Reviews (page 6 of 7)
I liked the music on this. There beats are good, with lots of jazzy samples and musical flourishes. But I wasn’t sold on LL Cool J as an MC. He’s decently charismatic on a few tracks, but just as often I thought his performances fell flat. He lacks a certain oomph. His flow is solid but unremarkable, and his lyrics are overly reliant on rap cliches. Not a bad album but I didn’t think it was anything special either. 2.5
J - 2/5 Best Track - "Mama Said Knock You Out" F - 2/5
Nah, why do so many rappers from this era spend their time trying to fuck me through the speakers? I’m sick of hearing about this guys dick by the end of track two and there’s FOURTEEN tracks on this album? It’s honestly pathetic, and the music holds no sway over me either. This was poor, very poor indeed.
DNF; what I heard wasn't horrible, but annoyed me just enough.
Well I’ll never look at a Mister Goodbar the same way again.
I only know a couple of LL Cool J songs, “Going Back To Cali,” and the title track off of this album. Both songs are pretty good, but neither one of them has ever inspired me to check out an album by LL Cool J. However, I saw on Reddit this morning that Mr. Cool J was supposed to play a show today, July 4, but some workers involved with the venue were on strike, and LL decided to not be a scab, and backed out of his performance. Good for him. Anyway, I expect this album to be pretty dated in its sound, but I hope the whole thing hits as hard as the title track. LL Cool J didn’t knock me out, but he almost put me to sleep with this album. LL’s rapping is super crisp and clean, like a freshly pressed shirt, but listening to this album was like having a closet with 14 of the same freshly pressed shirts. Despite the crispness of his rapping, LL’s voice isn’t that great in my opinion. The rhymes and flow were fine, but there just wasn’t anything about the subject matter of the lyrics that I found particularly interesting. Even though I didn’t care much for this album, there were a few songs that I liked: -The production on “Around The Way Girl was dated and cheesy, but I loved it. There’s something in early nineties hip-hop that just hits my ears in a way that awakens my sense of nostalgia. The opening really hooked me in, and the beats and backing music were great. The backing vocals were super smooth, and I liked the distorted refrain too. -“Murdergram” was really good. I loved the energy that the beats and samples brought to this song, and LL’s flow was really strong. There were some parts of this song where he was rapping with a machinegun-like pace, and he absolutely crushed it. The lines ‘I boost a party like jumper cables’ and ‘save the beat and put it on layaway’ were awesome. -The title track is absolutely fantastic. I wish this type of energy and intensity had been present on the whole album, because LL Cool J absolutely crushes this song. The production is great, the rapping is fantastic, and the chorus really hypes me up. -“6 Minutes of Pleasure” sounded great; I loved how the beats and trumpet sounded together. Despite the great title track, Mama Said Knock You Out was a chore to get through. Most of this album was pretty bland, and I can’t see myself seeking this album out again, or listening to any other LL Cool J albums.
LL Cool J combina calidad y comercialidad. Mc respetado e influyente (sin ir más lejos el chipmunk de Around the Way Girl su mejor canción de este álbum). El problema es que ese mismo año Public Enemy publicaban Fear of a black planet, A tribe called quest, Ice cube....
2.45
While LL Cool J is an extremely accomplished musician, I found this to be too commercial for my tastes.
This is not my kind of hip-hop, I know it's probably pretty early, but the whole thing is just a bit naff
Over an hour and didn’t grab my attention even once.
It's not the worst of its genre on here, but I didn't enjoy most of it, which makes it feel like a chore, especially when it's over an hour long
Mediocre.
Not really my vibe, but some good tracks and a fun listen. I didn't hate it, but I probably won't be listening much in the future
Other than the title track, didn't really enjoy this one.
I had this album growing up. Naive me at 10 years old never understood why 6 Minutes Of Pleasure was only 4 1/2 minutes long. I haven’t listened to Ladies Love in 35 years. It’s been a good run.
This album is considered “Golden Age Hip Hop.” If that doesn’t make you feel like an ancient relic, I don’t know what does. With that said, listening to this album was a bittersweet experience. On one hand, its juvenile innocence and simplicity took me back to a time when the world seemed so much simpler than it is today—a reminder of how far removed we are from that era. The music production and LL Cool J’s rapping are both full of energy, and I can just imagine how much fun this album was to play at house parties and other lively environments back in the day. But on the flip side, that same juvenile innocence and simplicity mean that a lot of hip hop from this era hasn’t aged well.
Meh, kind of a let down of an album if I'm being honest.
It's not my cuppa, but I must say it was quite nice for 1990
Old hip-hop, it sounds old & nice... nothing good nor bad...
A typical example of a pivotal album from the early ’90s transition period, but when hairy chests were still a thing :). Quite innovative on tracks like “Mama Knock You Out” and “Eat ’Em Up L Chill,” where the flows finally start to loosen up. Clearly not my favorite from that era, but still a solid and influential record.
Idk if this is because I'm just not a rap fan in general, but this bored me. Around the Way Girl was weirdly wholesome though. Would I revisit this: no.
I like the beats and the hooks here, but it all just sounds too dated. LL Cool J is also now so famous for non-music things that this feels strange to return to (like with Queen Latifah's music). There also isn't a single track that I'd be excited to return to here. 2 stars feels a bit harsh, but I'm rounding down.
There's some rap I like, there's some I don't. This is the latter. It was quite tiring to listen too.
Makes me move. Seems a bit childish now to me. Sort of Jr High. Two songs are enough to get the idea.
More listenable than many albums of the time with an all time great in "Mama Said Knock You Out." Still, I had a hard time getting through many of the songs and the Mack Daddy misogynistic lyrics ("Milky Cereal," really?)
i think the problem with a lot of early hip hop is that the genre advanced so fast and moved in such different directions that even five years between albums feels like the difference between the bronze age and the space age. so with that in mind, early stuff just sounds ancient and way behind everything else. however this doesn't even sound good compared to other albums released in 1990. how is this a classic when it sounds like ass compared to like straight outta compton which was released a full year earlier
First? 3/5 Again? 1/5
I didn't engage with this at all, it was just a procession of plain vanilla rap songs. Maybe the content was absorbing but the sound wasn't.
So repetitive and just did my nut in by the end tbh 2 ⭐️
Innuendo a 12 year old would find clever for 45 minutes, Mama Said Knock You Out, and the only pleasant surprise Cheesy Rat Blues where he drops the “I’m the shit” shtick to seem like an interesting artist with some depth for just a few minutes. Mr. Goodbar and Milky Cereal are the corniest songs I’ve ever listened to.
Did not enjoy.
God this hurts. It’s taken 4 sessions to get through this. A lot of rhyming couplets I would expect to read if I was marking a 12 year old’s homework. “When we began her hairstyle was neat/But when I left the next morning it looked like shredded wheat”. Pathetic. “And I can't make you/I sure wouldn't rape you”. Well that’s SO kind of you. And you've got a detention. Lame lyrics, Boring repetitive tunes. Got 1 star written all over it. But I feel I have to upgrade to 2 for shoehorning in a bit of Northern England slang “Big juicy legs/And a nice pair of kegs”. Sound.
More hip hop/r&b than I was expecting, which I feel is often the case with rap albums from the 90s. It's fine.
I hate hip-hop, and so it's going to be an interesting experiencing wading through the handful of hip-hop albums included on this list. This is the first, and I don't completely detest it. Good beats and a few decent songs (title track, Around The Way Girl). Not a complete disaster. But I will never listen to this again.
An album with a couple hits, one I know pretty well, but the whole album reeks of being a transitional album. The album has beats and production sometimes reminiscent of the 90s, other times the lyrics and and flow is purely 80s. It not only suffers from that "I'm the illest," bars that were dated years before this album, other times the lyrics are just terrible. "Surely I won't rape you?" Seriously? Sickening, and just plain creepy. The beats are also cut too short, leading to anger only a few songs in, as they hardly do enough to warrant the 4+ minute runtime. It not only is dated, but it is aggravating, and while I cannot deny the catchy factor found in Mama Said Knock You Out, the rest of the album fails to even sort of reach that song, and even that falls into the same realm as something like Hammer Time, and I'm sure you don't need explanation on how that's an insult. If this is the best LL Cool J gets, I fail to see how he was one of the main MCs of the time.
A few bangers. Gets repetitive, though. Won't likely revisit the entire album but noted the tracks I liked. 2.5/5
I'm sure this was great for the golden age of hip hop, but even by 1990, Public Enemy and NWA made this stuff look corny as hell. The eponymous track is dope though
Pretty boring album. Can't see what I'm missing and why this is on the list. There's 100 things missing from the list that could easily replace this. Mr. Good Bar is brutal. Mama said knock you out saves this from a 1.
This has the feeling of still having a foot in the old school. He's kind of obnoxious. Mama Said Knock You Out is a jam tho. I dont think this does anything that unique. It's fine. Marley Marl does a solid job.
Title track is still a banger! That cereal song was a bizarre choice. Overall, nit bad but didn't do much for me.
Title track rocks.
Another album where you feel it's impact at the time has been lessened. At the time it must have been a shock to hear Ll get aggressive, but now the lines just sound a little cheesy, whether he's threatening you with a bad time or a good time. It's not appalling, just lacks anything to back up the lead single.
The cringe is strong with this one. 2/5
I can’t take a man seriously who has a self appointed nickname. Milky Cereal is the worst song I’ve heard in a while.
Some excellent instrumental samples and pretty sick beats. This was definitely forward thinking for 1990, but there are a significant number of skips for me.
Not much of interest on this album for me - a couple of beats that were ok but other than that I have no positive feelings about this. If I never have to hear another song off the album, I would be happy. But it didn't make me hate it so it gets 2 stars.
More 90s hip-hop. I didn't find this particularly interesting sound-wise but at least the lyrics were ok. Stand-out: Farmers Blvd. (Our Anthem)
It was an alright album. I only added the first song on it to my playlist, but I can see why people who like older songs would enjoy the album. Mr goodbar and the cheesy eat rat blues were decent. I don’t think I’d listen again unless it was the first song which is a solid 7.5/10.
The songs/raps are repetitious - after about the third song, you have pretty much heard the rest. "Mama Said Knock You Out" is catchy, and by far the best track here. It has a good groove.
I didn’t like it but I didn’t hate it. Just another rap album. Too many on this list.
Another late 80s, early 90s rap that just isn’t good. Title track keeps this from being a 1 star.
Late 80s, early 90s rap. Could be Run DMC, could be Vanilla Ice, could be PJ and Duncan.
Kind of like Will Smith's rap career, without the sense of fun. Not my thing.
Not at all interested.
This feels like one of the most dated hiphop albums of the 1990s.
Way cheesier than I remember it.
Not for me
This was not bad. Pretty tame for a rap album. Definitely sounded more mainstream.
Good for the time. Now basic 80s hip hop.
Not my kind of music.
It's a solid rap album, there's much worse on this list. It was a good production for that era, but as is often the case with this genre, lyrics are mostly problematic.
Goofy. Has not aged well.
Mr. Cool J wants us all to know that he has sex. A LOT. The title track is a banger I guess.
eh
Title track is a banger, the rest is patchy
Not being into Hip Hop genre at all, this Old School stuff was pretty good. Glad to give it a listen (did not convert me, though)
Sounds cheap, lots of rhymes are just straight silly
Cool album for a skateboard video, or a skateboard session. Musically speaking, there's nothing interesting... all songs sounds alike. The voice it's monotonous, the back track it's made of long loops, so it does the experience of listening to this album a little tedious. "Jingling baby" it's the stand-out to me. 2 stars.
I did not use a private session for Spotify. It's a so-so album, I don't know how revolutionary it was when it came out, but I am guessing it was pretty derivate but this album was helped out by have someone like LL. I was thinking about three stars until I had to sit through "Milky Cereal".
It was hard to stay engaged with this one. Fun and silly at times but not super interesting to me
Rating: 4/10 Nah. Choice cut: Mama Said Knock You Out
The second half of the album is better than the first but for me I his rapping style just doesn’t gel with the music well enough to make it catchy or memorable.
When I saw the album I sighed. I might be biased against the genre.
I paid attention to the first couple of songs, then I just tuned the music out and it became background noise while my mind wandered to other things. Why are all these songs 4+ minutes long? There's something to be said for short and sweet and none of these songs are either. Title song is the only one worth listening to.
not for me
Boring
Cars ride by with the boomin systems… Dat‘s all, fokes.
#436. This is what I call not very good. A bit cheesy, a bit cringey, and a bit annoying. 2/5: this didn't hold up well
Det er vel tidlig gangster rap, sjovt nok virker det som om det ligger lige i overgangen så noget af det har stadig det der mere old school mindre aggressive flow. Stadig ikke det fedeste. Men der er en sang der hedder Milky Cereal som har nogle rigtig lollede tekster lidt Marvelous agtige, selvom selve omkvædet er virkelig ringe haha
LL is good to look at and during the time this came out I wouldn't turn the radio if he came in but this is just bad. TBf there are very few rap albums I can stomach. But this just isn't very good. Extra star because I had a crush when I was a teen.
Of all the hiphop rap albums out there, this is certainly one of them.
Stop I don’t like it
Man this is corny as hell... still had a few bangers though 4/10
It´s just hip-hop.🤷♂️
Kind of boring.
A prototype for rap albums. It’s cheesy, straightforward, and at times boring. But this is coming from someone used to modern production standards. 2/5
really liked Milky Cereal lmao but the rest was kinda whatever
Like many hip hop albums from the 90s, this would be magnitudes better if Cool J just kept his mouth shut.
it's not terrible, quite good in a genre I don't get on with
Started off OK, and sort of stayed there. Now as I have said before, I don't mind a bit of rap and hip hop. But I found this to be very flat, very one dimensional. It sort of almost started to do something then didn't. I would like to give this a 3, but somehow I just can't 2.
Pretty cringe lyrics but perhaps overall not as bad as expected
He's a bit shit. Don't understand the inclusion. Cereal Milky.
Fine. Nothing stood out, mostly punchy lyrics over tuneless beats.
this is honestly just ok, heard better, i just don’t know about this one, consistent 2, felt like listening to van halen 4 me
Jaha, nähä. Jag älskar ju hiphop. Och detta är säkert viktigt i dess utveckling. Men det funkar inte. De här fresh Prince in belair-beatsen blir tradiga. Han rappar inte så bra heller. Lärde mig att run the jewels betyder att råna iaf. Mama knock you out är najs annars.
Interesting early 90s hip hop. There's probably a lot you could write about where this sits in terms of the hip hop that came before - and what was about to happen. It's fine. A bit boring if anything. 'Mama says knock you out' does a lot of heavy lifting.
I had high hopes for LL Cool J because I adore Luka Bloom's cover of I Need Love. I don't know how I thought there could be any stylistic similarity between these two artists, because there certainly isn't.
bit generic
I still don’t get on with hip hop but even I could tell this was an art form and without the annoying gimmicks. I’d say 2.5 but can’t quite bring myself to rate it 3…
Tiresome.
Hiphop ist nicht so mein Ding
Generic 90s hip-hop, sounds very dated now.
OG. I like LL but not really a great album.
Ok.
This felt like a pretty standard 90s rap album. The title song, Mama Said Knock You Out was the best track on the album. Some other songs were pretty cheesy or didn't age well.
This album was...okay. It didn't really do much for me. LL Cool J's early 90s arrival definitely positioned him to become one of the first successful hip hop acts in the general public's eye. That said, I'm of the opinion that he quickly became eclipsed by other 90s hip hop acts that would ultimately go on to be lasting powerhouse legends in the industry. Props to the album name, though. It made me laugh. I'd put this at about a 2.5, but don't really feel like I liked it enough for a round up.
I've never really listen to a full LL Cool J album. Not a huge fan of his songs. he has a few hits that I like but he isn't for me I guess.
It's pretty good for what it is it has a couple of bangers
The music itself is fairly well done but it can't get past the woeful lyrics. They really have dated badly, the misogyny seems excessive even for the time. Milky cereal may be the worst rap song ever created. 2*
Certainly seems like LL likes women and fighting. There are some struggle lyrics peppered in, but it’s mainly that. The beats are nice, but get repetitive by the end. His flow is smooth, but the rhymes and attitude aren’t super compelling for me. This has been my least favorite prescribed album from the Golden Age of Hip Hop.
Here's my story with this album. My wife gave birth to twins the day after I received this album and I had not finished it. We listened to some of it in the car together the day before and both of us felt like it wasn't that great. I didn't want to abandon it so I tried relistening after my babies were born (in the 3 hours between feeding sessions) but I was so tired I passed out to it. Then I tried again, but damn this is just not that great in my opinion. The lyrics don't have any punch or humor. The beats and loops are boring for the most part. I only liked a few songs and wanted to move on.
This sounded like a very dated hip hop record; I did not enjoy it. The beats were nice at times, but it all got so repetitive by the end. Not enough variety in this one. 2 stars
Wasn't overly familiar with it in the first place and now it kind of feels like a novelty
struggled with this one. i've had the part of Milky Cereal where he just says "milky......cereal....." over and over again stuck in my head since listening over the weekend, which should be a crime. getting to the title track was like embracing an old friend
This just feels very dated now, so Much so you could happily skip this album before you did.
It must be a culture thing. Definitely an age thing. But I do not relate to or enjoy this.
This was fun, and I didn’t realize that a few songs were his. Based on the lyrics, I would say it should be CoolJLL.
Rap aus vergangener Zeit, mir hat es zuviel jazzige Elemente.
It's fine. Not my genre but could certainly be a lot worse. Too long in all honesty. 4.5/10 (2.25/5)
Didn’t hear any F Bombs or N Bombs
This album is considered “Golden Age Hip Hop.” If that doesn’t make you feel like an ancient relic, I don’t know what does. With that said, listening to this album was a bittersweet experience. On one hand, its juvenile innocence and simplicity took me back to a time when the world seemed so much simpler than it is today—a reminder of how far removed we are from that era. The music production and LL Cool J’s rapping are both full of energy, and I can just imagine how much fun this album was to play at house parties and other lively environments back in the day. But on the flip side, that same juvenile innocence and simplicity mean that a lot of hip hop from this era hasn’t aged well.
This guy keeps trying to steal my girl
Way too long. "Mama Said Knock You Out" is the only track that has stood the test of time in the wider musical community. The album is more of the same boring humble brag that litters pretty much most of, if not, all of the hip hop albums of this era.
Not my thing, especially at the time. But respect for the guy coming back saying "Don't call it a comeback!"
oh god, too long and repetitive
Its got a nice vibe but its too long and too silly
It's not all bad, but a lot of it is. Favorite song: Eat Em Up L Chill
At one point I felt moved to check and see how long there was left to go. The track playing was ‘6 Minutes of Pleasure’. How ironic
Early rap not exactly my vibe.
Outdated beats, outdated rhymes, outdated flow. REALLY outdated attitude against women.
are you kidding me. milk and cereal was ASS. for starters im not strongly oppionated ab this but I feel like cereal and milk is the more generally accepted order, but like are you kidding me I could not take this seriously after that song. I listened to half of this then a John Denver album and the second half of this which was really not exciting to me.
4/10 - It was fine. There was nothing good about it but it was not too terrible. The song about cereal (white women I think) was kind of weird but the rest were fine. I have found a clear correlation between rap songs and talking about cheating/being cheated on and I do not really get it. Maybe I will find a rap album that I actually enjoy at some point in this journey but probably not. We will see in a few years.
Meh, other than the big single this didn’t really grab me. Assume it was ground breaking at the time, but I guess listening now and not being immersed in it at the time it’s hard to detect. Unless it was the couple of songs which were slower r&b supposedly sexy type numbers. In which case there’s no excuse for inventing that bollox.
aged like milk, turning into a little moldy blank chedder cheese
Rap albums will generally get a sigh from me. This one wasn’t as bad as the other couple I’ve had so far (21 albums in) and maybe this is considered a good album by those into this genre but it’s just not my thing
Really nothing here that you couldn't find anyone else doing beforehand.
non è 2pac....
2.5/5. Meh, not bad, but nothing that will bring be back. It's a bit long for what it is.
Growing up I had a friend who used to listen to Walking with a Panther a lot - I remember thinking that LL Cool J just sounded like a colossal knob…….can’t say my opinion has changed
Some old skool rap just doesn't age well ...... 2.5 for the vintage ....
This is okay. I feel like Artists in this genre at this time need to have something special for me to appreciate or enjoy it, and this doesn't have it for me. Fav songs: - Mama said knock you out
Ja, bei diesem Album handelt es sich Musik.Ja es werden Probleme besungen und sich einen Rap reinziehen war auch 1990 besser als andere Drogen. Leider finde ich nichts interessantes auf dem Doppelalbum. Es hört sich gleich nervig an. Lieber App Programmierer .. Danke für die Skip-Taste
LL was a real pioneer, but the production on this record is ass
like most hip hop albums, it isnt really for me. it sounds quite dated, and loses my interest by a third song, even if i start with bopping my head NNN
Couple of solid tracks, but overall this feels extremely lackluster compared to some of its contemporaries
I find this era of hip hop tough going.
Music has moved on, and it wasn't even that good when it was new.
Oof
Um, no. That did not age well at all. Geeze. Do you think he looks back at this with any level of self-aware embarrassment? I sure as hell hope so. Title track aside, this is a hard pass.
a remarkably consistent but fairly dated foray into early 90s rap. beats are somewhat basic, the lyrics vary from kinda neat to extremely corny, and the runtime is enough to feel like a slog to get through. 2.5/5
Not my kinda music
I found this quite boring struggled to make it to the end
Meh. Didn’t hold up
There were some funny lines on this, but as a whole it didn't do much for me. I may be one of the few that enjoys LL's movies more than his music; I couldn't stop thinking about Deep Blue Sea and Mindhunters listening to this.
This one was boring. Dunno. Sorry Mr Cool J. 2/5
Wow, that was really something. And I don’t mean that in a complimentary way. It was really something embarrassing that I want to move on from and forget as soon as possible. Does LL ever listen to his old music and cringe at how stupid most of the lyrics are? He's out here talking about hip hop raccoons and jiggling hoops, gnawing hedges, sick of leftover curry... like, what??? This album is just chock full of bizarrely stupid rhymes. I guess when you're built as big and tough as LL, you can say whatever you want in an intimidating voice and nobody will question it. He is sexy though, successful careers were built on less than that.
Disliking this for retroactive crimes of sexism on a 90s rap album: Cringe Virgin Status Disliking this for being yet another boring 90s rap album: Alfa Chad Hung Kang Status
Another rap album, not usually my thing but it’s not too bad. Think I prefer older rap. This album got a bit weird, might have been satirical but if not then not my vibe.
Ik moet eerlijk zeggen dat ik hem aanzet en al meteen enorm uitkijk naar de title track op plek 8. Mocht ik ooit nog dikker worden en besluiten dat darten de ideale sport is dan is er een kans dat dat m'n opkomstmuziek wordt. Iconisch nummer. Maar zo ver is het nog niet. De weg naar het hoogtepunt is erg 90's. Net iets te eenvoudige boombap beats met oubollige raps, een stevige echo op de microfoon van ome LL, veel stoer doen op een manier die alleen in de 90's serieus genomen werd (vertellen dat je de microfoon gaat verwoesten en anderen suckas noemen) en her en der wat verplichte R&B stukjes om de verkoop wat te helpen. Eigenlijk zijn alle nummers net wat te lang voor wat ze te bieden hebben. Het is en blijft hiphop dus ik kan er goed naar luisteren, maar de weg naar Mama Said Knock You Out is een lange. Ome J probeert af en toe als een Slick Rick verhalen te vertellen, maar het werkt niet helemaal voor mij. Mama Said Knock You Out, het nummer, is een duidelijke 5. Je hoeft niet veel fantasie te hebben om je even voor te stellen dat je tussen een wild geworden publiek richting de ring loopt. Eén iconische track van 5 minuten is echter niet genoeg om een meh album van een uur te redden.
no thanks
Tuna melt? Pastrami? Thats a hungry hard hitting man right there.
Mama Said Knock You Out is such a good song, I was surprised how poor the rest of the album. Some of the songs sounded super commercial, when he started going on about Jesus I had to turn it off.
Good old fashioned "yes, yes y'all" rap. Most of the beats are super boring The rhyme schemes aren't clever or interesting. Mama Said Knock You Out is a pretty good one. Lots of energy. I also liked the Farmer one. If a song with a boring beat like that is going to be 5 minutes long, it needs a catchy hook.
A few good songs but I got really tired of it by the end. The good songs were pretty good though, and I don’t like hip-hop.
Bouncy and quite fun. Mr Good bar was disturbing though. Moby sucks!
This was pretty corny, but I can see how it helped set the blueprint for rap in the 90s. And thankfully it wasn't bloated with interludes and skits, it was that good all-natural bloated with like three too many songs!
Around the way girl OK, but not my scene
Dated for 1990, an occasional verse or beat will actually peak my interest but not enough to add it to my liked songs For the most part these verses sound juvenille, with almost no substance. Beats do fall flat, containing an obscure mix of live instrument and synthesized. Hooks are also insufferable. Glad LL pivotted to acting, because his 1990's releases were bottom tier. Nevertheless as a 1990's rap fan I gave it my best listen but it is not a keynote album. Mudergram and the title track being the most 90's forward rap songs.
Quizás el mejor disco del icono del rap LL Cool J, cumple con todos los requisitos de un álbum de rap. Destacan "The Boomin' System"; la balada rapera "Around the Way Girl"; y la contundente canción que da título al disco.
Hmm. I appreciate the cheekiness but I got fed up of him talking about his willy.
kan egentlig godt lide de der Marley Marl beats og titelnummeret er og bliver en banger. Interessant tidslomme fordi man kan godt høre at det ikke er 80'er hiphop længere mere, men 90'er lyden er ikke helt klar endnu. Når det er sagt så er ll cool j en ret kikset rapper imho og teksterne er fuckin dårlige
Beatsene var en blandet landhandel hva. For lang
Var lidt bange for den her plade for coveret ligner virkelig noget jeg ikke kan lide. Det voksede ret hurtigt på mig, men hold nu op det er en lang plade.....
Not bad. Nothing special
Very much old-school rap v2.0. Not as far back as the original stuff, but definitely in the zone of when rap was becoming mainstream and very popular just before Hip Hop. It still has that early feel from DJs spinning records, but I’m going to assume most are actually samples at this point. So it does straddle eras. Overall it doesn’t wear great, the title track is of course a classic and a standout, but for me the rest of the album doesn’t ever reach that level again.
Not for me ever. Sounds tired.
Cheesy but was good back in the day
Never really liked rap. Probably because I'm a racist dick.
This didn’t stand the test of time. There were better and more influential hip hop albums that came out at the same time/before this. I’m not saying LL wasn’t influential. I’m just saying for a list of albums you must hear this one doesn’t pass the bar. The beats are dope though.
It's on the crossroads of 80's and 90's rap and kinda misses the boat on both. I like my rap, but LL Cool J just never sparked any interest
2,5 * kein Fan, aber man kann es anhören
A bit same same
Not my jam
Ooooooof, LL. How do you feel about some of these lyrics looking back? This wasn’t great. Even the inoffensive lines were …bad. This seemed pretty generic
meh, title track prob only reason this album is in the list - I didn't even think it was very good as a hip-hop album
Contains some the least sexy sex songs I’ve ever heard Best Song: Momma said 🥊 you out Worst song: 6️⃣ minutes of 🅿️
Took a nosedive from Milky Cereal even though the bar wasn't set high from the get-go.
Not for me. Some songs are kind of catchy I guess, but that doesn't make up for all the cringe "I am the greatest and everyone wants me" songs.
I’d like to say it’s just dated, but Tribe Called Quest was producing much better hip hop at exactly the same time. This just doesn’t pass the test of modern flow and beats. Respect LL Cool J for his role in growing hip hop, but the music isn’t that good
ok
For anyone who changes their name to Ladies Love Cool James my immediate reaction is FU - no we don’t. The music was not as horrendous as it could’ve been. Some bits were quite fun and melodious, even captivating. But I just don’t care enough. It’s a 2.5 but losing the 0.5 because of that ridiculous moniker.
This was dated even back in 1990. After listening to this, I popped on Public Enemy's It Takes a Nation of Millions—an album that came out two years before this—just to compare the two ... and, yeah, it's no contest. PE still sounds fresh. LLCJ's flow and beats are so basic and repetitive it's painful. There are so many more interesting hip-hop albums out there that I don't see this as a necessary listen.
not down for most old school rap
Feels repetitive. Mama Gonna Knock you Out is enjoyable. The rest not so much, Milky Cereal got on my nerves especially.
Classic hip hop
Like Fresh Prince but with sex.
Meh
Very much average, which i guess puts it below the peak of the bell curve. Good fun
Didn’t like this one
Cheesy
It was ok back then, but it did not age well. It also feels longer than it has to be
Not my gig.
I don't like rap, and this is rap 2 stars
un gros non. endormant. 4/10
The cheesy 80's rap beats with sexism and braggadocio don't age well.
Absolument rincé, sans grande surprise. Je suis en ravanche heureux de vous apprendre que je suis de nouveau à jour sur le générateur depuis aujourd'hui, grâce a un effort mental surhumain pour revenir dans la partie.
1.5 - Ehh... Not really for me. Some of the lyrics are laughable, creepy, or annoying because they get repeated over and over. This album is generally pretty repetitive when it could definitely be trimmed down. No wonder it's over an hour long. I thought I liked the hit, but I guess I don't, so there wasn't even anything to combat the fatigue from the other boring tracks. Whatever.
meh.
Not really my cup of tea but I am sure very good if you are into this kind of thing
De irritatiefactor is niet hoog genoeg om er een 1 aan te geven, maar er staat ook weinig op om enthousiast over te worden. En door naar de volgende.
Glij-rap. Het moet een beetje gangsta klinken, maar hij is nogal op de dames gericht. Er zit ook veel RnB in. Het komt eigenlijk op een verkeerd moment, want we hebben net een week lang veel dezelfde soort muziek gehad. Na een maand met 60s hippie bijvoorbeeld, zou dit veel lekkerder zijn. Dus de timing maakt zeker wat uit. De title track zorgt voor een bonuspuntje.
It’s fine, not the best, not the worst old school rap album.
Not that good minus 'Mama said knock you out'
Douchey
- Not really my thing but I can respect it - Beats are fine but not as good as most of the other hiphop albums we've heard here - The outros for most of these songs go on for wayyyy too long
- I get that’s it’s quality I just don’t prefer old school rap - the title track is iconic
Mama said is a 5⭐️ song A lot of the rest is nothing but odes to his cock
An album that, while I personally don't listen to as much as others, was incredibly influential and important in the genres history. Well made and on the cutting edge of shaping Hip Hop into an entirely new style and advancement.
Album 142 of 1001 LL Cool J - Mama Said Knock You Out Rating : 2 / 5 Better than some, not as bad as others. Just not my thing. I did listen.
Seems out of character for LL
Had its day. Nothing special now.
This album is an interesting slice of history from the golden age of hip hop, but it ultimately suffers from its length and just how dated it is. The rhymes are often chosen for convenience without any real thought as to how they move the songs forward. Furthermore, the songs themselves are really cheesy and have some really overdone innuendos.
As far as hiphop goes it wasn't terrible. Nothing particularly good about it though. 2.5*
Too much old school rap for my tastes
If you forced me to listen to rap but let me choose the artist, I would choose LL Cool J. But still, I'd rather you didn't force me to listen to rap, it just doesn't do much for me. This is a bit more "musical" than most rap and hip hop I've heard, so I appreciate that, but not something I would listen to again (unless you force me to). 2 stars.
"your rhynes are cheesy - you found em in a mousetrap" I love the lack of irony with which Cool James raps this line. I love that it isn't even from the song "Cheesy Rat Blues" Things I don't love : this album. And that weird rape line. That's not cool, James.
About the title track: How can I take it seriously if he's like "BOOM EXPLOSIONS!" and only wants to knock me out because his mama said so? Btw, that's the best track.
Un dels pares del hip hop, que cinc anys després d'aparèixer ja s'havia d'estar reivindicant. Escombrat al començament pel gangsta rap i el rap més dur d'artistes com Public Enemy, 'Mama Said Knock You Out' és el seu manifest d'autodefensa, que comença des de la mateixa portada. Res de nou en el génere, i els temes també pequen del mateix, same old shit, que dirien ells
Seguramente en su momento fue un disco muy importante pero hoy suena como cuando rapeaban en el fantasma escritor
No soportó el paso del tiempo.
It was okay
So 90s swagger. But good voice and rhythm. He developed something better.
meh, not so cool imo
Basic rhymes on basic flows on basic beats
San Andreas vibes
Wondering, will he hear better stuff like true masters in the genre , like Ina Kamoze " here comes the hotstepper" , or Run DMC and the Beastie Boys? Or Arrested Development? There are some fun and pleasing rhythmic party tracks with a rolling bass line, contagious and on a subwoofer.... Ok? And his voice isn't all screechy. It's quite warm. But what got it on The 1001? A mystery. Is it saucy lyrics ? Did it empower low rider owners to bounce in time. The threat of "making your g spot sore" for it's originality ? Mmm , mood music for da strip club...? Or is it purely thew commerical success he made, as evidenced by his jewelry ? ( gold is a good hedge against inflation, he is right there). His voice has potential but I want more that smart ass lyrics spoken on a slickly produced album. Take the lyrical peregrinations of his most popular track "doin it" pleading "yo baby open the back door" . There is much worse Here is an extract from Til Da Break of Dawn. "Homeboy, hold on, my rhymes are so strong Nothing could go wrong, so why do you prolong? Songs that ain't strong, brother, you're dead wrong And got the nerve to have them Star Trek shades on Ha, you can't handle the whole weight Skin needs lotion, teeth need Colgate Wise up you little burnt-up french fry I'm that type of guy" The Power Of God is an interesting departure. .
Not a great album overall. Just straight up gimmicky. Given an extra star for the obvious single.
I don't know why but this just didn't hit for me. I didn't care for a lot of the lyrics being examples of a lot of what I don't like about rap. If I ignored the lyrics, the beats and samples were still kind of uninteresting. It was one or the other. Either I liked the beat but hated the lyrics as in the case of Around the Way Girl or like the lyrics but think it sounds stupid like in Mama Said Knock You Out. It's rare when Five Finger Death Punch does a good song but their cover of that song is pretty solid. I think this album leans more Prince and less Michael Jackson. I wish I liked it more. 2.5
Mr. J is his own worst enemy on this LP; each track has something going for it in terms of the album’s overall flow and production, but the MC can’t keep from tripping himself up on either awful lyricism (see: tuna melt) or cloying, repetitive samples on a loop. Part of me really wanted this to break into low 3 territory, but there are too many songwriting sins on this one to do so.
LL is cool and all, but as far as rap albums go, this misses the mark. One memorable song, really.
I haven't listened to LL Cool J since college, when my friend Josh - yes, he called himself LL Cool Josh - was obsessed with him and played him incessantly. Really wish I'd stayed in touch with him to get his take on this album today. My only notes are that Mama Said Knock You Out is a great single, and the MTV unplugged version of it is iconic. Jingling Baby has a great bass line and groove. Everything else is ok but not memorable imo. And why is 6 Minutes of Pleasure only 4:35? 2/5.
I admit I liked this more than I expected to... but I felt like a lot of the lyrics were a bit corny. I'd give this a 2.5/5.
Things seem a bit lightweight. I know this one! ('Mama Said Knock You Out') What the fuck is going on here?! Boring. 2 / 5 stars.
This album started off fine but there were some songs in the middle that I hated so much that I had to skip them. Honestly, pretty unremarkable, even with the top end of this album being pretty strong. Meh. Standouts: Around The Way Girl, Eat Em Up L Chill, Mama Said Knock You Out
Onee, niet nog meer rap :-(. Ik vind dat er wel heel veel rapmuziek in de lijst der lijsten staat. Helaas niet mijn ding, maar ik zal nog eens een poging wagen. Helaas geen verrassende beats, maar wel relaxt genoeg om luisterbaar te zijn. **
eh
80s/early 90s rap is tough man. It’s like 50s rock n roll. I can appreciate that it had a big effect on the public and paved the way for the genre, but it sounds so dated now. This record is supremely dated. Beats, flows, lyrics, wordplay, all dated as hell. It doesn’t offend my senses, but I’d never choose to listen to this again.
Ladies Love Cool James. Other than the title track there's a lot of rubbish and he's a lame rapper.
Taas solid ysäriräppiä. Tää oli enemmän hyvän fiiliksen boastailua, mikä oli ihan kivaa kävelykuunneltavaa.
Kovaa yritystä, jota latistavat ysäriräpän vaikeasti lähestyttävät puolet, mutta kovaa yritystä joka tapauksessa.
Nog steeds niet mijn goto genre
p649. 2 stars. Hip-hop/rap, so the wrong audience. Seems well done of its kind though.
kinda boring rap album that came after 80s hippity-hop and before 90s revolution - sorta straddles old school rhyme schemes and contemporary 90s flow. lots of ATCQ aspirations, but more of an aged listen
2 this is not good
5/10
It’s not really a fair review as I only managed to listen to the first three tracks but I didn’t mind what I heard....... 2*
It did grow on me a little bit from initially disliking it, but still won't be a repeater for me.
This record is fun but cheesy. I had only heard the hit from it until today. Some lyrics have not aged well. Overall this was okay.
I've been introduced to a lot of rap thanks to this excellent initiative. Some I like; (Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar). Some I like alot; (Tribe Called Quest, Eminem, Gang Starr). Unfortunately this album I don't like much. Not much at all. Oh well, can't win 'em all. 2.5 stars
More like Milquetoast Cereal
Radio friendly, movie soundtrack hip-hop that's classy and corny, with lyrics that range from cheesy to downright creepy and so very tone deaf. There were fun beats that would get you to sweaty dance in a club a la Nelly's Hot in Herre, but once again, like many albums of the genre this was longer than it should've been. Cut down some of the filler and just be sure to keep standout songs Mama Said Knock You Out & Around the Way Girl, and this would've been a wee bit better.
I’m not sure I’ve ever heard anything by LL Cool J. I could say if he’s hip hop or R&B, but I feel somewhat confident that he’s one of them. They’re both genres that I don’t tend to gravitate towards, but I’m always interested in hearing something new. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Around The Way Girl, Mama Said Knock You Out There were a few good songs on this, but in general I found it to just be uninteresting. It is hip hop, and I think I do tend to prefer that over R&B, but most of this just didn’t really do anything for me. There were some quite dodgy lyrics, such as, “And I can't make you, I sure wouldn't rape you.” There was also a song where he says a lady is milky cereal. I just don’t get it. Don’t think I’ll be coming back to this despite the few good songs.
För långt, blev tråkigt efter typ 15 min
Lame lame cant organize oranges lame jake
Very average hip hop.
Hey, Kool Thing, are you gonna liberate us girls from male white corporate oppression? Yeah, tell it like it is! Don't call it a comeback, I been here for years! Good grief.
Hmmm...some good some bad...heavily dated, but still something there, despite pretty naffy lyricism
The title track is pretty good, as is the opener. Aside from that I found not a whole lot to like. I don't mind this era of the genre but it sounded quite stale. I can listen to Run DMC, Beastie Boys, De La Soul etc and it all sounds better than this. I was more impressed when he threw a lighter and blew up a shark in Deep Blue Sea. Now that's a career highlight.
Boring Hip-Pop with eye rolling rhymes. A whole hour of the same song? I'd prefer some repetitive Krautrock for the price, thank you.
For maybe the first few minutes I was presently surprised. Lyrics not good but a bit Old School and the music had a Daisy Age feel. It got old fast after that. Title track is a banger though.
Nothing spectacular. Only enjoyed it slightly more than some of the formative rap albums on this list. 1.5/5
Pas pire, mais pas mon genre de rap… 2.85
It's interesting when you can tell something is groundbreaking, original, and a breath of fresh air in an artistic drama, yet the creator doesn't have an exciting bone in his body. That's how I feel about this record. There's nothing wrong about it per see, but it's really lacking in the way of sophistication. Also, the sexual innuendos are more than a little bit corny. In a sense, this record reminds me of Will Smith's music, though Smith has a commitment to the corniness that LL lacks. Not a bad record by any means, just not exceptional beyond its originality for the moment.
Il faut laisser les gens tranquilles.
Meh. Wasn't feeling it. I couldn't connect with this one as much as the other rap albums I've had so far, so this ended up being mostly just background noise.
I expected to like this but I found it kind of long and uncompelling.
Not as dated as most of the early 90's hip-hop album I've heard on this list, but still a little grating after a while. Rating: 2/5 Playlist track: Mama Said Knock You Out Date listened: 02/06/22
Tracks behind the vocals were ok, some good rhymes by LL
Yeah, nah. Mama Said Knock You Out is pretty iconic. Milky Cereal is a bit of fun wordplay but overall it's not for me.
2/5 nothing special
Prefer his earlier work -this isn’t very interesting to me.
nah
Flips between chilled, goofy old school hip-hop and 90s gangster rap so the guy's definitely got range, but none of the styles did that much for me. Bonus points awarded for that track where he shoehorns in all the cereal brands. 2.5
Just a bit shite
Meh! Other artists were doing this better in the late 80's.
The title track was the only track that was familiar from Mama Said Knock You Out. In principle I respect LL Cool J's talent, but about half way through this album I was tired of what I was listening too. I can only listen to so much of "I'm so cool." The lyric content seems dated and not for me.
Alltså det var väl gott gung men lite generiskt och föråldrat vid det här laget kanske? Texterna gjorde mig obekväm
Dated (to my ear) 90s hip/hop. It just doesn't mean anything to me.
The album art is certainly striking and very of its time. I think the only song I'm already familiar with is the title track, so let's check it out. I like the generally chill ladies' man vibe, though the straightforward minimalist backing tracks/drum machine make it feel pretty dated. Mamma Said Knock You Out is still quite listenable (and is coincidentally? the edgiest of the album) but the rest of the songs feel a little too silly and definitely dusty.
So far, I've been pleasantly surprised by the classic hip hop/rap albums I've gotten, but this one was an example of one confirming my pre-1001 albums opinion that I'm not a big fan of old school hip hop. The title track wasn't bad though. Fav song: mama said knock you out
mainstream, massively successful - but not for me
Far from the worst of its kind, but still: I’m not the most suitable person to push hiphop music on
Personally I'm not a fan of the funky beats and light, not- so-serious lyrics but that's obviously also the time, not just this album alone
Melodic tunes with a rap style that's a definite product of the 90s.
Beats were ok but by the end it felt repetitive. Not a fan of the lyrics.
It leaves no doubt that Mama Said Knock You Out was intended to be a tour de force, to regain LL Cool J's credibility while proving that he was still one of rap's most singular talents. It succeeded mightily, making him an across-the-board superstar and cementing his status as a rap icon beyond any doubt.
Not my favourite kind of music or even style of hip hop. Ok, beats and delivery are ok. Cool James is cool.
Bit of a struggle to get through the whole of this whopper. Enjoyed some of the tracks, beats and the odd line but it didn't grab me.
20 minutes too long. Might have squeezed a 3 star out if it weren't for that.