Source: SXSW / Getty
LL Cool J is not too old to knock people out if they erroneously keep associating his legacy with being a Pop star.
The legendary rapper felt it necessary to defend his life’s work on social media after discovering fans were crowing him a “pop rap” pioneer, whatever that means.
“Me being called the forefather of pop rap is very confusing. What the f*ck are you talking about?? LOL,” he wrote on Twitter.
In the early 1980s, the Queens native first broke into the scene as a pretty-faced teenage street rapper named LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James) signed under Def Jam Recordings as their flagship artist. He’s since released ten consecutive platinum-plus selling albums that have catapulted hit singles “I Need Love,” “Rock The Bells,” “I’m Bad,” “Hey Lover,” “Doin It,” “Around the Way Girl,” and “Mama Said Knock You Out” to the top of the charts.
In February, the 53-year-old was nominated into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the sixth time, including prior years 2010, 2011, 2014, 2018, and 2019.
He even coined the term “G.O.A.T.” which is forever embedded into Hip-Hop culture.
His imprint in the genre is so secure, that his incredibly tone-deaf “Accidental Racist” collaboration with confederate flag-loving country music artist Brad Paisley in 2013 is glossed over as if it never happened.
James Todd Smith is definitely a rap icon and legend, but calling him a “forefather of pop rap” is where he draws the line.
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