LL Cool J has some thoughts about his standing in the industry, and isn’t shy about letting them be known. Humbly bragging about his certainty that people will one day recognize his greatness, and commend him for his contributions to the culture.
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"I’m [going to] say this humbly, but I really mean this," he began telling Mehdi Maïzi, host of Apple Music's Le Code, during a recent interview. "I think one day people are going to wake up and realize that LL Cool J is the most important rapper that ever existed. I truly believe one day people are going to say that.”
“They’re gonna look and say, ‘Wow, when it comes to the jewelry, this is the guy that introduced all the diamonds, and the ice and the jewelry and the champagne,” he expressed. “They’re gonna say when it comes to the love songs, they’re gonna say, ‘This is the guy that introduced the love songs and all the love s***.'”
“When it comes to the bad boy vibe, they’re gonna realize that this is the guy who introduced all the rebellious, bad boy vibes before it was done,” he adding with certainty. “When it comes to the G.O.A.T terminology, they gon’ say, ‘This is the guy who came up with all the G.O.A.T stuff,’" noting "I could go on and on and on.”
Though credited for emerging G.O.A.T. ("greatest of all time”) to be a modern-day mainstream term with the release of his 2000 album of the same name, the idiom can be originally attributed to the actual original G.O.A.T. himself — Muhammad Ali. Popularly nicknamed “The Greatest,” during his time as a boxer, which his wife then supposedly turned into G.O.A.T. for publicity sometime in the 90s.
“They’re gonna say when it comes to FUBU, ‘Yo, this guy introduced the whole idea of putting clothing lines. Even before that, he did Troop,’” LL continued boasting. “When it comes to endorsements, ‘Oh, this is the guy who did Kangol and made the Kangol popular before people even did that,'" he said.
“When they talk about television, they gon’ say, ‘Oh, this is the guy who did incredible stuff on TV and at the same time was still making incredible records,’" LL who’s latest album The FORCE arrived in September. "It wasn’t just doing TV and using rap as a launch pad. When it comes to business… I could go on and on and on and on.”
Continuing to make music 5 decades in, LL has also starred in numerous TV shows and movies, including NCIS: Los Angeles, Last Holiday and Any Given Sunday, just to name a few.
The 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee has also written four books, including his autobiography, I Make My Own Rules, and founded his own music label, P.O.G., another acronym for Power of God.
"I've done so much for the culture, it's almost unfathomable," LL who signed to Def Jam Recordings in 1984, told Maïzi.
Previously sharing his confidence that he’d be recognized for being “the first artist that was on Def Jam,’” earlier on in the conversation, LL went on to say, “Every artist that you can name, the biggest billionaire artists were launched on the label that I launched on.”
"I'm saying this with love, I'm not trying to be funny-style, I'm not trying to be arrogant, I really sincerely... when I look at the epicenter of what it really is... it's almost unfathomable."
To catch LL Cool J humble brag and more, check out his entire interview below.
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