LL Cool J

Also known as Ladies Love Cool James, James Todd Smith

American rapper and actor (born 1968)

OverviewAI-generated

LL Cool J, born James Todd Smith in 1968, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and record producer. He was born in Queens, with some sources citing Bay Shore, Long Island, New York. An African American male, he began his work period in 1984 and speaks English. His musical genres include East Coast hip-hop, contemporary R&B, and pop rap. He has been associated with record labels such as Def Jam Recordings, Columbia Records, and Sony Music.

Smith has received several awards, including a Kennedy Center Honor, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. He was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. He has four children and was previously in a partnership with Kidada Jones.

Synthesized by Vinony from 35 facts across 5 sources: Wikidata, MusicBrainz, Last.fm, TMDb, Vinony collections. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Film & TV

Bay Shore, Long Island, New York, USA

James Todd Smith (better known as LL Cool J, an acronym for Ladies Love Cool James; born January 14, 1968) 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 Run-DMC. Signed to Def Jam Recordings in 1984, his breakthrough came with his single "I Need a Beat" and…

Known for

Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music — Self (archive footage)2025
Stans — Self2025
Quincy Jones, Music Man — Self (archive footage)2025
SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius)2025
Hip Hop Was Born Here — Self - Host2025
Comin' Up Short — Self2024
NCISverse: The First 1,000 — Self2024
A Hip Hop Minute — Self2024
Jimmy Fallon's Holiday Seasoning Spectacular — Self2024
James Brown: Say It Loud — Self2024

via TMDB

Music · MusicBrainz

Type: Person
Gender: Male
Origin: United States
Active from: 1968

east coast hip hophip hoprap

Discography

Member of

Official site Discogs Stream

via MusicBrainz · CC0

Listeners · Last.fm

Listeners: 1,222,335
Total plays: 12,240,135

Key facts

Born: James Todd Smith , ( 1968-01-14 ) January 14, 1968 (age 58) , Bay Shore, New York , U.S.
Occupations: Rapper songwriter record producer actor
Years active: 1984–present
Works: Discography filmography
Spouse: Simone Johnson ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1995 )
Partner: Kidada Jones (1992–1994)
Awards: Full list
Origin: Queens , New York City , U.S.
Genres: East Coast hip-hop R&B
Labels: Virgin 429 Def Jam Columbia CBS Violator S-BRO
Website: llcoolj .com

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of: human
Family name: Smith
Gender: male
Citizenship: United States
Place of birth: Queens
Occupation: actor
Languages spoken: English language
Native language: English language
Genre: hip-hop
Instrument: voice
Official website: llcoolj.com
Image: LL Cool J in 2023 (cropped).jpg
Number of children: 4

Show 13 more facts

Commons category: LL Cool J
date of birth: 1968-01-14
topic's main category: Category:LL Cool J
Commons gallery: LL Cool J
ethnic group: African Americans
birth name: James Todd Smith
pseudonym: LL Cool J
start of work period: 1984-00-00
social media followers: 1000000
writing language: English language
name in native language: LL Cool J
unmarried partner: Kidada Jones
nominated for: Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group

Sources (5)

via Wikidata · CC0

~31 min read

Encyclopedic overview

James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to realize crossover commercial success, alongside fellow new-school hip-hop acts like Run-DMC.

Signed by Def Jam Recordings in 1984, LL Cool J's breakthrough came with his 1984 single "I Need a Beat", followed by his debut studio album, Radio (1985). He achieved continued 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), concluded his contract with Def Jam; he later signed with the label once more to release his fourteenth album, The FORCE (2024).

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “LL Cool J” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.