LL Cool J – ‘Mama Said Knock You Out’: A 30th Anniversary Retrospective

After the success of LL Cool J’s double Platinum selling 1987 album Bigger And Deffer, LL was on top of the world. He had spent close to eight months recording material for his follow up album, Walking With A Panther, with L.A. Posse producers Bobcat, Muffla, Big Dad, and DJ Pooh. To avoid having his album be released as a double album (due to the sheer amount of songs on it), he altered the total amount of tracks that would appear on the vinyl version and CD. While cassettes can contain 90 minutes of audio, CDs are limited to 80 minutes, and LL didn’t want more audio than what normally comprises sides A and B on a vinyl record.

Depending on which format of the album you had, because of the alteration, there was a serious lack of continuity for the album. On top of that, LL insisted on releasing a clean version to ensure he’d sell more units of it and avoid the stigma involved with having an “explicit lyrics” sticker on his album. A version of an album that you could play around your grandmother (like LL played with his grandmother back in Queens) meant less sales stigma and an easier path to radio play. Unfortunately, this was at the height of Rap’s beef with censorship and obscenity charges, so LL was viewed as a sell out.

Walking With A Panther was released in June, 1989, and over the duration of the Summer it had to compete with quality albums like Soul II Soul’s Keep On Movin‘, Kool Moe Dee’s Knowledge Is King, Heavy D & The Boyz’s Big Tyme, Boogie Down Productions’ Ghetto Music: The Blueprint Of Hip Hop, Special Ed’s Youngest In Charge, EPMD’s Unfinished Business, and The D.O.C’s No One Can Do It Better. Although Walking With A Panther sold well, the lead single, “I’m That Type Of Guy,” didn’t stand out among the other Rap singles that dropped around the same time.

Conversely, the album seemed inconsistent when compared to the other prominent Rap albums released around the same time. By the time the Fall rolled around, LL was coming under fire for releasing a bloated, lackluster album that had too much filler and too little substance His contemporaries were doing the exact opposite. For full context, keep in mind that this is the era of Public Enemy’s “Fight The Power” and Boogie Down Productions’ “Why Is That?” and “You Must Learn.”

The LL Cool J backlash first began to gain real steam in September 1989, weeks after the racist murder of Yusef Hawkins by a mob of young Italian Americans in the Bensonhurst neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY. LL Cool J was interviewed by Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon for the new issue of Spin that made him sound apolitical, self centered, and sexist. On September 17th, 1989, there was a “Stop The Racism” concert thrown in Harlem in the memory of Yusef Hawkins. The concert featured Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions, Doug E. Fresh & The Get Fresh Crew, Big Daddy Kane, LL Cool J, and MC Trouble. When LL Cool J was announced, he was flat out booed by the audience. At the time, this incident was reported in every major music publication.

As Afrocentricity, Black nationalism, and Black consciousness grew in popularity within Rap circles, LL Cool J’s public refusal to enter the this emerging area of Black conscience made him an even bigger target from artists and fans alike. LL was targeted especially by Rap’s elder statesmen, like Kool Moe Dee and Ice T, who openly questioned his refusal to have any type of political stance or social commentary in his music, other than the surface “Say no to drugs” message.

After Walking With A Panther ran its course, the Rap audience was pretty much done with it. People were cracking jokes about LL and dragging his name through the mud. L.A. Posse left Def Jam and signed a deal with Atlantic Records, leaving LL Cool J without the producers who were behind his last two Platinum-selling albums. It was around this time that Marley Marl stepped into the picture. In an interview from Amir Said’s book The BeatTips Manual, Marley Marl explains:

“actually, that track [the “Jingling Baby” remix]was Biz’s track. It was for that album that Just a Friend was on. But when that happened to me [when I was no longer appreciated by Cold Chillin’], and I let them hold the 2-inch so they could do the vocals over at Power Play [New York City Recording Studio]. And then for some reason, I never got the 2-inch back. Then I’m hearing this song on the radio that I know I produced. I didn’t give him that other beat. Then when LL came, I had it in the back of my brain that I had a hit beat. I knew it was a hit.

Once I put that together and orchestrated it, I knew we was gonna make history. The funny thing, even with LL, I didn’t do nothing extra special for LL that I wasn’t doing for the Juice Crew. It was kind of like the same thing. But since Cold Chillin’ was over here, we was trying to prove ourselves. We wasn’t down with Russell and them [Def Jam]. Here, I had the “golden boy” [LL Cool J]. And they had a bigger machine, so they were able to take my work much further. So it made it look like, BOOM, like I did this [big thing]for LL. But I was doing that all the time, anyway, you know that. Anybody that’s followed my career. The beats on Mama Said Knock You Out were Juice Crew beats. That was LL in Juice Crew mode.

And we was separated from Russell at that point. The funny thing about that LL album is, Russell told LL don’t fuck with me. [Imitating Russell Simmons] Don’t fuck with Marley. We don’t fuck with him! He’s over there. But LL heard that shit and was like, “Yo, I don’t know what you talking about, holmes. This beat got the f-dunk!… You want me to go in there with Rick Rubin, and me and Rick Rubin just made an album…” The Walking With A Panther album. He [LL] came to my BLS show and I was like saying in my mind, “That shit is garbage, it’s wack!” But there was one record that stuck out to me. There was a record where he said, “Running over niggas like a redneck trucker.” That was the original “Jingling Baby” for that album.

And I said, “Yo, that track, that record, is dope, you need to let me remix THAT.” And you know, he gave me a shot, he gave me a shot to remix it. And when I hit him back with it. That ONE remix created the whole next album.

He [LL] went to Russell like, “Boom, look what Marley did!” But Russell was still on, We don’t fuck with Marley. But you know, the single came out and it did what it did. But LL was on some other shit, “Yo, fuck that…” LL was coming to my house everyday, “Yo, let’s make an ALBUM!” [LL said] I wasn’t even thinking about getting paid, I didn’t give a fuck about it at first. I had something to prove to these guys over here, that LL needs to be fucking with me. So we went and did the whole album on the side. They still had him going in the studio, fucking with other producers and all this other shit. But he would come to my house in the evenings and we’d knock out like one or two joints [songs]. Boom, and he’d go back to the city. We was knocking out JOINTS! [songs]Them shits was crazy!”

With Marley Marl lending his magic touch to the remix of LL’s “Jingling Baby,” with a danceable B side tailor made for the club in the age of New Jack Swing called “Illegal Search,” the single, released in January 1990, was just what LL needed to begin to get back in the good graces of Rap fans.

In March 1990, the Kid N’ Play movie House Party” was released and became a surprise box office hit. Among the many hit singles on the film’s soundtrack was an uptempo danceable diss track produced by Marley Marl called “To Da Break Of Dawn.”  This song served as phase two of the LL Cool J rehabilitation project. LL Cool J responded to Kool Moe Dee’s diss track “Let’s Go.” Ice T’s shot at him on his single “I’m Your Pusher,” and MC Hammer’s digs at him in his videos and in his humorous verses. Another thing to take into consideration is that LL was finally responding to disses that had been directed at him back in 1988 — on a song released in 1990. Do you comprehend the level of pettiness that requires? LL was currently on a hot streak and almost officially back. That’s when Marley Marl initiated phase three.

The album LL Cool J made with Marley Marl in his home studio in New York dubbed The House Of Hits was complete, and it was time to release the first official single from it. The choice was a trunk-rattling jam that was simultaneously a floor filler titled “The Boomin’ System,” released in Summer 1990. The single caught on at radio and became a top seller out the gate. There were few places you could go to avoid hearing the sampled baseline from EnVogue’s “Hold On” blaring out of speakers, whether it be from passing cars, an open window, or out of Walkman headphones. It was looking like LL Cool J was really back, all that was left was for him to release a monster album to erase the memory of Walking With A Panther.

On September 14th, 1990 LL Cool J released his new album Mama Said Knock You Out. The title was inspired by LL’s grandmother, who had told him to “knock out” the critics, and presumably everyone who was kicking dirt on his name at the time.  At that moment the battery was put in LL’s back, and he was on the road to redemption in the eyes of the Rap world.

Mama Said Knock You Out sold briskly upon its release; it debuted at #66 on Billboard’s Top Black Albums but at #42 on the Top Pop Albums chart, since all the Black music charts had to report their numbers the earliest. However, “The Boomin’ System” was #1 on the Hot Rap Singles chart.  The following week, Mama Said Knock You Out jumped all the way up to #15 on Top Black Albums and #25 on Top Pop Albums. “The Boomin’ System” stayed #1 on Hot Rap Singles but had leapt all the way up to #7 on the Hot Black Singles chart as well. LL Cool J and Marley Marl were well on their way to a Gold album.

Just one year previous, LL Cool J was being clowned, criticized, derided, and slandered by other rappers, fans, and music publications alike for making lackluster music and not taking a firm stand in regards to social issues of the day like many of his peers were doing. Now, he was back on top with a hot album. On Mama Said Knock You Out, he addressed some of these dark times by poking fun at himself. On “Cheesy Rat Blues,” LL Cool J spins a fantasy version first person account of everyone abandoning him from the perspective of a down-on-his-luck rapper who has resorted to panhandling and robbing people. And on “Milky Cereal,” he showcased his humorous side.

Songs like “Eat ‘Em Up, L (Chill),” “Murdergram (Live At Rapmania),” “Mama Said Knock You Out,” and “To Da Break Of Dawn” were all essentially diss tracks aimed at his detractors in the guise of uptempo tracks. LL was able to cater to the ladies with “Around The Way Girl,” “Mr. Goodbar,” and “6 Minutes Of Pleasure.”  The single that put Mama Said Knock You Out on the road to Platinum sales was “Around The Way Girl.”  It caught fire in early November, 1990. If you thought “The Boomin’ System” was big? “Around The Way Girl” was not only catching fire on Black radio, playing in Walkmans all over and blasting out of cars and apartment windows, but it was also playing in shopping malls and in storefronts all over before crossing over.  The thing that made the song really explode was the video, which went from being played just on BET and “Yo! MTV Raps” to entering MTV’s regular rotation and being requested heavily on The Box. “Around The Way Girl” hit #1 on the Hot Rap Singles chart, peaked at #5 on the R&B charts, #7 on the Dance/Club charts, and #9 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single was RIAA certified Gold on January 15th, 1991, and the following week Mama Said Knock You Out was officially a Platinum album.

In the December 15th, 1990 issue of Billboard, Janine McAdams wrote a glowing feature titled “LL Cool J Delivers A ‘Knock-Out’ Album.” What is all the more notable is that on page 5 of this same issue of Billboard there was an article entitled “Vanilla Ice Has Hottest Album In Years.” As we look back at both albums 30 years after the fact, only one of these albums is regarded as a classic and is still listened to, written about, and revered…and the other one is To The Extreme.  The two Rap albums that prevented LL Cool J from ever having the top selling album on the R&B charts were MC Hammer’s Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em and the aforementioned Vanilla Ice project. Next, that spot was claimed by Whitney Houston’s I’m Your Baby Tonight. It took three of the biggest albums of the ‘90s to keep LL Cool J out of the #1 spot, let that sink in for a moment…

After “Around The Way Girl” blew up, LL followed it up by releasing the title song as a single complete with a simple yet striking black and white video from a boxing ring. LL also had his acting debut; he played a detective in the Michael J. Fox and James Woods buddy cop film The Hard Way. The film opened on March 8th, 1991 and Mama Said Knock You Out was the song used in the film trailer. Ironically, The Hard Way opened the same night as New Jack City, which starred Ice T also in a major role as a detective. Mama Said Knock Out was released in early March 1991, peaked at #1 on the Hot Rap Singles chart, #7 on the Dance/Club charts, #12 on the R&B Singles chart and hit #17 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single was RIAA certified Gold on May 15th, 1991, exactly four months after “Around The Way Girl.”

On May 1st, 1991 MTV aired “Yo! MTV Raps Unplugged” which featured an all-star lineup of Rap luminaries: A Tribe Called Quest, MC Lyte, LL Cool J, and De La Soul. It was LL Cool J who brought the house down; accompanied by a live band, he performed “Jingling Baby” and “Mama Said Knock You Out.”

When awards season came around in early 1992, Mama Said Knock You Out was nominated for multiple accolades. On January 27th, 1992 LL Cool J lost Best Rap/Hip Hop Album to DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince’s Homebase at the American Music Awards. While “Summertime” was a massive single, there’s no way Homebase was a better album than Mama Said Knock You Out. However, on February 25th, 1992 LL Cool J performed his hit single “Mama Said Knock You Out,” complete with his grandmother who had inspired him to write the smash in the first place (she appeared just like she had at the end of his video). That night he won the Grammy for Best Rap Performance (Solo) for “Mama Said Knock You Out,” beating out MC Hammer, Ice T, Queen Latifah, and Monie Love. It would be the first time a diss track won a Rap Grammy — not Drake’s “Back To Back” in 2015, as was widely and erroneously reported.

When everything was said and done, LL Cool J’s comeback album (don’t call it a comeback, he’s been here for years) was certified double Platinum in 1992, it garnered two Gold singles, and earned a Grammy Award. Moreover, his beef with Ice T was squashed (with the aid of the Universal Zulu Nation), and he ended up winning the battle against Kool Moe Dee after he released a lackluster album (1991’s Funke Funke Wisdom) with a diss track aimed at LL called “Death Blow,” which was released as a single but never even charted.  Uncle L was once again The Future Of The Funk, he crushed Moe Dee, Hammer, and Ice T’s curls, and he had a budding acting career, especially after starring in Toys with Robin Williams.

At one point, LL Cool J was being booed, slandered, dissed, and used as joke fodder for both the Rap fandom and Hip Hop community. But just one year later, he was back to being The Man again. LL Cool J is now widely regarded as being a model of perseverance, resilience, and longevity in Rap music as well as an all-time great. Years later, he’d have to embark on yet another comeback… but that is a story for another day.