LL Cool J

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 RunDMC 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 longtenured deal with Def Jam A twotime Grammy Award winner LL Cool J is known for hip hop songs such as Going Back to Cali Im Bad The Boomin System Rock the Bells and Mama Said Knock You Out as well as RB 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 Cant 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 19952000 He has appeared in numerous films including Last Holiday Edison Mindhunters SWAT Deliver Us from Eva Rollerball Charlies Angels In Too Deep Any Given Sunday Deep Blue Sea Halloween H20 BAPS 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 CBSs police procedural NCIS LA a spinoff of NCIS He was also the host of MTVs Lip Sync Battle