On this day in music history: August 27, 1990 - Mama Said Knock You Out, the fourth album by LL Cool J is released. Produced by Marley Marl, LL Cool J, and Bobby Bobcat Ervin, it is recorded at Marleys House Of Hits in Chestnut Ridge, NY, Chung King House Of Metal, Sorcerer Sound, Unique Recording Studios, Greene Street Studios in New York City, and Ocean Way Recording Studios in Los Angeles, CA from Late 1989 - Mid 1990. By the end of the 80s, LL Cool J will find himself at a crossroads in his music career. Having established himself as a rap superstar with his first two albums Radio and Bigger And Deffer, the tide will turn with his third release Walking With A Panther in 1989. Though commercially successful, the album will meet with a mixed to an outright negative response from many fans, feeling that Cool J has sold out in order to achieve mainstream crossover acceptance. Taking the criticism to heart, the rapper will enlist the assistance of producer Marley Marl, who had previously remixed the single Jingling Baby from the last album (Biz Markie, Big Daddy Kane, Roxanne Shante, MC Shan) to produce his next release. The new albums title track (#1 Rap, #12 R&B, #17 Pop) will be inspired by LLs grandmother Ellen Griffith who will tell her grandson to knock em out, Todd when he is faced with negative criticism from fans and others in the hip hop community. Proceeded by the single The Boomin System (#1 Rap, #6 R&B, #48 Pop) in the Summer of 1990, the resulting albums perfect blend of street edginess and radio friendly accessibility will be enthusiastically received by the public, not only helping to re-establish the rappers street cred, but will also widen his fanbase. It will spin off a total of five singles including Around The Way Girl (#1 Rap, #5 R&B, #9 Pop), and To Da Break Of Dawn (#17 Rap). Mama Said Knock You Out will win LL Cool J a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance in 1992. Mama Said Knock You Out will peak at number two on the Billboard R&B album chart, number sixteen on the Top 200, and is certified 2x Platinum in the US by the RIAA.
Posted on: Thu, 28 Aug 2014 00:00:04 +0000
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