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Greatest of All-Time!

“I’m sorry, but I was wondering if I have the right number,” I said, “but... is this the greatest rapper of all time?” LL Cool J, (a.k.a. Mr. James Todd Smith) begins laughing hysterically. “Man, I sure hope so; if that’s what people think and feel than I’m happy with that. I just want to thank every one of my fans who got me here up to this point.” To most of the people out there right now, that’s exactly what LL Cool J is considered, the name and face to consider whenever the word rap gets mentioned. In a career that’s lasted for over two decades now, it’s hard to nail down exactly how LL has managed to overcome the many changes and obstacles that have taken place within the rap game, overcoming feuds with fellow rappers, as well as different style changes. As the nineties approached, most rap artists who started out in the eighties, couldn’t make the transition from the flashy, cool-sounding rap that they were used to making and were virtually wiped out by the new-wave of hardcore gangsta’ rap that had emerged. The new-wave of gangsta’ rap stressed message over success and substance over style and yet, LL had emerged from that change relatively unscathed. Moving into the realms of television (In the House) and major motion pictures (S.W.A.T., Any Given Sunday and Halloween H2O), with some of today’s hottest actors and actresses. Today, he talks about how he got there and why he’s still “The greatest rapper in the history of rap itself."

Your career has lasted and outlasted some of your contemporaries that you had started out with, how do you account for the success you’ve experienced throughout the years?
Well, you know, a lot of times in my life you need to go through change and change is good because it keeps you focused and I want to be the very best there is out there...you know? I like what I’m doing and I just try to stay positive with everything, refusing to quit. I don’t care what it is that I’m doing, I just want to enjoy myself and have fun with it all, whether I’m putting out my latest album or starring in a movie with Samuel L. Jackson; I want to be the best that I can be while still having fun.

Sure, what was it like for you starting out in the music business back then?
When I was starting out I tried to get myself signed with everybody who was out there then... I tried to go with Sugar Hill Records, Tommy Boy, everybody turned me down and it was a bit depressing. But you know, I always liked what I was doing and it was all so exciting and just really fun then. I really liked going to the “battles” and I just stayed in it before I signed on with Def Jam, people forget that I was their first big hit and their first, biggest, star.

That’s true, you were on Def Jam and you were every bit as popular as Run DMC or the Beastie Boys at that time...do you have any hard feelings with Run DMC or Russell Simmons?
No, not at all I’m good friends with the remaining members of Run DMC, Jam Master Jay, may he rest in peace, he was a good man and actually they’re all good men. I still stay in contact with them whenever I can. Russell Simmons, I never had any hard feelings toward him, I always liked and got along with Russell and I like where they’re going with the t.v. show, you know? That’s always fun to watch.

It seems almost that when it comes to your music at least, you seem to become inspired by some of the feuds you’ve had with other rappers like Kool Moe Dee and Canibus and even movie stars like Jamie Foxx? What can you tell me about that?
That stuffs’ mostly stuff that goes back to the rap battles, you want to prove that you’re the best there is. So you step to someone to see just who is the best, there’s no hard feelings or anything like that. You just want to know who’s the very best, so I don’t have any hard feelings toward anybody.

So you don’t harbor any bad feelings toward Kool Moe Dee, Canibus or Jamie Foxx? Do you think most of those feuds started out as mostly publicity stunts?
No, I really don’t like to talk about that or anything like I have bad feelings toward anybody... I don’t ever look at it like that. You just want to prove that you’re the very best and that’s how I look at it. I personally never started anything for publicity or anything like that.

But you’ll have to admit, some of your best albums have come about because of these battles? “Mamma Said Knock You Out” and “All World” became two of your best selling albums.
Well definitely, I come into the studio with what’s on my mind and at those particular times I just wanted to show everybody that was new, that I am still the best rapper out there. But, I didn’t really plan on doing it to show off on any one person really. People just looked up and realized that I’m still just enjoying what I do.

Absolutely, “Mama Said,” was so big, that you became the first rap artist on MTV’s Unplugged series? That must have been electric?
It was and it was just wild, I came out to prove that I’m just still here and still the very best. I had my shirt off, sweating up a storm and people were just really getting into it, you know?

No doubt, you’ve been in a lot of movies over the years and you got your start in Krush Groove, tell me a little about that?
Well at that time you know, the movie wasn’t even about me or anything... I didn’t even have a real role in it. I was only in maybe ninety seconds of it, because I knew they were filming it and I just hung around Russell and Run DMC and I just loved being there. So I talked to Russell and I got a little bit part in it and a lot of people say that I really stole the show.

Yes, you actually come off like an extra in it, but your energy is noticeable, you can actually be seen in the background throughout the film just walking by!
Yeah you know, I was just happy to be there and just have a part it, so I just hung around the set really.

Now after that, you had some roles in a few Hollywood movies during the early nineties like “The Hard Way” with James Woods and Michael J. Fox and Luis Guzman’. Then, you get your first starring role in “Out of Sync”....what can you tell me about that?
Well you know I got started doing small parts and to work alongside those guys who were all ready established actors was a real challenge and I learned a lot just by being on the set with those guys. It really helped set me up for starring in “Out of Sync” that was the first time I really you know...had to carry a picture.

Now, around that time, I have to ask you... you were in a movie with Halle Berry called “B.A.P.’s” and I gotta’ ask you? How hot was “Halle Berry” even back then? Was she as smok’in then as she is now? She was hot then, right?
(laughing) Oh man! How hot can she be! I mean...she’s like that now, right?

Yeah she most certainly is hot right now, Halles’ so hot, it’s like when wasn’t she hot! But seriously, you’ve been married for quite some time now, is it hard trying to manage both a wife and kids as well as a career?
Well you know a lot of people don’t know this about me but, my oldest child is like sixteen years old! So you know, I always had kids around me and having my last kid really wasn’t a big deal for me. I had been managing all this family and career stuff for some time.

So how are the wife and kids these days, they’re all doing well?
Oh yeah they’re all just doing super and a lot of people don’t know that my wife has been with me from the very beginning and having her here all this time has really kept me positive.

Let’s talk a bit about your latest album, I hear you have an exclusive for us, can you tell all our loyal readers what it is and what it’ll be called?
Definitely, I’m going to let you guys here know that right now it’s tentatively called “Todd Smith” and it’s set to be released March 21st, 2006. It’ll have all of your favorite flavors mixed in there and that’s what it was originally going to be called “My Favorite Flavors” before I had changed it to “Todd Smith”... but, there’ll be some new and old tracks on it, with around ten to twelve tracks in all. But, it’s just real cool, the best album I’ve done in a long time.

Is it mostly new or is there any unreleased stuff on there?
No it’s mostly all new and a few of the tracks is just stuff that I had been planning on doing for a long time now. The first single off the new album is a track called “Control Myself”, featuring J-Lo and that one is actually’ produced by Jermaine Dupri, who’s actually been a good friend of mine for some time now.

What was it like working with Jermaine and J-Lo? Is J-Lo the only artist contributing to the new album?
It was great working with both Jennifer and Jermaine, Jennifer is just so talented, a great singer and performer, a real beautiful lady and it’s just so great to have had her working in the studio alongside me and Jermaine. Hype Williams directed the first single, but Jermaine just kind of came in and overlooked everything. I mean, I have other artists who are also on the album too, besides like J-Lo, there’s also Juelze Santana, Ginuwine, Freeway, 112, Mary J Blige, is on there as well. Just like, a whole lot of performers came together and Jermaine overlooked most everything.

Is Jermaine the only producer on this album?
No, I have other people on there as well, Scott Storch, Bink, Track Masters, Shea Taylor, Keezo Kane, they all played a role in producing this album. But Jermaine, he just kind of... just oversaw everything and he was there on the first single “Control Myself.

Cool, is there anything else that you can tell us about the new album?
Yeah, most definitely, it’ll be coming out tentatively... March 21st, early this year, so be on the lookout for “Todd Smith.” But, yeah
it’s going to be real hot, positive, stuff.

Now, as far as recent films, you’ve been in some pretty big movies starting with a movie where I guess you could say that it was maybe a rebirth for you of sorts with Halloween H2O. What was that experience like?
It was... I guess the coolest part of being in that film was being in a movie with the sickest dude in the world Michael Meyers. But I really had a good time being in that movie, I had just came off of my t.v. show “In the House” and this was the first time that I had really done a real, big movie in recent years. Not counting “Krush Groove” and you know, all those movies that I had done like years before and it was after that that I began to go into other films that all did very well at the box office. But you ask what it was like... I just really enjoyed just being there and I learned a lot from just being on the set. You know what, actually one of the producers from that film just died recently in a bombing in Jordan. So I just want to say rest in peace to his family.

Sure, now after that movie, you got the opportunity to be in more of a dramatic piece in “Any Given Sunday”... what was that experience like and what was it like to work with such an esteemed director as Oliver Stone?
Oh man, "Any Given Sunday" was just crazy because of the whole sports connection, one of the sports that I really like is football along with boxing. Working with Oliver Stone who was just really cool, he’s like a real talented guy but, the set is real chaotic. He’s a great director and he seems to have organized chaos on the set. His sets are...I mean, he’s just so talented that his movies are all... they’re almost Fellini-esque. It was just really cool to work with Oliver. I mean, I just look at it like... any time that I can get a role where I can really already have a connection with the movie... it just makes my job as an actor easier. I’ve talked with George Foreman about developing a movie where I play him and I’m all ready a big boxing fan. I think it’s really phenomenal that he came up the way that he did out of the Houston ghetto to become heavyweight champion of the world. His story is just really great and very positive and I just love roles where I can just be strong and really sink my teeth into a role.

What about Kingdom Come, that movie was pretty good actually, what was that experience like?
Thank you, no that movie did really well and it was great to work with and alongside Whoopi Goldberg, it was a great learning experience for me. It was a very good movie and it was very personable film for me and just a real great feeling movie.

What can you tell me about “Deliver me from Eva” that movie was pretty cool and very funny? Your comments?
That was a lot of fun you know, working with Gabrielle Union, she was fun to work with. I mean both of those films were just a lot of fun, S.W.A.T . was a lot of fun too actually.

Yeah, I was just about to ask you about that one... what can you tell me about that film? You got to work alongside of some of today’s best actors like Colin Farrell and Samuel L. Jackson, do you have any stories about being on that set?
Actually yeah, I was working alongside Sam Jackson when a real S.W.A.T. team came flying right through our set during filming! We were filming when a real S.W.A.T. team came flying through on an actual chase, with real helicopters, real body armor and real guns!

That must have been pretty crazy, did you guys just look at each other like who are all these extras and stop filming
Yeah, no, it was just crazy and pretty ironic too because we were actually filming a chase scene when these guys just burst onto the set in the middle of a real live chase after somebody who like robbed a bank or something. But, no they didn’t stop filming...they just kept rolling!

Crazy, now what can you tell me about the films you got coming out right now? I understand you have a couple of newer films.
Yeah, as of right now I’m in a couple of new movies, one with Queen Latifah titled “Last Holiday” and I was just in a movie with Morgan Freeman and Kevin Spacey called “Edison”. I play a guy named Sean Williams in Last Holiday and I guess you could say that I’m kind of like the love interest in that film, but I play more of like the shy guy role. (laughing)

So since the ladies still love Cool James... did you have to lick your lips at any point during that movie?
(laughing) Oh man, you know... if ladies go to see it because of something like sex appeal or something than you know...whatever... I’m cool with that. But I just hope everyone goes to see it because it’s just a real hot, funny movie and Queen Latifah’s just really, really, funny in it. The lip thing... that’s just kind of something I always just did naturally, you know?

Cool, what was it like working with so many academy award winning actors in Edison?
Yo, it was a real honor working alongside of guys like Morgan Freeman and Kevin Spacey. Those guys are like real legends in the field and when you’re working alongside of those guys, you really get to see what a professionally trained actor is really like. Those guys both take their jobs really seriously and it shows in how they prepare for their roles, you know?

Out of both films which movie would you say you enjoyed more?
I guess you could say Last Holiday maybe, but only because Queen Latifah is just so funny and talented in that movie. It was a real pleasure working alongside of her, she would like have us rolling laughing both on and off the set and she really carries the whole movie all by just having a good time and being good natured all by herself. I just finished Last Holiday and that’s should be out pretty soon.

You mentioned boxing and George Foreman earlier...are you a big fan of boxing?
Most definitely, I just love the grittiness and the discipline of boxing, I mean you’re training your whole life for just one shot at stardom and that’s something that I think I can definitely relate to and I think a lot of other people can too.

No doubt, did you meet any well known boxers and who’s your favorite fighter?
I’ve met a lot of them, I got a lot of friends who are boxers and also very talented. I would guess that maybe my first meeting with Evander Holyfield was my most memorable because he’s just a real nice, spiritual and positive guy. But, like a said, I have a lot of friends who are boxers. I’m friends with George Foreman, Antonio Tarver, Muhammad Ali... I just love the sport; you know what I’m saying? As far as favorite fighters, man’ that’s a very good question and it’s also a hard question too. I guess, I don’t really have any one favorite fighter... I know and like a lot of well known boxers; George Foreman for his punching ability, Bernard Hopkins for his durability, early Roy Jones he was just so talented back then that nobody could touch him, Marco Antonio Barerra, Erik Morales, Antonio Tarver... he’s a good friend of mine... I think he’s really talented. Joe Frazier with his left hook... I mean you just look at these guys and their whole workout ethic and you just gotta have respect for it and them.

A lot of my readers would like to know then, who would win in a fight between you and Mike Tyson? I mean, you’re look’in pretty diesel lately.
(laughing) Oh man’ let’s just stay real, let’s keep it very real, you know? All right look... he’s a professional, he’s paid to do that for a living, training for real and stuff. That’s a real funny question, that would be like asking “who would win in a rap battle?” You know what I’m saying? You know, but I don’t know, you never know what could happen. You hope you never know... let’s just hope it doesn’t come to that and just keep it real. (laughing)

Speaking of working out, you’ve been a long time advocate of working out and staying in shape. What does your workout routine consist of today?
Everything! I bench press, do dips, curls, reverse curls, cardio, sprints, long distance...everything! A lot of times if an exercise starts to get too easy, I’ll add a dumbbell or two to my belt to add additional weight. But I just workout as much as I can as often as I can... I just like to stay in shape and workout as much as possible, pull-ups, chin-ups you name it... I do it all man.

So after all this time LL is still “bad”?
Oh’ baby, please believe it! Believe me! I’ve done too much work to not be!

"Control Myself" (featuring Jennifer Lopez) AUDIO:

Rick Scurti
IndieStreet Contributor
THE Online Magazine
www.IndieStreetEnt.com
The-Hustler.com
rick@indiestreetent.com