Born James Todd Smith, the rapper LL Cool J, has been a fixture in hip-hop since his debut single I Need a Beat in 1985. His autobiography, I MAKE MY OWN RULES, recounts his humble beginnings in Queens, his early success with Def Jam Records, and his successful acting career, mixing homely asides (he often uses his grandmother as a musical advisor) with more lurid details of his sex life. His phenomenally successful 1980s rapping style, with its soft-centered emphasis on champagne, designer clothes, cars, and sex, was eclipsed in the early'90s by the angry, racially charged, and socially conscious albums of Public Enemy and NWA, and he spent some years in the musical wilderness. He candidly describes what it felt like to see his albums slipping in the charts, his first movie failing, and mismanagement by those he trusted, including his own father, which left him, if not exactly destitute, with little money. His subsequent charity work and resuscitated career find him humbler and wiser, and something of a hip-hop elder statesman. Chatty and worldly-wise, RULES is a fascinating glimpse inside the life of this engaging rap superstar.
