Editor’s note: DP Dot Com’s most prolific ghetto celeb profiler goes in and gives us a report from the Magic convention in Las Vegas.
Its not too often as an adult you get to run into someone who impacted you as a shorty. Especially if that person is of notoriety or fame. Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff bought me ice cream as a kid, Bill Cosby held me down as a starting freshman offensive lineman when I got hurt during our homecoming game in 1993*. But recently I had the chance to catch up with Mr. James Todd Smith some 20 years later.
I was a big LL Cool J stan as a shorty before he went uber-sexy. The backstory goes down like this… It was 1987, I was hanging out one day in front of my cousins’ building in Rochdale Village (Building 6) and all of a sudden this red Audi 5000 with limo tints pulls up and parks illegally out front. I thought it might have been one of the more successful purveyors of the illicit pharmaceutical products so I played it cool. The hazard lights go on and the driver of the vehicle is none other than the the tall, young legend in leather. LL servin’ ’em well! Decked out in the full-length fur and all the truck gold accessories I was starstruck.
However I got my first lesson in the classic NYC mentality of “FUCK THAT N*GGA!” which was demonstrated by the less than warm “whaddups” returned to Mr. Smith. To add ‘insult to injury’ once he entered the building his car became the new leaning post (a practice done to anyone who parked right in front). So I asked my cousin, “Can I go touch his car?”, and I was practically shoved into it. Man you couldn’t tell my 12 year old butt nothing. I was a huge fan of LL and soaked up anything he dropped while listening to Red Alert, Chuck Chillout, Marley Marl and Mister Magic, and here I was leaning on the ride from the “Bigger & Deffer” album cover. Fuck what you heard, I’M BAD!!!!!
Well being young dumb and star struck I didn’t realize I was the only one left leaning on this maraschino cherry colored piece of German engineering. All of a sudden I hear this husky, nasally growl, “Yo, you taking care of my ride little man? Keeping these n*ggas off my shit?”
I could barely work up a meek Peter Brady-esque “Yes…” Well LL lived up to the cool in his name and told me, “Thanks lil’ man!”, daps me up and hits me off with a $20. He could have given me a dry cleaning ticket and I would have been amped…
Fast forward 20 years and I’m chilling out in Vegas for the MAGIC show with my Mighty Healthy Consortium. While walking around the show I see James Todd Smith promoting his new clothing line and being amicable with those around. Well fate is a muhfucka and he noticed me swigging a 40 of OE and I raised it in respect. I walked over to try and catch a flick and wound up taking the opportunity to tell him the story above and the impact of it all. Where he didn’t remember that specific moment he did remember all the cats who would sit on his ride when he’d visit his grandmother in Rochdale Village. Seeing that the convo was moving well I also had to take the time out to explain how I thought his original “Rock The Bells” was the greatest lyrical performance of all time in my opinion. Alas I kept it moving because there was a flock of horny 40 year old sisters who wanted to lick his lips for him.
But I gotta give LL thanks for the moment….
*Now its time to reconnect with The Cos…
I thank you for holding me down and kicking it with me for the whole game when I got hurt. It meant alot to the young pup that I was back then and no matter what these niggers say I got your back BC!!!
Good read…and I dont know why people hate on Bill cosby for, he knows more about be a real nucca that anybody..ask Melvin Van Peebles!
Dope Story. LL was my dude, I used to recite “take a muscle bound man and put his face in the sand” as a four year old. He mos def got up on that Botox[ll] damn makes me look old at 26. 40 props on that Mighty Healthy what exactly do you do for them.
great drop drew!
Wow..only LL Cool J story I got is that when he went to visit a middle (jr. high) school in Boston, the kids stole his brand new Troop jacket (they were his endorsers at the time and no he wasn’t wearing it at the time). Shit like that always happened. One.
I have my own LL Memory, When I was in Junior High school, back when the only kind of contacts were glass, i felt awkward. I was 5’7 100 lbs hair like freddie from a different world, and a nerd/ jock. But he saw me with a bunch of older, thick, more stylish girls and said to me ” When you grow up, I might not even be good enough to talk to you” it gave me mad confidence!
I put LL’s body count at over 1,000 hoes. What Ya’ll think?
I just read that Ron Jeremy is at over 5,000 chicks dude thinks he is Wilt Chamberneezy or some shit.
[||] on the whole just for asking how many chicks dudes banged
^
lol @ fuxadino
I think LL’s body count is more than I can count…I remember hoes went wild in the 90’s when he did that Boyz to Men cut..so you know he got sum cut
Ladies STILL Love Cool James. Great drop 40!
Wait, wait, wait, did Supreme actually buy you ice cream? Or you just saying that? Did you grow up in Queens?
I’ll work my way up…
Incilin – Yes he did. I was over a the Baisley Park Courts hanging out with with my older cousins.
Candace – Thanks!
Misha – Was he right??????????
Dart – LL was a notorious vic. Unfortunately he was the original casualty of “player hating” in NYC. There’s an urban legend of him getting mollywhopped and all his shit getting ran in front of Jamaica (Queens) HS back in the day.
Gabe – Thanks!
I Fux – MH is family we go back as far as 20+ years with each other. My official title is “Accounts Payable aka FUCK YOU PAY ME!”.
Belize – Cosby is infallable with me. Slippin’ mickeys and all. The Cos can do no wrong in my eyes… The people that hate on him never had the vision to see past the ignance that contributes to their myopia. If you can’t see bigger than yourself you’ll always be a small person!
Me and my crew ran into LL at The World club in LES @ 1990. He had entourage in hand and was headed for the VIP section. One of my boys, who was mad grimey at the time, steppped up to L, who towered over my dude (pause), gave him dapp and asked him to let him into VIP in order to rap to these fine latina chicks sitting behind the velvet ropes. L replied “you gotta get in on your own juice homie, can’t do it for you.” My dude then flipped out (we had downed a coupla 40’s and a blizzunt on our way to the city) by getting in L’s chest saying “I knew you fell off dude, you whack kid (this was right after “Panther” came out and dude got boo’ed at the Apollo at the Jesse Jackson Rainbow Coalition set), I should snuff the shit outta you right fucking now”. Mind you, L was towering over dude, AND he had two brawlic bodyguards standing next to him. L just listened to dude and steppped off into the VIP. L prolly realized he didn’t need no stupid ass lawsuits. For real though, if shit jumped off, my dude would have been on his own for getting into a bullshit situation like that, stupid asshole!
^^^ Nothing is more fun than punking a rapper CJ. LOL.
Anybody who lives in Jamica Queens knows CooL J was the poster boy for getting stalled on and extorted in the 90’s. I’m not a LL fan but I can understand why the argument can be made that he is the G.O.A.T.
I think I turned out ok, check me out and let me know
http://www.myspace.com/stacks_like_woah
I tend to forget LL’s GOAT status due some his later releases that I wasn’t feelin. But before I was bumping Kane, Rakim, Kool Keith, etc. I was a huge LL stan, even had the LL poster from Word Up on the wall. I got mad love for T La Rock, he had the super scientifical lyrics but he just didn’t have LL’s charisma. Here’s a 45 min. performance from a concert in Amsterdam from 87 right after BAD dropped, its nuts. Props to Travis @ http://wakeyourdaughterup.blogspot.com/ for posting this up awhile back.
http://www.zshare.net/audio/3511510adac7ba/
Mamma said knock you out