Bigger and Deffer [Clean] [Edited]

Performer: LL Cool J
Engineer: Chuck Valle; Jay Henry; Mark Mandelbaum; Rod Hui; Steve Ett
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel includes: LL Cool J (rap vocals); Bobby "Bobcat" Erving (scratches). Producers: LL Cool J, The L.A. Posse, Darryl Pierce, Dwayne Simon, Bobby Erving. Recorded at Chung King House Of Metal, New York, New York. Personnel: Bobby Erving (scratches). Audio Mixer: Steven Ett. Recording information: Chung King House Of MEtal, New York, NY. Photographer: Glen E. Friedman. LL Cool J rocketed to the top of the hip-hop world in 1985 with Radio, his astonishing debut, but he lost his footing a bit with Bigger and Deffer, his mildly disappointing follow-up that proved to be a commercial breakthrough all the same. It's a powerful album that gets underway with a bang, as LL raps, "No rapper can rap quite like I can," and makes his case throughout the album-opening "I'm Bad," a ferocious hardcore rap with a great DJ-scratched hook. While that song ranks among LL's best (and most popular) ever, Bigger and Deffer doesn't boast too many other standout moments, with the exception of "I Need Love." Its balladic tenderness comes as a late-album surprise, considering how ferocious LL sounds elsewhere here. Nonetheless, like it or loathe it, the song set the template for a number of such lovers raps that would bring LL much crossover success in the years to come. "I Need Love" aside, Bigger and Deffer is consistently solid, produced entirely by the L.A. Posse (Darryl Pierce, Dwayne Simon, and Bobby Erving) and filled with the sort of hard-hitting hip-hop that was Def Jam's staple at the time. But while the album is mostly solid, it does lack the creative spark that had made Radio such an invigorating release only a couple years prior (the absence of Rick Rubin here is unfortunate). In those couple years since LL had put out Radio, rap music had taken big strides. Now, in 1987, LL had to contend with the likes of Eric B. & Rakim, Kool Moe Dee, Public Enemy, and Boogie Down Productions, with others like EPMD, Big Daddy Kane, Ice-T, and N.W.A on the horizon. When put in such a context, Bigger and Deffer pales a bit; in the years since LL's Radio rocked the streets of New York, rap had taken leaps and bounds while LL hadn't. So it was no surprise when LL suddenly came under attack by his rivals and a few fans, sending him back to the drawing board for his next effort, the whopping 18-track Walking with a Panther (1989). ~ Jason Birchmeier BIGGER AND DEFFER was the album which took LL from up-and-coming artist to the mantle of both pop star and rap legend. The title track, the album' s opening mission statement was only one of BIGGER AND DEFFER's memorable hits--"I Need Love," a disarmingly gentle ballad pushed the rap genre in a new direction, contrasting the album's otherwise hard edge with "soft" keyboard track and a confessional, vulnerable lyric. "Go Cut Creator Go" blends crushing guitars and myriad other samples in what remains one of hip-hop's slickest turntable tracks. Though the requisite hometown shoutouts abound, LL extols the virtues of one of New York's less-frequented attractions in "The Bristol Motel," a sordid spot in his native Queens. LL Cool J rocketed to the top of the hip-hop world in 1985 with Radio, his astonishing debut, but he lost his footing a bit with Bigger and Deffer, his mildly disappointing follow-up that proved to be a commercial breakthrough all the same. It's a powerful album that gets underway with a bang, as LL raps, "No rapper can rap quite like I can," and makes his case throughout the album-opening "I'm Bad," a ferocious hardcore rap with a great DJ-scratched hook. While that song ranks among LL's best (and most popular) ever, Bigger and Deffer doesn't boast too many other standout moments, with the exception of "I Need Love." Its balladic tenderness comes as a late-album surprise, considering how ferocious LL sounds elsewhere here. Nonetheless, like it or loathe it, the song set the template for a number of such lovers raps that would bring LL much crossover success in the years to come. "I Need Love" aside, Bigger and Deffer is consistently solid, produced entirely by the L.A. Posse (Darryl Pierce, Dwayne Simon, and Bobby Erving) and filled with the sort of hard-hitting hip-hop that was Def Jam's staple at the time. But while the album is mostly solid, it does lack the creative spark that had made Radio such an invigorating release only a couple years prior (the absence of Rick Rubin here is unfortunate). In those couple years since LL had put out Radio, rap music had taken big strides. Now, in 1987, LL had to contend with the likes of Eric B. & Rakim, Kool Moe Dee, Public Enemy, and Boogie Down Productions, with others like EPMD, Big Daddy Kane, Ice-T, and N.W.A on the horizon. When put in such a context, Bigger and Deffer pales a bit; in the years since LL's Radio rocked the streets of New York, rap had taken leaps and bounds while LL hadn't. So it was no surprise when LL suddenly came under attack by his rivals and a few fans, sending him back to the drawing board for his next effort, the whopping 18-track Walking With a Panther (1989), which showed more ambition and progress. [Def Jam released a clean edition in addition to the standard one.] ~ Jason Birchmeier

Q (9/95, p.124) - 3 Stars - Good - "...he was still relentless and `I Need Love' surpris[ed] the hard core crew by coming on all lovey-dovey..." Melody Maker (7/22/95, p.35) - "...`I'm Bad' [is LL Cool J's] masterpiece....`I Need Love' [is] acknowledged...as rap's first ballad..."

Since releasing his recording debut while still a teenager, LL Cool J has enjoyed one of the most successful and sustained careers in rap history. His aggressive, self-aggrandizing style was one of the form's touchstones in its early incarnation. After earning Grammy Awards and platinum sales and achieving massive crossover success (with 1990's MAMA SAID KNOCK YOU OUT), the man formerly known as James Todd Smith has moved well beyond musical superstardom to become an actor in movies and TV, as well as a product pitchman and philanthropist.

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