vember of 1984 called "1 Need
a Beat" followed by the first
. Def Jam album, also Cool J's,
His attractively cocky mug called "Radio".
has been splashed on the
pages of American and Ital­
ian Vogue, Details and Spin
magazine.
But can he flow?
The layout for his new re­
lease, 14 Shots To The Dome,
looks like a photo shoot for
Calvin Klein underwear.
But how does he flow?
He was the first rap artist '
to be listed as one of Playgirl's
"Ten Sexiest Men In Rock"
and was dubbed by Melody
Ma er's Simon Reynolds as
"the first rap teen idol".
So, hat about hi flow?
By TUREKA TURK
IIlchlp.n CltlDm
COOL J' BAC SEAT
has a ton of episodes that cre­
ate the mystique in front of
the man. Cool J's flow is 90%
confidence, 5% sexiness and
5% blunt humour. Flow, in­
deed.
The "Funkadelic Relic"
himself, LL Cool J, doesn't
just look arrogant (or is that
just' a big surge of confi­
dence?). The trait seeps its
way into his flow, his flavor.
For some of his peers,
that's always been a problem.
Cool J has been the target
of MCs from aCT the way
and around the way, not fa­
vorably digging his sound nor
his overly confident de­
meanor.
Perhaps it's jealousy of
Cool J's longevity that has
gotten under their. skin.
Maybe it's the fact that Cool
J has been accepted by the
industry and fans alike as the
good looking bad boy, one
who talks naughty with a
nic smile.
T T E
CAU E of the rift, it hasn't
hurt the career of the "soul
survivor". In fact, with a bit­
ter tongue, his rivals have to
admit, Cool J IS still around.
"I hate when people say
. 'still'. Imagine asking a doc­
tor, 'Yo, man, you still a doc­
tor? It's not like I'm fighting
to stay above water. I'm
swimming and I got a shark's
fin going at 100 mil per
hour toward the shore,"
It's tatements like those
that make the mercurial ball
of energy the victim of hate­
love reI tionship . People
ha to love him, but with
track like "Pink Cookies",
they ju t go to.
ndi] putedly Cool J has
intergrated him If into the
m in tr m w rld of diluted
indu ry hip hop. But, b ck in
h d ,i was oolJwhohad
the fir t twelve-inch ingle
released from he relic label
ef Jam, the prodigy of
Ru II imon and then
ick u in, in 0-
AFTER RELEASE
of his second album, "Bigger
and Deffer", which included
the then h rd-cor cl ic
"I'm Bad" and the trac that
become a national anthem for
every girl from nine to
twenty-nine, "1 Need Love",
Cool J hit the road again.
This time' he was' in com ..
pany with the much re­
spected Black soldier group
Public Enemy, no old-timer
Doug E. Fresh, Whodini, and
two groups who have never
really received all of their
much due props from the in­
dustry nor the media, Eric B.
and Rakim and Stetsasonic,
in.Def Jam '87.
I t was this tour that UJs
Angeles Times' Robert Hil­
burn com pared Cool J to
Muhammed Ali. And if that
wasn't enough of an ego shot
to the Kangol man himself,
his next release in 1989,
''Walking With a Panther",
half of it devoted to proving ,
himself to the competition'
even after five good years in
the busin , was no evidence
of it.
Although there were only
five memorable cuts from the
18 cut album, those five cuts
did remind the rap audience
that Cool J still had the fresh,
innovative energy to keep hi
nitch in the rap world.
These milestones were fol­
lowed by an avalanche of
other successful Cool J feats.
After a cut on the "Krush
Groove" soundtrack, "I Can't
Live Without My Radio", in
1985, Cool J was on the road
with the kings of roc them- -
selves, Run-DMC, as well as
the Beastie Boys and
Whodini.
Cool J has dipped his hand in
other mixes, perhaps where
they didn't belong. Cool J's
'acting career is hopefully
short-termed and not really
worth mentioning.
23th with Silk, Sisters With
Voices, H-Town and Naughty
By ature.
U nfortunately, Cool J was
in rare form. Despite giving a
performance that some fans
say 'Just wasn't him", Cool J
has still got a following few
Cool J's got a knack for blunt,
naughty sermons a still be­
lieve it should be Cool J Loves
Ladies, not Ladies Love Cool
J.) that could result in swing-
ing episodes. .
Cool J also happened to be
appearing in concert July
old timers can match.
Cool J can still 100 at
years worth of releases in the
future because, like the Ener ..
gizer bunny, he eepe going,
and going and goiag (or is it
coming and coming and com­
ing ... )
Checkout
'14 hots
To 'he
Dome'
To B Continu d:' "Free to Be" (Eastwest)
Wh r. Up?: Unfortunatet,t, from the producers of
En Vogue come a seemingly experimental self-pro­
claimed hard core rap group. What really comes from
l1lomas McElroy and Denzil Foster is a sha ow group
of two girls, one seemingly se'1f¥ and the other false¥
spunky, and a guy. Wlat he does, I don't know. To
Be Continued needs to start from the beginning.
U bl tr cks: "Don', Forget Yo Hat", Who
Do You Call
Poets, shows that the message they were shouting in
the 1960's still has a home in the 1990's. Unfortu­
nately, the classic "This Is Madness· On Hassan's
release couldn't ewn touch the one released aJmost
thirty years ago.
Soun of r volut on: "Niggers Are Scared of
Revolution", "Am", "Malcolm", 't.ove', 'Persons:
Things· .
"I'M THAT TYPE OF
GUY" was cl ic of Cool J's
personality. Both "Going
flack to Cali" and "Jack the
Ripper", from the movie "UBS
Than Zero", were classic rap
tunes that were jeep (or was
it Jimmy back then?) ready.
And could you forget the
erotic tracks "Big Ole Butt"
and "Jingling Baby" com-
plete with th slick Cool J
sensuality?
And then it happened. In
the spring or 1991, Cool J re­
leased what was perhaps the
best trac . Cool J has got his
lyrics on, "Mama Said Knock
You Out" was released.
Granted, it was taken and di­
luted by R&B and Pop char .
But "Mama Said Knock You
Out proved that Cool J still
-had it, even though consid­
er an "old timer" by music
i nd u try standards.
Chronologically pe ng,
What is worth mentioning,
however, is his new release,
"14 Shots To The Dome". �
duced by some of the most
innovative rap producers in
the busin ,Marley Marl,
"Bobcat" and QD3, "Dome" is
Cool J in usual form, cocky
and hard. '
"How I'm Comin" the first
, ,
single released, is disappoint­
ing because it sounds too
much like an attempt to fol­
low "Mama Said Kook You
Out". But "Buckin' Em
Down ", ''All We Got uft Is
The Beat", "Soul Suriuor"
and "Cross Roads" make up
for the attempt. Th tracks
are fun and energetic.
Gumbo: ' "Dropping So'ulful H20 on the Flbe,.
(ChrysaJis)
What' Up?: Gumbo is a funky urban group com­
pletely in1tuenced by the soutful tongue of Arrested
De lopme Gumbo is indeed life music, spurting
out subconscious thoughts on the everyday life of
Black folks,
Tru gumbo for y : "A Free sour, "The Boar', "I
Know You're A Virgin"
Jungl Broth r : "J. Beez Wit The Remedy"
�amer Bros.)
Wh J Up?: JBs in da house! "Remedy" is proof
that those from the AfrO a Bam baata tribe Just didn't
die off. The tracks are phat and funky. Although th
JBs have paid more attention to the ° lyrics, their new
release shows they' got the remedy for not try' 9 to
do everybody else's th' 9 and doing the ° OYIn,
HI II ir own: -Boo Of Rhyme Pages".
"Blahbludify·, "t'm In Love With Indica", "All I Think
About Is You", "Good Lookin Out"
V r 0 Arti t : "March On" (Reprise)
Wh t' Up?: A recording of a live tribute to Dr,
Martin Luther King on the anniversary of his death,
'March On" is a jambalya of artists celebrating the
Um B n H n: "Be Bop Or Be Dead" (A om) work of Dr. King, soulfully. Artists include Vanessa
Up?: For I of those h p to The Last Po s Williams, Will Downing, Claude cKn ght Patti
T L AC vibe, H 's n re ase i I make you remlrusce Austin, Yoalanda Adams, and the Na tonal Civil
fOndly over the originators of rap (se , you thought it Rights Museum 25th Anniversary Mass Choir.
that keep Cool J at sea level, was Grandmaster Flash), revolunonary rap that is. 'P rformanc for hi life: "Ain't Gonna Let No­
however, are "Pink Cookie Hassan, one of the original members of Th Last body Tum Me Around", "Keep Your £Eye On The
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at". The wo ar proof th t