Legendary rapper LL Cool J, who burst onto the scene four decades ago, has left many fans astonished as they finally uncover what his stage name means.
LL Cool J became a pioneering force in rap music and achieved commercial triumph early in his career after being signed by Def Jam Recordings in 1984, alongside iconic names like Beastie Boys and Run-DMC.
His debut single ‘I Need a Beat’ laid the groundwork for a succession of hits including ‘Mama Said Knock You Out’, ‘Doin It’, ‘Around The Way Girl’, ‘Luv U Better’ and ‘I’m Bad’. Yet, many have only recently started to query how the 56-year-old artist originally chose the moniker LL Cool J.
The question gained momentum when a curious mind on Quora asked: “What does the LL stand for in LL Cool J’s name?”
Hailing from Bay Shore, Long Island, New York, LL Cool J was born James Todd Smith and started rapping at the tender age of 10, inspired by the hip-hop group The Treacherous Three.
By 16, he was crafting demo tapes and had earned the reputation among peers as ‘the rapper in the neighbourhood’. LL Cool J shared a revealing insight into his past during the VH1 documentary Planet Rock: The Story of Hip Hop and the Crack Generation, where he disclosed an earlier idea to go by the name J-Ski.
He ultimately rejected this alias to avoid any connections with cocaine culture. It was then that friend and fellow rapper Mikey D proposed the catchy LL Cool J, which stands for Ladies Love Cool James – a name that became synonymous with his identity upon joining Def Jam Recordings.
One Quora user explained the origin of his stage name, stating: “L.L.’s real name is James Tod Smith. Doesn’t sound too cool when you’re a rapper. So when he signed with Def Jam Records he changed his name to Ladies Love Cool J. But Rick Rubin co- founder of Def Jam Records told him it was too long a name to put on a record label, so he shortened it to L.L. Cool J.”
Another user chimed in: “His full name is James Todd Smith. I read a long time ago that close friends and family address him as Todd. His stage name, LL Cool J, means Ladies Love Cool James.”