*Hip-hop legend LL Cool J found the inspiration for his 1990 hit “Mama Said Knock You Out” in an unlikely place: a conversation with his grandmother.
The story starts with his 1989 album, “Walking With a Panther.” It landed at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 and claimed the top spot on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Still, as hip-hop grew harder at the end of the decade, critics dismissed him as “too soft” and too commercial.
The rapper looked back on that stretch in a 2020 interview with Rolling Stone, which VICE revisited on Oct. 11. He admitted the criticism stung.
“The title line, ‘Mama said knock you out’, came from my grandmother. I was beefing, moaning, and griping about what people were saying with Walking With A Panther. I’ve always been a guy who liked to experiment and be free in the studio; I’ve never stuck to a script. And in hip-hop, people don’t always appreciate that,” he said.
Scroll to continue reading
He also saw a double standard. “In other genres, people appreciate it when a guy like Prince does experimental albums and projects. I guess for whatever reason, it didn’t hit the mark like it did for some people,” he said.
That’s when his grandmother offered blunt advice. “So my grandmother was like, ‘Yeah, get out there and knock ’em out.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, knock ’em out,’” LL Cool J recalled.
He answered his critics with “Mama Said Knock You Out,” the single and title track of his 1990 album. “The whole idea behind that album came from the fact that people thought I couldn’t do it, or I felt that people thought I couldn’t do it,” he explained.
The song’s opening line arrived just as naturally. “From there, I remember being in my condo with the SP-1200 [sampler]. My man Bob [producer Bobby ‘Bobcat’ Erving] had the beat playing, and I was just like, ‘Don’t call it a comeback!’ It just felt right. It was right from the spirit,” he said.
The track won him the Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance in 1992, though it took time to catch on.
“The song ‘Mama Said Knock You Out’ didn’t get a lot of attention back then. It got little play on MTV and a little play on the radio, but it actually grew over the years. It was strong, but over the years, it became a bigger song. That’s the craziest thing, and I’m really grateful for that,” he said.
MORE NEWS ON EURWEB.COM: Trump Turns on Hegseth: Nidal Hasan Execution Will NOT Be Livestreamed
Sign up for our Free daily newsletter HERE
