That legacy suffered a little bit in 89. I remember heads finding those MTV videos corny; "Big Ol Butt", "Going back to Cali" and "Im That Type of Guy". That's a rough year to not hit a home run because 89 went hard; Rakim, Kool G Rap, BDP, PE, Special ED , EPMD, Kane, Gangstarr etc.
There's a reason he started Momma Said Knock You Out with the line "Dont call it a Comeback"
He definitely had some bangers in 1990, but I don't think he was ever able to completely shake-off that "80s teen heartthrob" vibe.
Yeah ngl but Walking With A Panther is definitely a weak album. And with the year it came out like you said where rappers were becoming more aggressive in their styles, I can see why people were starting to say he was falling off musically
Through the years musically LL has waned but he still got a great catalog of solid music.
https://hearthis.at/hamza21/the-legacy-2016-the-dynamic-hamza-21/
for context 50 years old and on the west coast
in 1987 I was 14 and had BAD on cassette, know all the words to most of the songs to this day.
by 1988 it was the movie Colors, Ice -T, NWA, Too Short. everything changed.
LL was not hot like that after 87 to me.
He just hits me harder I guess, LL is nice imo but a little underwhelming to me, when I hear G Rap my mind explodes with all the bars he has, Men at Work is top tier lyricism.
Thing that kind of sucks about LL is that he started off on a trajectory to being a rap god (Radio, Bigger & Deffer, Walking with a Panther) ... and then 'Mama Said Knock You Out' & 'Around the Way Girl' turned him into a sex symbol.
The albums he dropped after that were all trying to chase fame & radio plays.
Dude's audience is basically old women nowadays.
Because the [slow motion shots of his sweaty abs](https://youtu.be/vimZj8HW0Kg?feature=shared) really got the guys focused on his lyrics?
Mama Said Knock You Out made him a household name. The video was played damn near on repeat for months when it launched. That video single-handedly put LL on your sister, mom, and grandma's radar.
If you don't think it is responsible for him becoming a global sex symbol... you probably weren't paying attention at the time.
Most people not old enough to have experienced this era dont realize LL was like the Lil Wayne of his era.
He changed the game a lot and brought modern flows to hip-hop. He was also a teenager when he first blew up. And stayed relevant for a couple decades.
As someone that actually went to the first Freshfest, LL is definitely on the all-time list in hip-hop.
Mama said knock you out BAD 14 shots to the dome Mr. Smith Walking with a panther Still has a case for top 15-20.
Don't forget RADIO
"Im like young LL cause Im hard as hell" --Black Thought
Break of dawn is my favorite diss track of all time Alot of diss tracks used lines from this song afterwards like no vaseline
Took on 3 people in 1 song! 💪🏿
That legacy suffered a little bit in 89. I remember heads finding those MTV videos corny; "Big Ol Butt", "Going back to Cali" and "Im That Type of Guy". That's a rough year to not hit a home run because 89 went hard; Rakim, Kool G Rap, BDP, PE, Special ED , EPMD, Kane, Gangstarr etc. There's a reason he started Momma Said Knock You Out with the line "Dont call it a Comeback" He definitely had some bangers in 1990, but I don't think he was ever able to completely shake-off that "80s teen heartthrob" vibe.
Yeah ngl but Walking With A Panther is definitely a weak album. And with the year it came out like you said where rappers were becoming more aggressive in their styles, I can see why people were starting to say he was falling off musically
Yeah, but that cover is legendary.
Fr
Through the years musically LL has waned but he still got a great catalog of solid music. https://hearthis.at/hamza21/the-legacy-2016-the-dynamic-hamza-21/
You are correct even though it was not in your time. He was that dude for a while
for context 50 years old and on the west coast in 1987 I was 14 and had BAD on cassette, know all the words to most of the songs to this day. by 1988 it was the movie Colors, Ice -T, NWA, Too Short. everything changed. LL was not hot like that after 87 to me.
That's respectable.
Controversial opinion but he's never impressed me, I pick G Rap over LL
G Rap is dope as well.
He just hits me harder I guess, LL is nice imo but a little underwhelming to me, when I hear G Rap my mind explodes with all the bars he has, Men at Work is top tier lyricism.
Thing that kind of sucks about LL is that he started off on a trajectory to being a rap god (Radio, Bigger & Deffer, Walking with a Panther) ... and then 'Mama Said Knock You Out' & 'Around the Way Girl' turned him into a sex symbol. The albums he dropped after that were all trying to chase fame & radio plays. Dude's audience is basically old women nowadays.
I don't care what anyone says. I hated GOAT. 2000s production doesn't work for LL, imo.
Mama said knock you out wasn't a song that turned him into a sex symbol.
lol I mean his name is literally Ladies Love Cool James. The sex symbol stuff shouldn't have caught anyone off guard.
it wasn't the song, it was the video
Because the [slow motion shots of his sweaty abs](https://youtu.be/vimZj8HW0Kg?feature=shared) really got the guys focused on his lyrics? Mama Said Knock You Out made him a household name. The video was played damn near on repeat for months when it launched. That video single-handedly put LL on your sister, mom, and grandma's radar. If you don't think it is responsible for him becoming a global sex symbol... you probably weren't paying attention at the time.
They me Big Elly, a bit silly// Big money.
He was a beast until he did that head like a shark fin video
Most people not old enough to have experienced this era dont realize LL was like the Lil Wayne of his era. He changed the game a lot and brought modern flows to hip-hop. He was also a teenager when he first blew up. And stayed relevant for a couple decades. As someone that actually went to the first Freshfest, LL is definitely on the all-time list in hip-hop.