File:LLCoolJ-byPhilipRomano.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
LL Cool J
Sign in to saveAlso known as Ladies Love Cool James, James Todd Smith
American rapper and actor (born 1968)
OverviewAI-generated
LL Cool J, born James Todd Smith on January 14, 1968, in Queens, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and record producer. He is an African American male who has worked in the East Coast hip-hop, contemporary R&B, and pop rap genres since 1984. His musical career is associated with record labels including Def Jam Recordings, Columbia Records, and Sony Music.
Smith has received several major accolades, including the Kennedy Center Honors, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. He is also recognized as an actor and has four children.
Synthesized by Vinony from 42 facts across 9 sources: Wikidata, Crossref, Open Library, MusicBrainz, Last.fm, TMDb, Wikiquote, Vinony collections, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
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
Music · MusicBrainz
- Type
- Person
- Gender
- Male
- Origin
- United States
- Active from
- 1968
Discography
- Radio1985
- Rock the Bells1985
- Bigger and Deffer1987
- I'm Bad1987
- I Need Love1987
- Going Back to Cali1988
- Big Ole Butt1989
- I’m That Type of Guy1989
- One Shot At Love1989
- Walking With a Panther1989
via MusicBrainz · CC0
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 1,222,335
- Total plays
- 12,240,135
Tags
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 5,585x
- Asset Stock Accumulation and Sustainability of Competitive Advantage
· 1989 · cited 5,116x
- 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 3,168x
- 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 2,081x
- GWTC-2: Compact Binary Coalescences Observed by LIGO and Virgo during the First Half of the Third Observing Run
· 2021 · cited 1,847x
via Crossref · CC0
Quotes
- “Don't call it a comeback I've been here for years.”
via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA
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
~31 min read
Encyclopedic overview
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).
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “LL Cool J” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.