LL Got Murked

In the “Blood In The Water” post about Nicki Minaj vs. Lil’ Kim, I stated that I would get back you on this topic. Well, here it is. Did L.L. Cool J really defeat Cannibus in their 1998 battle? I am an old school L.L. fan. I’m talking about hooking the cable up to the back of the radio so I could tune in WGCI in Chicago and recording “Dear Yvette” on a cassette tape because besides “The Show”, it was my favorite song. I’m talking about drinking 40oz’s at my homeboy’s house and acting out the “I’m Bad” video.

I remember the day like it was yesterday. Chris Luva Luva (Ludacris) and Poon Daddy were on the air at (then) Hot 97 ATL and they played the Cannibus song. I had seen the video already and I knew there was a problem. This cat was hungry like four fat pregnant chicks having cravings, but I was still thinking to myself”how do you decide to battle L.L.?” But, when it came on the radio, it felt like the spotlight was on and he was ready for the show. That’s when I knew that he KILLED this cat. I thought that it was over with and that one of my Hip Hop idols had gone down in flames.

Let me sidetrack myself for a moment and philosophize for a moment. What we can’t do is base a decision on previous accomplishments, likings, and emotion. That’s where I bamboozled, hoodwinked, and sideswiped myself in regard to this battle. Even when it was obvious that Uncle L was not going to make too many songs for the original B-boy crowd, I rode the wave. In my early teens, when I first got serious about girls and one girl in particular, I rocked with “Around the way girl” because it was L.L. Cool J. What we have to do is just be in tune and real with ourselves.

Let’s get back to the story. I was speaking of L going down in flames but, it didn’t quite happen that way. Maybe a week or two later Luva Luva and Poon Daddy were back on the air with L.L.’s response. They made me wait through about two sets of commercials before they really got to it but, what are you gonna do? What they did was set it up as a battle, played the songs back to back and had people call in and vote. I’ll never forget Poon Daddy saying “You can’t go against no legend” and that’s al that I needed to change my mind about my idol. At that very moment, I believe that I was persuade to believe that L.L. was going to crush this little guy and remain undefeated in a battle. The song played, and in my heart I knew it wasn’t strong enough, but I ran with it for years until I saw an episode of “Beef” and they were interviewing Kool Moe Dee about his battle with L.L.. Kool Moe Dee basically said that more than potency, it was the intensity that got him over. When listening to the interviews of others through the years, the decision was based on legend status rather than how hard did he come. That’s when I decided to be real about the situation, (and this answers the question in the beginning of this) and said HELL NAW (yes, I said Naw) L.L. didn’t win. Cannibus WENT IN on this cat relentlessly! The references to the fan base and taking the Mic off of his arm is classic!

Did L go out without being a formidable competitor? No. Did he win? Absolutely not, and that battle didn’t hurt lessen his prestige because many won’t admit that he lost but here is the opportunity to set yourself free and say Can-I-Bus busted that ass. The video clip and archives are below, like me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, and don't forget to TELL SOMEBODY!