LL Cool J

Overview

Known for
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
Jan 14, 1968 (57 years old)

LL Cool J

Known For

Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music
2h 8m
Movie 2025

Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music

Untold stories behind the culture-defining and newsmaking musical performances, sketches and cameos of the past 50 years.

Jimmy Fallon's Holiday Seasoning Spectacular
0h 43m
Movie 2024

Jimmy Fallon's Holiday Seasoning Spectacular

Jimmy and his friends present a hour long special inspired by his album, "Holiday Seasoning".

A Hip Hop Minute
1h 28m
Movie 2024

A Hip Hop Minute

1986 was a special year in the development of hip-hop. The Dutch TV documentary BIG FUN IN THE BIG TOWN captured this on film. And 15-year-old Pascal Garnier was immediately fascinated by New York’s young rap celebrities. Almost 40 years later, with the assistance of Bill Adler - the former publicist of the legendary Def Jam label - he tracked down the artists of that time. Roxanne Shanté, DMC and Def Jam’s creative director Cey Adams reminisce and also talk about their current lives. In his grandmother’s house, hip-hop icon LL Cool J talks about the meaning of “I Need Love”. Pure emotion - for viewers and everyone involved.

NCISverse: The First 1,000
1h 0m
Movie 2024

NCISverse: The First 1,000

Kevin Frazier hosts a celebration of the "NCIS" franchise, including exclusive interviews with cast members and guest stars; new details about the origins of "NCIS"; a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the franchise's 1,000th episode.

James Brown: Say It Loud
2h 50m
TV Show 2024

James Brown: Say It Loud

Traces the incredible trajectory of Brown’s life and career from a 7th grade drop-out arrested and jailed at the age of 16 for breaking into a car in the Jim Crow-era South, to an entertainment legend whose groundbreaking talent and unique perspective catapulted him to become a cultural force.

Comin' Up Short
1h 0m
Movie 2024

Comin' Up Short

From being a ruthless gang banger, to protecting Ice Cube's life, Shorty from the controversial rap group Da Lench Mob, reveals untold secrets of N.W.A. and why his group was attacked in a race against time to save his own life.

A GRAMMY Salute to 50 Years of Hip-Hop
1h 30m
Movie 2023

A GRAMMY Salute to 50 Years of Hip-Hop

A once-in-a-lifetime live concert special celebrating the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, the two-hour tribute special features exclusive performances from hip-hop legends and GRAMMY-winning artists, including Black Thought, Bun B, Common, De La Soul, Jermaine Dupri, J.J. Fad, Talib Kweli, The Lady of Rage, LL COOL J, MC Sha-Rock, Monie Love, The Pharcyde, Queen Latifah, Questlove, Rakim, Remy Ma, Uncle Luke, and Yo-Yo.

Hip Hop Treasures
TV Show 2023

Hip Hop Treasures

Led by LL COOL J and Ice T alongside field collectors and museum curators, the team tells the story of some of Hip Hop's greatest artists and the items they made famous such as The Notorious B.I.G.'s iconic jersey from the "Juicy" video, Flavor Flav's clocks, DMX's Aaliyah car, and more. This exclusive partnership between A&E, Pulse Films, LL COOL J's Rock The Bells and The Universal Hip Hop Museum honors these music legends and brings their items back to the birthplace of the culture, The Bronx.

Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World
0h 59m
TV Show 2023

Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World

Public Enemy’s Chuck D leads a cast of hip-hop icons and leading African-American and Latino cultural commentators as they chart the factors that led to the birth of the revolutionary art form of hip-hop in 1970s New York, as well as the creation of the seminal hit The Message. They evoke a picture of how, after the turbulence of the 60s and the civil rights struggles, desperate social conditions and the experience of countless dispossessed people of colour living in a city mired in crisis helped give birth to a new art form.

2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
3h 59m
Movie 2022

2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

The 37th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony take place on Saturday, November 5, 2022 at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California. This year’s Performer Inductees are Pat Benatar, Duran Duran, Eminem, Eurythmics, Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, and Carly Simon. Judas Priest and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis will receive the Musical Excellence Award, Harry Belafonte and Elizabeth Cotten the Early Influence Award, and Allen Grubman, Jimmy Iovine, and Sylvia Robinson the Ahmet Ertegun Award.

Biography

James Todd Smith, better known as LL Cool J (acronym for Ladies Love Cool James), 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 his landmark debut album, Radio (1985). He achieved further 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), was his last in his long-tenured deal with Def Jam. A two-time Grammy Award winner, LL Cool J is known for hip hop songs such as "Going Back to Cali", "I'm Bad", "The Boomin' System", "Rock the Bells", and "Mama Said Knock You Out", as well as R&B hits such as "Doin' It", "I Need Love", "Around the Way Girl" and "Hey Lover". In 2010, VH1 placed him on their "100 Greatest Artists Of All Time" list. In 2017, LL Cool J became the first rapper to receive the Kennedy Center Honors. In 2021, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with an award for Musical Excellence. While he first appeared as a rapper in the movie Krush Groove (performing "I Can't Live Without My Radio"), his first acting part was a small role in a high school football movie called Wildcats. He continued to work in movies from then until 1995 when he landed his own television sitcom, In the House (1995-2000). He has appeared in numerous films, including Last Holiday, Edison, Mindhunters, S.W.A.T., Deliver Us from Eva, Rollerball, Charlie's Angels, In Too Deep, Any Given Sunday, Deep Blue Sea, Halloween H20, B.A.P.S., Toys, and The Hard Way. In 2005, he returned to television in a guest starring role on the FOX medical drama House. He also guest starred on 30 Rock in 2007, and on Sesame Street 's 39th season where he introduced the word of the day, "Unanimous” and performed "The Addition Expedition" in episode 4172 (Sept. 30, 2008). As of 2011, he stars as Special Agent Sam Hanna on CBS's police procedural NCIS: L.A., a spin-off of NCIS. He was also the host of MTV's Lip Sync Battle.

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