Get unlimited access to everything VICE has to offer.

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

4 Magazines Delivered to Your Door

The Story Behind ‘Mama Said Knock You Out’ and the Grandmother Who Inspired Its Famous Title

Even though LL Cool J didn’t want you to call it a comeback, that’s exactly what his 1990 album ‘Mama Said Knock You Out’ became.

Share on X (Opens in new window)X

Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Facebook

Share using Native toolsShareCopied to clipboard

In the mid-1980s, LL Cool J emerged during the rise of hip-hop into the mainstream. At the time, his style fit into the trends of hip-hop, predating the gangsta rap invasion of the late 80s and early 90s. As rap and hip-hop had evolved toward the end of the decade, LL Cool J received criticism for being “too soft” or commercialized. Despite his 1989 album, Walking With A Panther, peaking at No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 6 on the US Billboard 200, he wasn’t taken seriously within the rap community.

To toughen his image, LL Cool J returned in 1990 with Mama Said Knock You Out. This shift catered to fans of gangsta rap and set LL Cool J on a path of distancing himself from his 80s career. The title track comes from his own........

© Vice