LL Cool J on 30 years in hip-hop: I just wanted to be heard

Veteran rapper LL Cool J recently reflected on his three-decade hip-hop career. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, he revealed how he became a rapper. Considered one of the pioneers of hip-hop, he said that the talent came natural to him as opposed toacting, and he has been a rapper for as long as he can remember. He said, "I came to them and I was hip-hop. The difference between the acting for me and the hip-hop is that I was an MC from day one. The acting thing developed because I had the talent and the ability to do it -- they're different. But at the end of the day, art doesn't care whether it happened, inspiration happened instantaneously, or you worked 100 years to do it. Ultimately, it's the end result. But that being said, I just really believed in [hip-hop]."

Born James Todd Smith, LL Cool J was born on January 14, 1968, in Bay Shore, New York, and rose to prominence in the 1980s and 1990s. He is known for his unique style of rapping, which combines street-smart lyrics and smooth, melodic delivery.

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He said that when he was exposed to hip-hop, it was the first time he had heard "young Black kids in the city sounding powerful." He had never heard that before, adding that all he ever saw were people bent over with handcuffs on, getting put in a police car. He stated that there were no movies, and if there were, they were pimp movies or something like that, which was a part of their lives too. He said he had heard these poets, and that was the first time he had heard it.

LL Cool J released his debut album, Radio, in 1985, which featured the hit single 'I Can't Live Without My Radio.' He went on to release several more successful albums throughout the 1980s and 1990s, including Bigger and Deffer, Walking with a Panther, and Mama Said Knock You Out. He has sold over 13 million albums in the United States and has won multiple awards, including two Grammy Awards.

He has also appeared in numerous films and television shows, including NCIS: Los Angeles, Deep Blue Sea, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, and In Too Deep. He has also written several books, including his autobiography, I Make My Own Rules, and a fitness book, LL Cool J's Platinum Workout.

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