LL Cool J
Sign in to saveAmerican rapper and actor (born 1968)
Person · Open Library
- Born
- 1968
- Works
- 9
via Open Library + Wikidata
Film & TV
Acting · Bay Shore, Long Island, New York, USA
James Todd Smith (better known as LL Cool J, an acronym for Ladies Love Cool James; born January 14, 1968) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip hop acts Beastie Boys and Run-DMC. Signed to Def Jam Recordings in 1984, his breakthrough came with his single "I Need a Beat" and…
Known for
- Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music — Self (archive footage)2025
- Stans — Self2025
- Quincy Jones, Music Man — Self (archive footage)2025
- SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius)2025
- Hip Hop Was Born Here — Self - Host2025
- Comin' Up Short — Self2024
- NCISverse: The First 1,000 — Self2024
- A Hip Hop Minute — Self2024
- Jimmy Fallon's Holiday Seasoning Spectacular — Self2024
- James Brown: Say It Loud — Self2024
via TMDB
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 1,222,335
- Total plays
- 12,240,135
Tags
Hip-Hopraphip hop80srnb
James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968 in Bay Shore, New York), better known as LL Cool J (Ladies Love Cool James), is a Grammy Award winning American rapper and actor signed to Def Jam. He has released twelve studio albums over his 27 year career, has starred in numerous feature films and currently plays Agent Sam Hanna on the hit show NCIS: Los Angeles. Born in Bay Shore, New York, and raised between St. Albans, New York and Hollis, New York in the borough of Queens. <a href="https://www.la
Recent publications · Crossref
5 total works indexed
- Worldwide trends in body-mass index, underweight, overweight, and obesity from 1975 to 2016: a pooled analysis of 2416 population-based measurement studies in 128·9 million children, adolescents, and adults
· 2017 · cited 5,459x
- Asset Stock Accumulation and Sustainability of Competitive Advantage
· 1989 · cited 5,074x
- Worldwide trends in hypertension prevalence and progress in treatment and control from 1990 to 2019: a pooled analysis of 1201 population-representative studies with 104 million participants
· 2021 · cited 2,950x
- GWTC-2: Compact Binary Coalescences Observed by LIGO and Virgo during the First Half of the Third Observing Run
· 2021 · cited 1,770x
- Worldwide trends in underweight and obesity from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 3663 population-representative studies with 222 million children, adolescents, and adults
· 2024 · cited 1,731x
via Crossref · CC0
Key facts
- Born
- James Todd Smith , ( 1968-01-14 ) January 14, 1968 (age 58) , Bay Shore, New York , U.S.
- Occupations
- Rapper songwriter record producer actor
- Years active
- 1984–present
- Works
- Discography filmography
- Spouse
- Simone Johnson ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1995 )
- Partner
- Kidada Jones (1992–1994)
- Awards
- Full list
- Origin
- Queens , New York City , U.S.
- Genres
- East Coast hip-hop R&B
- Labels
- Virgin 429 Def Jam Columbia CBS Violator S-BRO
- Website
- llcoolj .com
via Wikipedia infobox
Key dates
- Born
- 14 January 1968
via Wikidata · CC0
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Family name
- Smith
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United States
- Place of birth
- Queens
- Occupation
- musician
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Native language
- English language
- Genre
- pop rap
- Instrument
- voice
Article
James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to realize crossover commercial success, alongside fellow new-school hip-hop acts like Run-DMC.
Signed by Def Jam Recordings in 1984, LL Cool J's breakthrough came with his 1984 single "I Need a Beat", followed by his debut studio album, Radio (1985). He achieved continued commercial and critical success with the albums Bigger and Deffer (1987), Walking with a Panther (1989), Mama Said Knock You Out (1990), Mr. Smith (1995), and Phenomenon (1997). His twelfth album, Exit 13 (2008), concluded his contract with Def Jam; he later signed with the label once more to release his fourteenth album, The FORCE (2024).
Gallery (7)
Connections
Categories
1968 births20th-century African-American male actors20th-century American male actors20th-century American male rappers20th-century American rappers21st-century African-American male actors21st-century American male actors21st-century American male rappers21st-century American rappers429 Records artistsAfrican-American CatholicsAfrican-American male rappers