Rock and Roll Hall of Famer LL Cool J headlines the F.O.R.C.E. Live Tour on Saturday, Aug. 12, at Cleveland's Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (Photo by Peter Yang)
When hip hop was born 50 years ago, James Todd Smith was five years old and growing up in Queens, N.Y.
It hooked him immediately. He was rapping by the time he was eight and making demo tapes when he was 16, using studio equipment purchased for him by his mother and grandfather. He soon became LL Cool J (aka Ladies Love Cool James) and in 1983 had a hit single, “I Need a Beat,” that established both his career and the launch of Def Jam Records.
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