock u out.he knew he got served in 87.oh and he neva eva eva battled Shan who called him out from the gate.Maybe cuz Shan used to carry a pistol…who knows.
I don’t like most of LL’s tracks for the ladies, but they seemed genuine. LL never really advanced that thugged out image (and to the extent he did, it was corny), so he seemed much more human, three dimensional. In that respect, his songs for the women didn’t seem forced like so many rappers’ do/did. I respect the fact that he was man enough to expose his sensitive side within the context of hip hop. That’s a tough, bold, and risky artistic stand to take.
I’m generally way more forgiving of that which I don’t like if the artist seemed to be genuine, or trying to be innovative.
He’s kinda lame, and he’s kinda corny. But he was also a damn good rapper with a lot of strong material. With LL, you really just gotta take what you like and ignore the rest.
GREAT post, Robbie. LL has always been one of the most uderrated and aunderappreciated MC’s in hip hop. Honestly though, if you didn’t grow up listening to LL when he first came out, you just can’t comprehend how major a deal he was back then. On any given day he can still make a record that could wreck most MC’s out now and he came up in a time when Run DMC were the Kings. Just think about that for a minute….
You have to separate things and put it into perspective. Michael Jackon’s non – musical activities does not hinder what he did in his peak. The same goes for LL. Regardless of what he has done, you must take his peak and measure that in at top list. So the question is his peak vs biggie’s peak. You can then see that LL did more, hence higher on one’s list.
@ Merciless…
L.L. killed Moe Dee with ” Jack The Ripper “, and yes I was listening to Hip Hop in 87…….Moe Dee responded with ” Let’s Go “, and that was ass cheeks…..
Your a real confused dude…….
Everything in the post was true. Hand’s down. He had those ladie’s love songs but cool would jack an emcee out of a career quick fast. Aye did anyone see that video footage from 88 when Kool G. Rap, Kane and LL were on stage together rippin down that ‘impeach the president break’?! LL destroyed it!! Someone post that footage please!
IT’S A GENERATION THING WITH THE LL VS KMD THING,PEOPLE THAT CAME UP MOE DEE FANS BELIEVE HE WON, LL FANS BELIEVE COOLJ ATE CANIBUS…IDIOTS BELIEVE NELLY DID ANY THING BUT WAKE-UP KRS
There’s always one or two who gotta pop out the bushes with that Kool Moe shit… let’s be clear- Kool Moe scored on L with “Let’s Go”. But the “Break of Dawn” does Moe in. Moe comes back with that “Death Blow” shit and falls on deaf ears. And if you wanna talk about “Let’s Go”… really… outside of the “L’s” part, what else you got?
Now as far as Canibus, a lot of people won’t admit it, but Canibus is probably the only one who REALLY got at LL. Unfortunately, Canibus’ career gives him the hindsight L- it’s not fair, but it’s what happened with that. It’s kinda like how some dude on a good night will get on the court and flat-out style on Kobe… but if that guy’s team still loses the game, all he gets out of that is a day or two on Sportscenter, as Kobe goes on with his career. That other guy can say forever that he styled on Kobe that night, but that’s it. Canibus’ post-2nd Round endeavors did him in, and it kinda made his win look minor, because L’s career continued on whereas Canibus went thru some years of fuckery after that disastrous debut album.
Another good post. But for real LL never ever got his props. like G Rap told me once LL is Hip-Hop no question about it. Yeah his career may not be perfect but his resume is impressive. Definitely a trend setter pioneer who blaze trails he the RunDmc of solo acts he got a lot of first in hip-hop. He been cypher tested bill board charts approved.
True Indeed Oh Yeah If you think Cannibus won you bought into the hype just like dumb nigga who believe ether was better than Take Over SMH
Oh yeah only nigga LL never responded on wax was Jay-Z especially with all them 96 remixes Hova was jumping on from Horace Brown to The Braxton and Shai song he was getting at LL on the low
Oh yeah definitely agree with the following comments
you really think i need love is NOT a classic?
and where are the truly bad songs on mama said knock you out, cause i sure cannot find any?
Comment by cr 09.28.09 @
GREAT post, Robbie. LL has always been one of the most uderrated and aunderappreciated MC’s in hip hop. Honestly though, if you didn’t grow up listening to LL when he first came out, you just can’t comprehend how major a deal he was back then. On any given day he can still make a record that could wreck most MC’s out now and he came up in a time when Run DMC were the Kings. Just think about that for a minute…. Comment by ian aka @StellasKid 09.28.09 @
First off, great post!!! It’s good that most of the cats here give it up to LL and I truly think you had to be old enough to remember LL in his prime plus his deep impact on hip hop culture. He was that dude!!! He could cover every angle of the game: lyrics, ladies, leader in sales. People talk about Canibus and all that. Once again, LL got Canibus and his overall catalog, in my opinion, is much easier to listen to than Canibus. Canibus has dope lyrics but he’s not the overall MC that LL is…period. Sometimes we all have to emerge from the deep crates of Hip Hop and give someone who happens to be a massive celebrity now the credit they deserve for blazing the way for future generations of MCs. This “Keep It Real, Keep It Underground” mantra in hip hop has hampered it’s progress!!! LL was able, for quite a while, to keep it very aggressive/lyrical/hardcore but still accessible to the masses. Maybe some of our current peers should try that, too.
To anyone who says Canibus “ended” LL’s career: come on!!! You can’t give Canibus that much emphasis. LL was already sliding down at that point and I think Canibus needed the battle with LL more than LL did. The majority of the people long after will remember LL no matter what. Check the catalog. One song does not make an artist.
I definitely like the post. And that “99% of your fans don’t exist” line in Jack The Ripper was absolutely amazing.
Canibus should be nothing more than a side note in this conversation, because that’s all he was to hip-hop. His CD sucked and his career tanked. As far as LL goes, you can’t hate on him. Well, I guess you can when you see those NCIS commercials. (The one of him throwing that dude through a window is priceless). But for real LL was a pioneer and was able to do it in many styles. Dude would beat you in a battle and then fuck your chick.
And for the cat that said LL was getting out shined by other MCs on tracks, I thought he crushed everyone on “I Shot Ya.”
one LL track alot of heads slept on was ‘The Truth’ off the second Kay Slay album in 03/04. Very dope records.
maybe the fact his records dont have that ‘collectable’ tag mean that internet geeks dont check for him. im sure theres kids in Sweden or belgium that own every Paul C joint but dont have BAD or Radio which is fucking lame.
im pretty sure if someone went against him LL could come with some heat. he doesnt have the motivation or hunger these days which is understandable.
Really what it comes down to with the Canibus/LL thing… LL will always be known as a legend first and foremost who had one of the most enduring careers of any artist. Canibus will be known as the guy who had a battle with LL.
BTW- Robbie, do you have ‘Terrorist’?
LL had a ridiculous verse on the “Flava In Your Ear Remix”, and that was with Biggie in the room.
Ridiculous in the dictionary definition sense, not in the complimentary urban slang sense that is. Skeevy…Delicious.
Oh, and Prodigy stole the show on the I Shot Ya Remix.
… too bad he went from being the future of the funk, to the past … he fell off loong before BDP/KRS, and didn’t last half as long or make half as much classic material as Gang Starr … but woulda, coulda, shoulda …
I Need Love was an embarrassment, a shameful part of LL’s past, and a prelude to more shameful pieces of his legacy like One Shot At Love and etc. etc. … LL almost invented and personified the term “sellout” … but still, like KRS-One, is about as great as there has ever been …
LL was rapping before BDP and Gangstarr really came on the scene!!! You could even say he may have inspired both groups because he was such a cut above the rest at that time and there were fewer artists in a relatively “new” artform. It’s okay to cheer for someone even when they rise out of the underground and go more mainstream!!! LOL Also, there are talented rappers west of New York State, too. HAHA
remember peoples, he came out in ’85, so don’t go comparing later groups like Gangstarr who really started to rip it from ’89 onwards, with a massive hiatus after Hard To Earn of 4.5 years…
in his prime, only G Rap and BDK could steal a show and the mic off him.
maybe LL always looked like things came easy to him, or maybe niggas just hated on the girl records. but on the real? L is the only golden age rapper who could have a hit today, if he put his mind to it. Ra, KRS, G Rap, Kane & Slick Rick? can’t say that for sure. and even tho’ moe dee and canibus were more lyrical from a battle standpoint, their careers can’t compare at all. no one that really went at L had a prosperous career after. name ’em. he’s not my favorite rapper. not even in my top 10. but anybody denying him is just a hater. period
LL “almost invented and personified ‘sellout'” HA!
A sellout is someone who goes against their own integrity for money. I don’t feel LL, whether you might’ve liked all his music or not, ever did that. He might’ve done something that wasn’t cool with the ‘street’ audience, but from day one, LL has always balanced songs for the chicks and hardcore records. When has he NOT been like that.
Now sure, he’s made some outwardly mainstream moves, but everyone knows LL by this point. It isn’t as much ‘out-of-character’ for him as it has been for some others who went from being so street/underground/whatever and then totally flippin’ on some other shit. If anything, the MOST out-of-character L ever was, was when he tried to be all super-hardcore on the ’14 Shots’ album.
If LL was ever attempting to go in a GangStarr or KRS type zone and then ended up doing what he’s known for, you’d have a point. But that was never his style, and he pretty much stayed true to his formula for most of his career. I wouldn’t say that’s “selling out”.
-D!
I use to love it when UltraMagnetic would take shots at LL. “Where’s the Kangol/It seems weird/your head is triangle/ “Your racer X it’s brother speed/you dissing James/he’s chicken feed!!
Also the classic “Traveling At The Speed of Thought” video with the masked red faced Freddy Kruger “LL Cool Wack” He was the best at the time and everyone including Ultra was going for his crown! He with stood the times and should be regognized for it! I saw him live 5 years ago here in Chicago, and he rocked super hard, with no hype man, just cut creator! He had awesome breath control a bunch of hia catalog and went free style off the dome like a super pro!!
Breezes post said it all and i’m in total agreement.
“Have you seen the pecs on that guy?”
confused about how you like me now? naa ur showing u werent listening in 87. u just said a record from walk with a panther…thats not 87. nerd
shamz is a wikipedia/google rap expert. ha ha
@ Merciless….
Checked out your homo Myspace page……You must not have been listening to Hip Hop in 87, because your beats lack decent drum programming, you goofy, two-bit simp….
Hip Hop since 83……..So don’t even try it….
The brother L was one of if not the first to incorporate a bicoastal team. He not only put Dj Bobcat on but let dude shine heavily and it was humble for the grandmaster Cut Creator to share that important space. That was at a time when the west coast was respected for turntablism like philly was. First cat to show love to the westside cause we had mega love for the east till the feds instigated that bullshit coastal beef. Respect to L for still goin’ strong. Aye all my ahkis out in philly remember Steady B’s i’m gonna take your radio? lol bananaz! Listening to Ason Jones from the cuban links 2 as i type this.
I don’t believe its the extra-curricular activities that has diminished the GOAT’s legend status but rather the increased amount of critics in Hip-Hop. The brother is great and although we may not like/support his career decisions, he still made (or makes depending on who you are) music that rocks…BOX!
yeah Shamz…drum programming? since 83? i made records for royal flush el da sen…fuckin kice of kourse…must not be that lacking…stop checkin out dudes myspace pages…ha ha…oh yeah since 83? cmon now u expect me to believe a wikipedia google expert…
old school rock thang,
classic songs
raw tracks,
street ish
and rnbmelodychitsingalong
Cool james’ legacy is on each domain, every kind of rap, uncle l is hiphop ! mr smith aka ll cool j the goat
@ BIg Spice: Michael Rappaport is the illest.
Yo Keatso -Anyone who names one of his kids after a member of De La is alright in my book!
Yo Merciless…..
” I made records for Royal Flush, El, and Kice Of Cource “, funny thing is homeboy, no one gives a fuck about the joints YOU produced, because your straight TRASH…… The records I have from those artist do NOT have you listed on the producer credits, so don’t flatter yourself, WEASEL……
I’m laughing at YOU and your SO-CALLED BEATS….HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
Shamz ur right….Im trash u win.
Great post. I will always say KRS is the greatest MC of history’s catalog BUT I wont be upset at LL or Rakim or even 2 Pac. I do believe Moe Dee dusted him off in ’87-8 but at the same time Bigger And Deffer is more classical than How Ya like me now?
i dont know…id rather hear how ya like me now than bad anyday. im bad was wiggedy wack. commercial def jam bullshit.
@ Mercilesz
The whole album was wack? Lets get Ill? Kanday? Dudes forget bout his sex raps, Big Ol Butt, Doin it!
Mercilesz is a nut… seriously. Seriously.
Bigger And Deffer was “bullshit”? Really, bruh?
-D!
Just listen to the different varieties of tracks LL has, LL is the most versatile rapper/MC/Artist and he has allot else goin on. Also giving back to the peeps and hip hop. LL started the chains, cars, dranks, women and one of the biggest to start in film. He is under the radar and over the radar at the same time. LL is doin stuff that peeps wont understand till 10 years like he did when he 1st cam out. LL is the goatand I feel he has been hated on for so long and this man does nada to peeps to hate on him. EXIT 13 CD is tight. Go get it cause he has versatile tracks on it. Oh Yeah peeps hate on LL so much they leave his Cd’s in the back part of the store so he can not sale. I tested this in many stores for at least the past 10 years. Go get that EXIT CD and the mixtape CD called “Return of the goat”
Shout out to LL’s publicist,homey’s on the job
his the greatest rapper EVER. (AFTER SILVER FOX)I wanna hear going back to cali right now. He is the greatest rapper ever but i dont feel his the greatest emcee. his an MC but not an EMCEE. EMCEE BELONGS TO A CHOSAN FEW. KRS RAKIM NAS. EVEN G RAP IS MORE MC than Emcee .Same goes for Kane.emcee means you travelling galaxies.
What people fail to realize is that the current state of hip hop is not conducive to an LL Cool J. Keep in mind that I think he can adapt to change but would he want to? He made an albun Exit 13. Which sold WORLDWIDE. Generating an income. He may not be the LL of old but who is? Not Snoop Rakim and a host of others but we all eating and doing our thing. Hip hop will always curse through his brain. LL is BAD.