By Kelefa Sanneh
Upgraded on: September 16, 2024/ 8:38 PM EDT/ CBS News
The return of LL COOL J, the rap artist
The return of LL COOL J, the rap artist 07:51
Strolling in the St. Albans community of Queens, New York, LL COOL J stated, “I enjoy this hood, male. Love this community. Love whatever about it. Love the energy. I went far for myself rappin’ around here.”
LL COOL J is still an area hero here. Forty years after his very first record, he is a strolling personification of hip-hop history, which does not imply he’s retired. Recently, at the MTV Video Music Awards, he commemorated his amazing performance history.
LL COOL J carries out at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards:
LL Cool J – “Headsprung”/ “Going Back To Cali”/ “Bring The Noise” & & More|2024 VMAs by MTV on YouTube
Asked what he believes has actually kept individuals thinking about his work for a lot of years, he responded, “I simply constantly do what I like. And I understand an apple tree keeps providing fruit, an orange tree keeps offering fruit, up until it’s gone. I simply keep providing.”
His profession started in his youth bed room, in the basement of his grandma’s home in Queens. “You’re in the museum,” he stated. “You in Graceland, child.”
He still has actually boxes filled with old demonstration tapes, and handwritten rhymes. For him, this was his artist’s studio. “I composed ‘Rock The Bells’ down here. I composed ‘I Need Love’ down here. I composed ‘I’m Bad,’ like, in the cars and truck and down here.”
LL COOL J reveals his basement studio at his grandparents’ Queens home to “Sunday Morning” factor Kelefa Sanneh. CBS News
He stated this basement was the location where dreams come to life. As a kid, James Todd Smith likewise saw this basement as a sanctuary.
Sanneh asked, “I believe a great deal of individuals who experience what you experienced– you’ve seen your dad shoot your mom, you get abuse from your mom’s ex-boyfriend, you go through these actually tough things– do not come out of it the method you came out of it.”
“Yeah. You understand, life is amusing,” stated LL. “You can utilize things as a reason for failure, or a factor to prosper. When my mom was shot, they informed us they didn’t believe she ‘d stroll once again. She strolled once again.
“Using the important things that occur in your life to move you towards your dreams is most likely the healthiest method to handle anything that occurs,” he stated.
He was mostly raised by his grandparents. They purchased him turntables to keep him in your home (and out of problem). It was a more vital present than they might have pictured. “It truly was simply wishing to get away discomfort,” he stated. “It was an escape,