LL Cool J is one of the most respected rappers in the game but even he has endured his fair share of obstacles. As a young boy growing up in New York City LL witnessed a few traumatic events that he carried with him into his adulthood.

A Tough Childhood In Queens

LL’s Dad shot his Mom and Grandfather

LL (birth name James Todd Smith) recounted his painful childhood memories in his biography “I Make My Own Rules” and the details are shocking. When he was very young his parents got a divorce and it angered his biological father, James, so much that he shot both LL’s mother and grandfather with a shotgun. And LL was the one who discovered them! According to Hollywood.com;

Truck driver James Nunya shot his father-in-law Eugene in the stomach and estranged wife Ondrea in the back out of frustration over the couple’s divorce in 1972, when the Grammy winner and awards host was just a young boy.

Both relatives survived their injuries, and the NCIS: Los Angeles star insists he has since made peace with his dad – even though he was initially reluctant to allow him back into his life.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, his Mom’s next relationship was awful for L.L.>>>