LL Cool J Tickets

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About LL Cool J

LL Cool J might not have been rap's first artist, but he may well be its most durable. In a career that's spanned more than 15 years, the New York native has managed to navigate hip-hop's stormy waters and create a body of work dotted with touchstones for up-and-comers in the genre. Moreover, based on the evidence thus far, LL Cool J stands a good chance of becoming the most respected actor ever to emerge from the hip-hop landscape. Certainly, few artists in any style of music have shown more ambition or a greater work ethic.

LL Cool J's story begins in Queens, New York, where the future rapper was born on Jan. 14, 1968. Christened James Todd Smith, the toddler was placed under the guardianship of his grandparents after his parents divorced when he was just 4 years old. Even as a pre-school kid, LL Cool J was smitten with the jazz albums that his grandfather would play, as well as with the R&B featured on the syndicated TV show Soul Train. By the time he was 9 years old, he was already rapping, and not long after that, he concocted a colorful moniker for himself ? LL Cool J ? that stood for "Ladies Love Cool James." Ignoring his grandson's pleas for a dirt bike, LL Cool J 's grandfather instead bought the young rapper some music equipment and a DJ system soon after his 13th birthday.

During the next two years, LL Cool J produced a number of homemade demos, which he sent out to various record companies. The first response came from Def Jam Records, a newly formed start-up company headed by New York University students Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons. Released in 1984 as the label's first single, LL Cool J's "I Need a Beat" sold 100,000 copies, prompting its then-16-year-old maker to drop out of school and pursue music full time. The following year, LL Cool J recorded and released his full-length debut album, Radio. Hailed by New York's Village Voice as the most original rap effort of the year, the album featured one song in particular ("I Just Can't Live Without My Radio") that established LL Cool J's reputation as a street-wise B-Boy. Portending a future shift in career direction, LL Cool J performed the song to great acclaim in the seminal rap film, Krush Groove, and also undertook a major U.S. tour with Run DMC, whose members exerted a heavy influence on his emerging hip-hop style.

On the strength of the chart-topping rap ballad "I Need Love" (a song that helped solidify his reputation as a ladies' man), LL Cool J's 1987 sophomore album, Bigger and Deffer, went double platinum. In its aftermath, Playgirl magazine honored the rapper by naming him one of "The Ten Sexiest Men in Rock." Perhaps embracing his stardom too forcefully, however, LL released a 1989 album, Walking With a Panther, that was roundly panned as a pop sellout. Nonetheless, the CD, which featured the hit "Going Back to Cali" from the Less Than Zero soundtrack, achieved platinum sales. Moreover, LL Cool J proved himself an artist with a social conscience when he performed at a "Just Say No Foundation" anti-drug concert at Radio City Music Hall. Following the bad press of Panther, Cool J teamed up with producer Marley Marl and redeemed himself in exemplary fashion with his 1990 release, Mama Said Knock You Out. His biggest-selling effort to date, the album spawned a flurry of hit singles and earned LL Cool J a Best Solo Rap Performance Grammy. Considered by many to be his crowning achievement, the CD spent more than a year on both the Billboard pop and R&B charts.

Perhaps the best indication of the album's success, however, was the invitation LL Cool J received to do an MTV Unplugged performance. Aired in 1991, the appearance was the first instance in which a rapper had been featured on the acoustic-oriented show. Having flirted with film work in previous years, LL Cool J now turned toward Hollywood with a vengeance, landing roles in The Hard Way (with Michael J. Fox and James Woods) and in Toys (which starred Robin Williams). He also found time to undertake a number of humanitarian endeavors, which included launching the Camp Cool J Foundation (a non-profit organization that provides free year-round recreational, educational, and cultural programs for youths unable to afford them), and taping radio segments for the "Stay in School" literacy campaign. Perhaps distracted by such tangential activities, LL Cool J faltered on his 1993 effort, 14 Shots to the Dome, which met with strong sales but lackluster reviews. Nonetheless, that same year he was accorded the honor of becoming the first rap artist to be featured in an MTV Rockumentary.

While he continued to make albums in the second half of the '90s, Cool J's recording career seemed more and more subsumed by TV and film work. In April 1995, NBC launched the sitcom In the House, which starred the rapper as a sidelined football player who operates a holistic rehabilitation center. Eventually moving over to UPN, the series went on to earn LL Cool J three Black Image Awards as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. Moreover, LL became a pitchman of sorts by filming a promo commercial for Major League Baseball and ads for Coca-Cola and the Fubu clothing line. Among the more prestigious honors LL Cool J received during this time was a 1997 MTV Video Vanguard Award, which placed him in the company of such stars as Madonna and Michael Jackson. As the roles offered to him have become increasingly substantive, LL Cool J's film career has rocketed into the stratosphere in recent years.

In 1999 alone, LL starred in three major motion pictures: Oliver Stone's Any Given Sunday, Deep Blue Sea, and In Too Deep, for which he received his best reviews yet for his portrayal of a drug kingpin with a heart. Even as Hollywood embraces him (he will begin filming a remake of the '70s mini-classic "Rollerball" in the fall of 2000), LL appears determined to maintain his status as one of music's perennial rappers, as evidenced by his latest CD. Lavishly titled The Greatest of All Time (G.O.A.T.), the CD features such high-profile guest players as Snoop Dogg, Redman, Method Man, and Carl Thomas. Early press suggests the album marks a return to the form that LL displayed on 1990's heralded Mama Said Knock You Out. Meanwhile, LL Cool J continues to revel in the dual nature of his career, all the while recognizing his good fortune. "There's been such a great buzz on my music," he recently told Rap Pages. "It's really a blessing to have done this for so long and to have people respond and appreciate it in such a way. It's flattering, and it's a testament to God's blessing, my hard work, dedication, and commitment. My film stuff is really going well, too, and that's starting to really take off and groom me for the next phase of my career. I'm just thankful."

LL Cool J Tickets

Ticket Retriever sells tickets for LL Cool J concert events. We specialize in providing you with premium and other LL Cool J Tickets that are in high demand. We can help you gain access to tickets for all major events.

How to Find LL Cool J Tickets:

1. Browse our ticket inventory by clicking on the "LL Cool J" button.

2. Sort ticket events by price, section, or row.

3. Use the seating chart to help you find the LL Cool J tickets that meet your preferences.

4. Place your ticket order for LL Cool J Tickets on our secure system.