Customer Reviews

Mr. Smith 11 21 95

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In 1995 LL Cool J released "Mr. Smith". At that point, he had been on the rap scene for a decade, beginning with his 1985 classic "Radio". No easy feat, especially considering that by the mid-90's the pop-rap that was his niche had fell out of favor. The West Coast rappers had brought forth "Gangsta Rap". The East Coast held it's own during this time, though it's sound wasn't as masterfully crafted as the West Coast's G-Funk.

Opener "Make it hot" samples Debarges "I like it". Though this song has been used before and after 1000 times, LL Makes good use of it, telling about his way with the ladies. Not far behind is "Hip Hop" where he pays ode to the rappers who laid the groundwork for him. He is on-point lyrically here. The chorus is pleasant as well. He even mentions West Coast Artists Snoop Dogg, N.W.A, Dr. Dre and Eazy E. That was a nice touch, and definitely gains points with me.

The hits are pretty strong. "Hey Lover" is smooth with Boyz II Men crooning the hook. "Doin it" ranks up there with Positive K's "I gotta man" as classic male-female dialog raps. And who can forget the video? Sleazy, sassy, and nasty, me likes!

The Trackmasters produced "Loungin" features Total. The lyrics are great LL fare, giving his wisdom on relationships. He says "The moral of the story is that women need love/The kind you so-called Playas never dreamed of/What? You've got to try love, can't buy love/And if you lay your hand then it's bye-bye love."

Now onto the weaker moments, and I'll give a slight backstory. By late 1995 Veteran Rappers were seen by some members of the younger crowd as archaic and passe. To combat this you had to either evolve or become extinct.

Too $hort made a seamless transition, finding respect with mainstream rap fans as well as the top Gangstas in the Rap Scene.

MC Hammer, his 1994 album "The Funky HeadHunter", though it was writen off and largely panned by critics, it was a fine offering of (Not to sound redundant) Gangsta Rap and is vastly underrated.

LL Cool J, However, didn't fare as well. In an effort to court a more youthful audience round the 'hood, he decided to increase the amount of profanity he used ten fold. This is evidenced by the track "No airplay", which screams "Filler" Loud and clear. In 4 minutes it goes nowhere. His rhymes are redundant, he used the word "Piranha" on a few other songs, which shows un-creativeness, and only bolsters the opinion of many that LL is at his best rapping ladies jams. Other times he's hit-or-miss.

Both versions of "I shot ya" are macho-thug posturing with LL giving his "I'm this, I'm that, I crushed Kool Moe Dee, Ice T's wife, and Hammer", which is of course debatable.
The remix features Prodigy from Mobb Deep, Keith Murray, Fat Joe, and Foxy Brown. The beat is simple, identical on both versions, twined with high-note piano and a whiny organ. It's alright. I'm not saying LL Cool J is bad at boasting, it's just that he's done it much better in the past (i.e "I'm Bad" and "Mama said knock you out"). Also, it's rumored that LL's verse was a diss to 2Pac. Now Pac is my favorite rapper of all time, so I can't say I applaud that.

Oddly enough LL Cool J's career path up to that point is actually quite similar to Hammer's (Whom he dissed). In that they both tried their hands at Gangsta Rap. And, Both Rappers true image - that of nice-guys - showed through their respective Gangsta-Work, and, finally, both eventually abandoned the style.

It's true, talk about Six degrees of separation.

Overall, "Mr. Smith" is nowhere near the quality of his 2 masterpieces "Radio" and "Mama said Knock you out", which belong in everyone's collection. If you don't own any LL Cool J, "Mr. Smith" is not the place to start.

all of the tracks are tight. this is when ll cool j. was pimpin. some of the bumpin tracks on this bangin cd are the intro, doin it, hey lover, no airplay , holis to hollywood, lougin, you can not live without this cd. so what are you waiting for. pick up this cd now from amazon.com and start listing to it. you can NOT live without it. it's the tight.

ll cool j, biz markie, will smith, and slick rick are all rappers that started rap, and that are still popular today. the best song on this album is "i shot ya" (remix) (featuring Keith Murray, Prodigy, Foxy Brown & Fat Joe), and "doin it"

Where do I start? Well its probably LL Cool J's best ever album. I never get tired of listening to it and is the best CD I own. 'Hey Lover'featuring Boyz 2 Men is simply the best song ever produced! I've heard songs that come near but this is a classic sadly overlooked on compilation Love albums,could also be a bonus for adventurous LL Cool J enthusiasts should they but this album and listen to it.When you take a song like this and throw in other songs such as'Hollis to Hollywood','Loungin' and 'Doin it!' then your really never going to go wrong with selling it! Perhaps or more specifically that's why this has gone double platinum.I'm sure that people who've bought this album are far from disappointed! This is a classic album which is a definate must for all R n'B and Rap fans!!!!!!!!

I really want this cd beacause I cracked mine a week ago