January 14: LL Cool J Was Born. (1968)

January 14, 1968 – On This Date In Hip-Hop, James “LL Cool J” Smith was born in Bay Shore, New York. LL Cool J would grow up to: (1) begin rapping at the age of 9, (2) produce and mix his own demos, (3) pondered rapping as “J-Ski”, (4) rap as “Ladies Love Cool James” instead, (5) be the first Hip-Hop act on American Bandstand, (6) act in film & television, (7) have his own clothing line, music label and production company, (8) release 13 albums, (9) win 2 GRAMMYS, (10) need love, (11) have an overly aggressive momma who wanted him to knock people out, and (12) lick his lips 46 times while hosting the Grammys.

Happy Birthday LL!