LL Cool J Album: “Phenomenon [Clean]”

LL Cool J arguably has had one of the strongest rap careers ever. He started out as a pioneer back in the 80's and yet still manages to appeal to audiences of today. As much as the purist may hate it, no one (not even the greats like Rakim or Big Daddy Kane), has been able to survive like LL. That doesn't necessarily mean he's come out with a lot of great material in recent years.

"Phenomenon" by no means should simply be written off. "4, 3, 2, 1," is the rap fans wet dream. Outstanding lyrics by guests Method Man, Redman, DMX, and Canibus over a sick hardcore beat make this one of the best posse cuts ever. There's even a self-contained beef, featuring back and forth shots from Canibus and LL on the same track! To top it off, LL closes the track with one of his best verses EVER... it was even featured as a Hip-Hop quotable in the source: ("Every little boy wanna pick up the mic/ and try to run with the big boys and live up to the real hype/ But that's like pickin up a ball, playin with Mike/ Swingin at Ken Griffey or challengin Roy to a fight/ Stop it! you amateur MC's/ Don't you know I'm like the Dream Team tourin' overseas/ For rappers in my circle I'm a deadly disease/ Ringmaster, bringin' a tiger cub to his knees/ In the history of rap they've never seen such prominence/ Your naive confidence gets crushed by my dominance.")

"Starsky & Hutch" is a great tag-team rap with Busta Rhymes. It's got a nice grooving beat and the two trade lines back and forth. It's solid all around and is one of those tracks you put on repeat. LL actually shows some solid creative effort on "Father" which uses a George Michael sample and gospel choir that works pretty well. Definitely a track that'll end up on his [2nd] greatest hits album. The title track is a cliché LL single, that although simply makes me want to drive a tent stake in my temple, will surely please the ladies and fill up the dance floors. It would seem like this album would be well on its way to being a solid one for LL.

Then, LL just stopped trying, the rest of the album is on cruise control and really only mediocre at best. "Candy Rain" might make for a pretty good filler track on a New Edition album, but LL brings it down even farther and just sounds lazy. "Another Dollar" is shows off the "hardcore" LL, which alienates the ladies. This would be fine except for the fact the song sucks, and ends up leaving everyone unhappy. Ironically LL adopts the same style, as he drops "Drug Money" tales (kinda) with help from the Lost Boyz. Sounds about as good as it looks on paper: crap. I almost thought "Nobody Can Freak You" and "Hot, Hot, Hot" where the same song, until I realized that the latter was infinitely worse (talk about lame choruses). And the album closes on the super sweet, sensitive, and predictably boring "Don't Be Late, Don't Come Too Soon". Don't be surprised if you find yourself dozing off for a second or simply skipping the track all together.

Since 93 and including "Phenomenon", LL started a streak of mediocre albums and songs, and yet somehow maintains commercial success and strong fan base. It's undoubtedly due to the fact that while male popular option is ever critical and always shifting, one thing stays the same: ladies love James Smith. "Phenomenon" has it share of really great tracks, but overall it falls flat on its face. It's worth getting this album at a bargain price for the couple of highlights, even though I guarantee you'll never listen to this straight through more than once (if that). Ladies won't even love this one...

(3/10)

Phenomenon, starsky & hutch, 4,3,2,1, candy girl are all great tracks. This album is better than average for sure.

I've been an LL fan since way back. His first two albums (RADIO and BIGGER AND DEFFER) were tha bomb! His next three were pretty good, but this one was a major disappointment. It plays more like an R&B album than a rap album. I can understand a rapper mellowing out, but this is ridiculous. The only songs I really enjoyed on this album were 4,3,2,1 and FATHER. The rest had kinda blase lyrics and mediocre production. BRING BACK MARLY MARL! C'mon LL, I know you got more talent than this...get angry again! Trust me, this is a sub-par performance for LL. I hope he can come back from it. If the the last few soundtrack singles he's done are any indication, he's still got the skillz. They're off the hook!

This came out when LL was at an all time high of his carrer. After a few successful movies and albums, LL's move to Lifestyles of The Rich and famous was a giving. YET..when he released this album, I wasn't expecting something this good. After a bunch of albums that I felt just didnt measure up during the early and mid 90's, 1997 proved to be good with Phenomenon. The title track is a treaure, with a smooth flow and amazing beat. Even though there is some filler material on here, there are some great songs in on this including great hip-hop artist as Redman, Busta, DMX, Cannibus, and Method Man. This one is really good folks, and the best he did since 1987's Bigger and Deffer. What a way to celebrate a 10yr aniversy of one of top 25 hip hop albums made...ENJOY

only good track is 4,3,2,1 and that's cause hard ones like Dmx and canibus ripped it ll cool j may not be a bad rapper but this is no doubt a terrible release for def jam.

5 of 10 lyrics 5 of 10 beats