The post LL Cool J’s Dad Sh*t His Mom & Grandfather, They Painfully Explained Why They Forgave Him appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Ever since 1984 L.L. Cool J. (birth name James Todd Smith) has lived up to his name – “Ladies Love Cool James”- as one of the coldest rappers in the game and a sex symbol for his female fans. Fast forward to 2023, and now L.L.’s and wife, Simone Smith’s, four offspring are grown adults who are living up to their versions of their Pop’s rap name, too.

Meet L.L.’s Kids

Smith Kid #1: Najee Smith

As a damn near clone of his “I’m Bad” daddy, L.L.’s and Simone’s first born child – 33-year-old son, Najee Laurent Todd Eugene Smith – has the ladies loving him these days. He’s a successful professional photographer who’s very grounded and close with his fam.’ Check out some of his work at www.NajeePhotography.com.

Smith Kid #2: Italia

The Smith’s second born- daughter, 32-year-old Italia Smith is beautiful and she’s taken fellas. She and her husband, Lamar Cardinez, jumped the broom in June 2017, and share a beautiful one-year-old daughter, named Faith. Italia is a licensed real estate agent, with a degree in Business Administration from Northeastern University. Her LinkedIn profile states that she’s “No stranger to working with high profile clients such as professional athletes and celebrities. She has the utmost respect for her clients’ confidentiality and privacy.”

Smith Kid #3: Samaria

The third born “Rock The Bells” baby is 27-year-old Samaria Smith, who is her dad’s twin as you can see. Samaria graduated from Fashion Institute of Technology and owns a denim brand, which she’s named after herself.

She’s also been gifted with L.L.’s musical gene, except instead of spittin’ bars, she’s singing beautiful melodies over tracks and making her daddy a proud papa.

Smith Kid #4: Nina Symone Smith
And last, but not least is the Smiths’ baby of the bunch — who was named after one of our favorite artists of all time — 22-year-old Nina Symone Smith.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by NINA-SYMONE BEAUTIFUL (@ninabandzz)

Don’t Believe The Hype

Seeing L.L. with his kids and wife of 27 years is a beautiful thing. Why? Because there was a time when L.L. was a part of the emerging hip hop scene in the ’80s and not only did hip hop get a bad wrap back then — by those who just didn’t view it as a ‘real’ art form — but so did the rappers who were fathers as well. The general consensus was that young Black male celebrity dads (and Black fathers overall) were not responsible enough to take care of their seeds. Looking at the Smith fam,’ it’s evident that that generalized assumption missed him. He’s been in his babies’ lives since day one and has remained solid with his wife.

The past 38 years of L.L.’s career as a rap-legend-turned-actor has been a pretty cool transformation to witness. Now, if we can just get the brotha to drop a new rap classic just for nostalgia’s sake, then we’d really be saying something.

The post LL Cool J’s Adult Daughters Are Gorgeous And His Son Made Us Think We Were Seeing Double appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

LL Cool J’s 1990 “Mama Said Knock You Out” lyrics went straight to the heart (and his fists). During an interview, the rapper gives a detailed account of what actually happened between him and Jamie Foxx.

While on the Any Given Sunday set with Jamie, things got a bit too real during one of the scenes. LL Cool J spoke up about the situation during an episode of Drink Champs.

Nevertheless, in the 1999 sports drama ,Any Given Sunday, LL told the hosts how Jamie ended up on the floor. Apparently, similar to how Jamie described the situation during one of his stand-ups, LL was in full-character mode.

The rapper states that Jamie didn’t like how aggressive he was being toward him. According to LL, Foxx actually asked him to ease up. However, LL didn’t take his request seriously. Thus, the next scene…

‘I Was Rough With Him Again’…

Embed from Getty Images

LL says he didn’t back off at all. However, that allegedly caused Jamie to react.

“And, then, I don’t know why, but he thought it was a good idea to punch me in my face. This wasn’t scripted. I’ma keep it 100 with you. You want me to keep it 100 — I’m gonna keep it 100. He punched me in my face.”

When that happened, LL asked Jamie why he would do that. And after a few fighting words between the two, Jamie got laid out.

Embed from Getty Images

“He had his helmet on, and he was turned to the side,” LL tells the Drink Champs hosts. “He said, ‘I told you before. Don’t put your hands on me. Period!’ Yo, when he said that, my left hand grabbed the face mask and, as I was pulling his helmet off, my right hand was punching his chin. This was like ‘POW!’ And then he was laying there and I thought he was faking because he was sleep!”

Jamie later filed charges against him for the incident. However, as LL mentions, it’s water under the bridge between them now, and they’re cool.

NOTE: In the video interview below, LL starts on this topic around the 1-hour mark.

The post LL Cool J Says He Knocked Out Jamie Foxx Amid Heated Confrontation, Gave Blow-By-Blow Details appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

When many people think of legendary hip hop pioneer, LL Cool J, they’re probably thinking of him as he is now; actor, host and charismatic brotha who paved the way for so many artists with his ferocious lyrical prowess. However, many may not know that there was a time when LL’s life was completely out of control with sex and drugs.

LL Admits His Vices Included Drugs And Po*nography

In his critically acclaimed biography, “I Make My Own rules”, LL shared details from his troubled childhood, which included physical abuse and criminal activity that lead right into his rap career at just sixteen years old. Garnering that kind of fame at such an early age can be overwhelming, which seems to be the case with LL. In one of the most revealing parts of the book (via MTV) LL talked about his drug addiction:

“I smoked angel dust. I smoked coke,” [LL] said. “I did a lot of things … and the only reason that I’m able to stand here right now is because I stopped doing it. I’m feeling great about that. That makes me feel good. I’m rejoicing over this. I’m rejoicing being able to share the world and tell the world I did drugs, I carried guns. I did a lot of bad things. If I didn’t tell the truth about my sex life or tell the truth about drugs, tell all that negative stuff, nobody would even be interested in this book… because it would be fluff to them.

In addition to his drug problems, LL also confessed he enjoyed numerous encounters with female groupies, as well as an unhealthy addiction to po*nography. However, everything came to a crashing halt when he finally hit rock bottom.

LL Hit His Lowest Point

You’re probably wondering ‘Exactly how could LL’s life spiral even more out of control after admitting to drug and sex addictions?’. According to the Jasmine Brand, during a segment on Oprah’s Next Chapter LL talked about the time he had sex with a pregnant woman. And that’s when he knew that he needed to change his lifestyle up.

Ya know….At some point, you just have to be respectful. I mean, when you think back on it…it’s a little aggressive. Lots of testosterone in that 20 year-old body. I had a Rockstar’s life early on, for many years. We all have to mature. At some point, you gotta…kinda get your mind right. We all foolish in some ways, forever. I did some things that were naughty.

LL has certainly done a complete 180 from those days into a faithful husband, actor and leader within the Hip Hop community. It just goes to show that it doesn’t matter where you start as long as you’re always willing to be better than you were before.

Check out LL’s revelation with Oprah below.

The post LL Cool J Made Stunning Confessions Of His Past Addictions & “Low Point” In His Sex Life appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

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.

His Mom’s Next Relationship Was Horrific for L.L.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, his mother, Ondrea, eventually settled into another relationship with a man named, Roscoe Granger, and in the book, LL details (via The Daily Press) how Roscoe, allegedly a drug addict,  took every opportunity to beat LL whenever he had the chance.

“Roscoe beat me for just about anything. He would beat me for watching television, for lookin’ at him funny, for looking out the window watching other kids play. He didn’t need a good reason. It was just a power trip… ”

“He’d make me take off all my clothes and put my arms up on my bunk bed with the `Star Wars’ sheets while he beat me. It was like the scene in `Glory’ when Denzel Washington was getting beat down like a slave, except I was like 8 years old. He’d even pull me out of the shower to get a beating. He didn’t care how he beat me or with what… “

Eventually Ondrea left Roscoe but after all of the trauma LL suffered it was too little too late.

“You know how glad I was to have Roscoe out of my life, but the damage was done. I was doing all kinds of wild things by then and getting in all kinds of trouble.”

Though he was beginning to act out in the aftermath of the abuse by the age of 16 LL found his calling during the Golden Age of Hip Hop as one of the top emcees of the time. Yet, the scars never fully healed.

LL Talks To Oprah About The Abuse

Decades later LL sat down with Oprah Winfrey during a segment on Oprah’s Next Chapter to discuss how he coped with Roscoe’s constant abuse and it’s sad to hear that he had to become so strong at such a young age.

The abuse he suffered from Roscoe was damaging, but living with the pain of his father shooting his mother and grandfather must have been worse. Eventually, LL’s father James came back into his life and helped him out in the early stages of his budding rap career. Unfortunately, that relationship turned sour when James mismanaged LL’s funds and he ended up owing $2 million dollars to the IRS. As a result LL fired James and hired a new manager. But even with all of that negativity LL still found a way to forgive his father for everything he’s ever done to him.

“I guess it would leave you scarred, at four years old, based on how the people around you dealt with it and encouraged you to deal with it. It was tough.

“My family is a very interesting family. My mother forgave my father… He came back into my life and made amends for a lot of things by helping to guide me with my music career early on, and kinda helping me in that area (sic). My father made a massive blunder, but he also did a lot of things right.”

The post LL Cool J Painfully Shared Why His Dad Shot His Mom, Grandfather…And Why He Forgave Him appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Ever since 1984 L.L. Cool J. (birth name James Todd Smith) has lived up to his name – “Ladies Love Cool James”- as one of the coldest rappers in the game and a sex symbol for his female fans. Fast forward to 2021, and now L.L. and his wife, Simone Smith’s, four offspring are grown adults who are living up to their versions of their Pop’s rap name too.

Meet L.L.’s Kids

Smith Kid #1: Najee Smith

As a damn near clone of his “I’m Bad” daddy, L.L.’s and Simone’s first born child – 32-year-old son, Najee Laurent Todd Eugene Smith – has the ladies loving him these days. He’s a successful professional photographer who’s very grounded and close with his fam.’ Check out some of his work at www.NajeePhotography.com.

Smith Kid #2: Italia

The Smith’s second born- daughter, 31-year-old Italia Smith is beautiful and she’s taken fellas. She and her husband, Lamar Cardinez, jumped the broom in June 2017, and share a beautiful one-year-old daughter, named Faith. Italia is a licensed real estate agent, with a degree in Business Administration from Northeastern University. Her LinkedIn profile states that she’s “No stranger to working with high profile clients such as professional athletes and celebrities. She has the utmost respect for her clients’ confidentiality and privacy.”

Smith Kid #3: Samaria

The third born “Rock The Bells” baby is 26-year-old Samaria Smith, who is her dad’s twin as you can see. Samaria graduated from Fashion Institute of Technology and owns a denim brand, which she’s named after herself.

She’s also been gifted with L.L.’s musical gene, except instead of spittin’ bars, she’s singing beautiful melodies over tracks and making her daddy a proud papa.

Smith Kid #4: Nina Symone Smith
And last, but not least is the Smiths’ baby of the bunch — who was named after one of our favorite artists of all time — 20 year old Nina Symone Smith.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by NINA-SYMONE BEAUTIFUL (@ninabandzz)

Don’t Believe The Hype

Seeing L.L. with his kids and wife of 27 years is a beautiful thing. Why? Because there was a time when L.L. was a part of the emerging hip hop scene in the ’80s and not only did hip hop get a bad wrap back then — by those who just didn’t view it as a ‘real’ art form — but so did the rappers who were fathers as well. The general consensus was that young Black male celebrity dads (and Black fathers overall) were not responsible enough to take care of their seeds. Looking at the Smith fam,’ it’s evident that that generalized assumption missed him. He’s been in his babies’ lives since day one and has remained solid with his wife.

The past 38 years of L.L.’s career as a rap-legend-turned-actor has been a pretty cool transformation to witness. Now, if we can just get the brotha to drop a new rap classic just for nostalgia’s sake, then we’d really be saying something.

The post LL Cool J’s Adult Daughters Are Gorgeous And His Son Made Us Think We Were Seeing Double appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

LL Cool J’s 1990 “Mama Said Knock You Out” lyrics went straight to the heart (and his fists). During an interview, the rapper gives a detailed account of what actually happened between him and Jamie Foxx.

While on the Any Given Sunday set with Jamie, things got a bit too real during one of the scenes. LL Cool J spoke up about the situation during an episode of Drink Champs.

Nevertheless, in the 1999 sports drama ,Any Given Sunday, LL told the hosts how Jamie ended up on the floor. Apparently, similar to how Jamie described the situation during one of his standups, LL was in full-character mode.

The rapper states that Jamie didn’t like how aggressive he was being toward him. According to LL, Foxx actually asked him to ease up. However, LL didn’t take his request seriously. Thus, the next scene…

‘I Was Rough With Him Again’…

Embed from Getty Images

LL says he didn’t back off at all. However, that allegedly caused Jamie to react.

“And, then, I don’t know why, but he thought it was a good idea to punch me in my face. This wasn’t scripted. I’ma keep it 100 with you. You want me to keep it 100 — I’m gonna keep it 100. He punched me in my face.”

When that happened, LL asked Jamie why he would do that. And after a few fighting words between the two, Jamie got laid out.

Embed from Getty Images

“He had his helmet on, and he was turned to the side,” LL tells the Drink Champs hosts. “He said, ‘I told you before. Don’t put your hands on me. Period!’ Yo, when he said that, my left hand grabbed the face mask and, as I was pulling his helmet off, my right hand was punching his chin. This was like ‘POW!’ And then he was laying there and I thought he was faking because he was sleep!”

Jamie later filed charges against him for the incident. However, as LL mentions, it’s water under the bridge between them now, and they’re cool.

NOTE: In the video interview below, LL starts on this topic around the 1-hour mark.

The post LL Cool J Says He Knocked Out Jamie Foxx Amid Heated Confrontation, Gave Blow-By-Blow Details appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

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.

His Mom’s Next Relationship Was Horrific for L.L.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, his mother, Ondrea, eventually settled into another relationship with a man named, Roscoe Granger, and in the book, LL details (via The Daily Press) how Roscoe, allegedly a drug addict,  took every opportunity to beat LL whenever he had the chance.

“Roscoe beat me for just about anything. He would beat me for watching television, for lookin’ at him funny, for looking out the window watching other kids play. He didn’t need a good reason. It was just a power trip… ”

“He’d make me take off all my clothes and put my arms up on my bunk bed with the `Star Wars’ sheets while he beat me. It was like the scene in `Glory’ when Denzel Washington was getting beat down like a slave, except I was like 8 years old. He’d even pull me out of the shower to get a beating. He didn’t care how he beat me or with what… “

Eventually Ondrea left Roscoe but after all of the trauma LL suffered it was too little too late.

“You know how glad I was to have Roscoe out of my life, but the damage was done. I was doing all kinds of wild things by then and getting in all kinds of trouble.”

Though he was beginning to act out in the aftermath of the abuse by the age of 16 LL found his calling during the Golden Age of Hip Hop as one of the top emcees of the time. Yet, the scars never fully healed.

LL Talks To Oprah About The Abuse

Decades later LL sat down with Oprah Winfrey during a segment on Oprah’s Next Chapter to discuss how he coped with Roscoe’s constant abuse and it’s sad to hear that he had to become so strong at such a young age.

The abuse he suffered from Roscoe was damaging, but living with the pain of his father shooting his mother and grandfather must have been worse. Eventually, LL’s father James came back into his life and helped him out in the early stages of his budding rap career. Unfortunately, that relationship turned sour when James mismanaged LL’s funds and he ended up owing $2 million dollars to the IRS. As a result LL fired James and hired a new manager. But even with all of that negativity LL still found a way to forgive his father for everything he’s ever done to him.

“I guess it would leave you scarred, at four years old, based on how the people around you dealt with it and encouraged you to deal with it. It was tough.

“My family is a very interesting family. My mother forgave my father… He came back into my life and made amends for a lot of things by helping to guide me with my music career early on, and kinda helping me in that area (sic). My father made a massive blunder, but he also did a lot of things right.”

The post LL Cool J Painfully Detailed Why His Dad Shot His Mom & Grandfather, Why He Forgave Him appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Ever since 1984 L.L. Cool J. (birth name James Todd Smith) has lived up to his name – “Ladies Love Cool James”- as one of the coldest rappers in the game and a sex symbol for his female fans. Fast forward to 2021, and now L.L. and his wife, Simone Smith’s, four offspring are grown adults who are living up to their versions of their Pop’s rap name too.

Meet L.L.’s Kids

Smith Kid #1: Najee Smith

As a damn near clone of his “I’m Bad” daddy, L.L.’s and Simone’s first born child-  31 year old son,  Najee Laurent Todd Eugene Smith- has the ladies loving him these days. He’s a successful professional photographer who’s very grounded and close with his fam.’ Check out some of his work at www.NajeePhotography.com.

Smith Kid #2: Italia

The Smith’s second born- daughter, 30 year old Italia Smith is beautiful and she’s taken fellas. She and her husband, Lamar Cardinez, jumped the broom in June 2017, and share a beautiful one-year-old daughter, named Faith. Italia is a licensed real estate agent, with a degree in Business Administration from Northeastern University. Her LinkedIn profile states that she’s “No stranger to working with high profile clients such as professional athletes and celebrities. She has the utmost respect for her clients’ confidentiality and privacy.”

Smith Kid #3: Samaria

The third born “Rock The Bells” baby is 25 year old Samaria Smith, who is her dad’s twin as you can see. Samaria graduated from Fashion Institute of Technology and owns a denim brand, which she’s named after herself.

She’s also been gifted with L.L.’s musical gene, except instead of spittin’ bars, she’s singing beautiful melodies over tracks and making her daddy a proud papa.

Smith Kid #4: Nina Symone Smith
And last, but not least is the Smiths’ baby of the bunch — who was named after one of our favorite artists of all time — 20 year old Nina Symone Smith.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by NINA-SYMONE BEAUTIFUL (@ninabandzz)

Don’t Believe The Hype

Seeing L.L. with his kids and wife of 26 years is a beautiful thing. Why? Because there was a time when L.L. was a part of the emerging hip hop scene in the ’80s and not only did hip hop get a bad wrap back then — by those who just didn’t view it as a ‘real’ art form — but so did the rappers who were fathers as well. The general consensus was that young Black male celebrity dads (and Black fathers overall) were not responsible enough to take care of their seeds. Looking at the Smith fam,’ it’s evident that that generalized assumption missed him. He’s been in his babies’ lives since day one and has remained solid with his wife.

The past 37 years of L.L.’s career as a rap-legend-turned-actor has been a pretty cool transformation to witness. Now, if we can just get the brotha to drop a new rap classic just for nostalgia’s sake, then we’d really be saying something.

The post LL Cool J’s Adult Daughters Are Beautiful And His Son Made Us Think We Were Seeing Double appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

When many people think of legendary Hip Hop pioneer LL Cool J they’re probably thinking of him as he is now; actor, host and charismatic brotha who paved the way for so many artists with his ferocious lyrical prowess. However, many don’t know that there was a time when LL’s life was completely out of control with sex and drugs.

LL Admits His Vices Included Drugs And Pornography

In his critically acclaimed biography ‘I Make My Own rules’ LL shared details from his troubled childhood, which included physical abuse and criminal activity that lead right into his rap career at just sixteen years old. Garnering that kind of fame at such an early age can be overwhelming, which seems to be the case with LL. In one of the most revealing parts of the book (via MTV) LL talked about his drug addiction.

“I smoked angel dust. I smoked coke,” he said. “I did a lot of things … and the only reason that I’m able to stand here right now is because I stopped doing it. I’m feeling great about that. That makes me feel good. I’m rejoicing over this. I’m rejoicing being able to share the world and tell the world I did drugs, I carried guns. I did a lot of bad things. If I didn’t tell the truth about my sex life or tell the truth about drugs, tell all that negative stuff, nobody would even be interested in this book… because it would be fluff to them.

In addition to his drug problems LL also admitted that he enjoyed numerous encounters with female groupies  as well as an unhealthy addiction to pornography. However, everything came to a crashing halt when he finally hit rock bottom.

Next Page: LL Hits His Lowest Point >>>

The post L.L. Stunned Fans With Confessions Of Past Drug Addictions & “Low Point” Of His Sex Life appeared first on I Love Old School Music.