Mama Said Knock You Out by LL Cool J Turns 35 Years Old

LL Cool J is one of the pioneers when it comes to this hip hop thang. LL released his solo joint called Radio back in 1985. The platinum-selling project basically put Def Jam Records on the map. Radio was named as one of the greatest albums ever and one of the 100 best from the 80s. A year and a half later, LL returned with his Bigger and Deffer joint. Bigger and Deffer would outdo the Radio joint by selling over two million copies. I’m Bad and I Need Love has been viewed as hip hop classics from the original Golden Era. In 1998, the album was selected as one of The Source’s 100 Best Rap Albums. Two years later, LL Cool J hit us with the Walking with a Panther project. Walking with a Panther earned LL Cool J another platinum record.

Fresh off three platinum albums, LL Cool J hit us with his fourth album in 1990. A little over a year after dropping his third album, Mama Said Knock You Out was released. Mama Said Knock You Out by LL Cool J turns 35 years old today. To da Break of Dawn was the first single from Mama Said Knock You Out. To da Break of Dawn was also featured on the House Party Soundtrack. The track was dropped a few months after Jingling Baby, which was the final single from Walk with a Panther. To da Break of Dawn saw LL throw shots at Kool Moe Dee, MC Hammer, and Ice-T. The Boomin’ System was the second single and first official single from Mama Said Knock You Out. The Boomin’ System is one of my favorite tracks from the album.

The Boomin’ System reached No. 48 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Hot Rap Singles chart. Around the Way Girl was the second official single from the album. Around the Way Girl was the first smash hit from the Mama Said Knock You Out project. Around the Way Girl peaked at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming LL Cool J’s first top 10 single. The track would go gold, and it’s considered a classic hip hop record. Mama Said Knock You Out became the third single released from the album. The single was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. In October 2023, Billboard ranked “Mama Said Knock You Out” among the “500 Best Pop Songs of All Time”.

The single earned LL Cool J another platinum plaque. Rolling Stone ranked the song 29th in a 2012 list of the “50 Greatest Hip Hop Songs of All Time”. 6 Minutes of Pleasure became the fifth and final single from Mama Said Knock You Out. 6 Minutes of Pleasure didn’t have the same success as the previous three singles. Mama Said Knock You Out was certified double platinum in the United States. In 2020, Rolling Stone ranked the album at No. 246 on their updated list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Mama Said Knock You Out is a dope record and arguably my favorite LL Cool J album. LL Cool J released his first album in 11 years last year called The FORCE. Check out my top 5 tracks from Mama Said Knock You Out below. After that, peep the track listing and stream link to the album.

Top 5 Tracks: Mama Said Knock You Out, The Boomin’ System, Around the Way Girl, Jingling Baby, and To da Break of Dawn