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Related: Best Of LL Cool J 2014 [Exclusive Photos]

12. I Shot Ya f/ Keith Murray(1996)

LL plays well with others (except in the cast of “4,3,2,1″) and knows how to draw a good crowd. Lyn Collins’ “Put It On The Line” was the perfect sample for this track that had LL causing some coincidental drama with this track putting his words on the line. Tupac even thought the song was a diss directed at him, but there was no real evidence LL was really taking any shots.

11. Jack The Ripper (1987)

There was no denying that the album art for Kool Moe Dee’s “How Ya Like Me Now” was a direct diss to LL with a jeep crushing a red Kangol hat that was known to be LL’s signature style. He wasn’t about to sit back and take the hit and responded with the diss track “Jack The Ripper.” With a sample from The Soul Searcher’s “Ashley’s Roachclip,” LL spit one of his most infamous diss lines, “How ya like me now? I’m getting busier. I’m double platinum, I’m watching you get dizzier.”

10. I Can’t Live Without My Radio (1985)

The lead song from his debut album, “Radio”, set the stage for the then 28-year-old rapper from Queens. Produced by Rick Rubin, “Radio” was a sparse production that filled the empty space between beats with bravado and swagger. This ode to a boom box, struck the hearts of hip hop heads everywhere who held the same love and affection for their own mobile sound system.

15 Essential LL Cool J Songs  was originally published on rnbphilly.com

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