Customer Reviews

G.O.A.T. Featuring James T. Smith: The Greatest of All Time

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Bad as in back in the day BAD! Being 21 years old and a music lover, not just Hip-Hop mind you, I have been a little dissapointed with a few of the last LL offerings, but this has renewed my interest in Mr. Smith. Not since "Mama said knock you out" has he exuded this much energy and showmanship into a recording. With the inclusion of Method Man, Redman, DMX, and Ja Rule just to name a few of the guest appearences on this album, LL Cool J has assured not only the commercial success of this album, but did not rest on a few guest appearences alone to make this album a keeper. The design of the album and most importantly the music included herein is some truly worth while listening. As far as being The Greatest Of All Time, I would have to say he probably isn't. But that really doesn't matter, it's just part of the image that he portrays like the microphone battles from the '80s. LL Cool J was hip-hop, turned not hip-hop, and now with this record, I would dare to say has dropped the Rap/Hip-Hop album of the year. As far as the track "Farmers", I have to say that I actually liked it! It just had a classic LL feel to it. The only thing that I would say really disappointed me about this album was the Redman, DMX, and Method Man track "Fuhgidabowdit". It seems as if DMX's verse was thrown in almost as an afterthought, but otherwise, the track is witty and biting and sounds like a track from Blackout! Which is not an insult because Blackout! was an insanely good record. All in all, if you like LL Cool J, buy this album. If you don't, why are you even here?

LL Cool J was without a doubt an early hip-hop pioneer, but G.O.A.T (greatest of all time) status I have to debate.

There are some classic tracks on this album that show signs of flamboyance, but for the most part the rest of the tracks are below average.
The title of this album can be misleading because there is no way LL Cool J can be considered the greatest of all time, and for him to claim to be is just straight bogus.

Intro: ++++ (best into I've heard in awhile)
Imagine That: ++ (MTV material)
Back Where I Belong: +++++ (LL's best track in awhile)
LL Cool J: +++ (not bad, not good, average)
Take It Off: ++ (just garbage)
Fuhgidabowdit: +++ (dont feel the guest)
Farmers: ++ (terrible beat)
This Is Us: +++ (nice meaning)
Can't Think: +++ (nice beat, but overdone)
Hello: ++ (part II to Imagine That)
You and Me: ++++ (should have been a video)
Homicide: +++++ (CLASSIC)
You Cant ... with Me: + (worse than garbage)
Queens Is: +++++ (not sure if L wrote this one or not)
The G.O.A.T: ++ (terrible beat)
III Bomb: +++ (used to be a very hott track)
M.I.S.S.I: ++ (not my flavor)

I would give this album 3.25 stars maybe... 3.5 but nothing more. If you are a big fan of LL then you wouldnt feel this is his best album and it isn't, but I would have to say it is worth the money you pay for it for the classic tracks I listed above.

The title of this new adventure of LL is fitting in a sense. He projects throughout the entire LP that he considers himself the GREATEST hip-hop artist of all time, however, his own lyrics don't even back that up. Such as the track FARMERS, where each letter stands for some ridiculous phrase... F; for his flavor, or R; for his "ill-rims," etc, etc. Even with DJ Scratch producing six out of 17 tracks, there's just no saving this self-proclamation of greatness. I love LL as an entertainer, I just feel like it's getting really old listening to folks brag about how wonderful they are & it's even sadder to see LL put himself in a group with other notorious self-obsessed rappers (ex. Puffy, any particular LOX member, any random Big Tymers/Hot Boys member). I did think #5 "Take it Off" was nice, even though it sounded exactly like Q-Tip's "Vivrant Thing" but it didn't claim to be sampled and also #7 "Fuhgidabowit" featuring Method Man, Redman, and DMX, which was handled by Trackmasters. Amil does a spot on #11's "Hello" which is basically about how sexy phone sex is all of a sudden, but the constant ringing of phones in the background is highly annoying, especially while trying to drive at the same time. With the majority of songs devoted to LL stating literally that he is the greatest artist and no one even can compare to his superiority, it's hard to really get into his lyrics, unless of course you have a shrine already devoted to Mr. Smith, then you'll have alot of material to relate to. Oh, and did I miss some kind of beef between LL and Jamie Foxx? He devotes at least an entire verse simply dogging Foxx's HBO specials, In Living Color, Any Given Sunday, not to mention his TV show and then goes so far to say Chris Rock is funnier than Foxx will ever be... Wish I knew what was up with that...

This CD proves that LL Cool J is one of the greatest rappers of all time. The only person that ranks up there with him is Dr. Dre. The beats and lyrics on this CD are really tight, especially "Imagine That", which is a whole song about sex. Overall this is a very nice CD and I would reccomend this to anyone who liked Dre's new album "2001".

LL is the Maximus (Gladiator) of Hip-Hop. He's lasted forever, and has had the rather uncommon challenge of reintroducing himself to new audiences every five years. To the millions of teenagers raised on Britney Spears and NSYNC, LL is brand new. To those of us who remember the red suit and the kangol back in 1987, LL gets our respect for outlasting just about everybody.

Here is the breakdown:

1) Intro - Tight - you heard this on the Nutty Professor II CD.

2) Imagine That - Great song, lyrically redundant but the beat is tight...

3) Back Where I Belong - with Ja Rule on the chorus, LL completely destroys Canibus, the rapper who successfully dissed LL back in 98.

4) LL Cool J - Tight. This will be a classic. Gotta love the self-love on this one.

5) Take It Off - Blatant rip-off of Q-Tip's 'Vivrant Thing', but it doesn't matter. This song is a hit.

6) Skit

7) Fuhgidabowdit - Posse cut with fellow Def Jam icons Method Man, Redman, and DMX. For the underground and true hip-hop headz.

8) Farmers - THIS IS A VINTAGE CUT. Classic LL...think 1987's 'Bigger And Deffer' album.

9) This is Us - Tight. With Carl Thomas, LL comes off brutal to the ladies...payback time for all the "No Scrubs" and "Bills Bills Bills" that fellas have had to endure lately.

10) Can't Think - great song. About being frusturated and hopeless.

11) Hello - Will be a club hit. For the ladies only.

12) You and Me - New Jack Sound...remember '6 Minutes Of Pleasure' from 1990's 'Mama Said Knock You Out' album?

13) Homicide - One of my favorites. Lyrically, one of his most political, right-on songs ever. A must listen, especially for the powers that be in the media.

14) U Can't [Mess] With Me - Hard. Snoop, Jayo Felony and Xzhibit help LL slay the competition. Poor Jamie Foxx...

15) Queens Is - This will be a classic. Nice. Features Prodigy of Mobb Deep.

16) The G.O.A.T - A risk, but the beat is so innovative, it just might work. Kinda reminds me of 'Mama Said Knock You Out' in that it has that furious feel to it.

17) Ill Bomb - Hands down, one of LL's best. Lyrically top notch. Hypnotic. East Coast to the fullest.

18) Hi - New Jack sound to it, al la 'Jingling Baby'. Pure fun, zero substance.

So in case I wasn't clear...this CD is definetly worth your hard-earned money. It's his best since 1990's 'Mama Said Knock You Out', which was his first comeback album.

Knyte (Trust Me)

After 15 years, LL Cool J is still a starter on the major league hip-hop team. After the terrible "Phenomenon" album, LL relies on his hood heritage to help him rise from the ashes. For the most part he succeeds even though a couple of tracks on this album are not as good as I would like them to be. As a whole, the album is nearly flawless. There are no songs on the album that are terrible, but there is some filler. The only song that is really filler is "Farmers". Again the song is not terrible, it's just boring. As for the bangers, there is "Imagine That", "Where I Belong", "LL Cool J", and pretty much every other song on the album. All of the Canibus band wagon riders can jump off because this album is better musically than both of Canibus's. As far as lyrics, they are pretty good coming from a guy that has had to keep up with 15 years of the ever evolving hip-hop culture. Canibus will not be around for half as long. The one thing lyrically that this album has over Canibus's most recent release is the variety of topics. Canibus can't tell a story. All he can do is rhyme about how amazing he thinks he is. He's good, but when one compares his career to the career of LL, it is nothing. LL ended Canibus's career before it even started. It was a mistake to battle with a veteran like LL Cool J. Anyway, buy the album. I know that you will be pleasantly surprised. I got more than I expected. I really thought the album would be horrible, but it's actually good. Buy this joint.

Before this album, LL publicly admitted that a couple of his albums were subpar and that he promised to make a better release with this album. He deliveres...somewhat. There are some songs that should have never made it to disc. Imagine That is a joke. LL Cool J feat Kandice Love is laughable and Take It Off sounds like a cheap knockoff of Vivrant Thing. This Is Us feat Carl Thomas falls on its face and Hello feat Amil, M.I.S.S.I feat Case and The G.O.A.T. are all wack. Other than that this album has some great songs. Back Where I Belong feat Ja Rule is a harsh diss record against Canibus that makes The Ripper Strikes Back look pale in comparison. Fuhgidabowdit feat DMX, Redman and Method Man is tight and hilarious. Cant Think and Homicide are honest attempts at songs of substance that work. U Cant F*** With Me feat Snoop Dogg. Jayo Felony(who should have been left off) and Xzibit is dope. Ill Bomb is classic LL Cool J in fine form. Plus the album intro is tight also. You And Me feat Kelly Price is pretty good too. Bottom Line: G.O.A.T is the last solid release from LL Cool J. Even though it has its missteps, it is still better than the albums that come after it. Standout Tracks: INTRO, BACK WHERE I BELONG, FARMERS, CANT THINK, YOU AND ME, HOMICIDE, U CANT F*** WITH ME and ILL BOMB.

This is where I first got into LL Cool J with his CD G.O.A.T. Featuring James T. Smith: The Greatest of All Time. Comming out in 2000 when Def Jam was at an all time peak for three consistant years, LL thought he should be apart of the glory.

I remember the first single "Imagine That" as LL would describe his sexual fantasies with female sexual partner in rhyme Leshawn (who's responsible for the vocals in the hit song "Doin It"), made me want to give this album a try. The album starts off strong with a powerful "Intro" as LL freestyles one dope verse. Then the song "Back Where I Belong" is where LL finishes off his rival Canibus as he says "...I hate to be responsible, for destroying your career/A one-hit wonder, huh?/No Wonder you disappeared..." I'm not too familiar with the LL and Canibus beef very well, but I believe that if this is the final dagger, LL came out on top.

LL colaborates with some of his label mates Redman, Method Man, and DMX on "Fuhgidabowdit" that comes off humorous in some ways. Also he colabs with west coast rappers Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, and Jayo Felony in "You Can't F*** With Me". One of my favorite tracks is when he hooks up with Prodigy from Mobb Deep on the song "Queens Is..."

There are many weak points in the album. Majority of them are in the middle between tracks 8 through 12. I'm not a fan of phone sex conversations, so "Hello" when LL and Amil trying to play those roles just didn't appeal to me. "Farmers" and the second single "You & Me" with Kelly Price are also some of the tracks that I thought were to skip over. But he picks back up his momentum in "Homicide" and keeps it until the end of the album.

Overall G.O.A.T. isn't his best album, but it also isn't his worst (see Phenomenon & Todd Smith on how bad he can go). If you want a decent LL Cool J album where he can still hold his own, and you're too young to be familiar with any of his earlier work, I recommend this album and the next album "10" to you.

Lyrics: B
Production: B
Guest Appearances: B-
Musical Vibes: C+

Favorite Tracks: Intro, Imagine That, Back Where I Belong, Fuhgidabowdit, Homicide, Queens Is, You Can't F With Me, M.I.S.S.I.

Honorable Mention Track: G.O.A.T.

First thing first, no matter what you're opinion of the master that is LL COOL J you simply cant deny this guy is the man. Ive been into hip-hop for around 15years now and he's been an ever-present. Bottom line you cant be in this business, of all business', for as long as he's been without having skills. Everthing he's dropped since "RADIO" has sold crazy numbers, and not just cuz the brother's a so called "sex symbol". Apart from "phenomenon" (which i still look at in disbelief that its his album), the majority of his albums are tight, balanced perfectly between stories of the world today, smooth love ballads (which to be fair, only he ever seems to pull off) and straight up hard edged skilled flows. This one is done with the same formula. Stand out cuts are "intro", "back where i belong",
"homicide" the unbelieveble "ill bomb", "shut 'em down", "queens is...", "this is us", "ll cool j" and im feeling the rockwilder produced "imagine that", which i admit is very much done for radio and MTV, but its done tight. All in all a damn good album and worth every penny.

A Lot of people are dissin LL because he named his album G.O.A.T(Greatest of all time) and frankly I'm not mad at him. To last in the rap game as long as he has is something great. to have NINE! YES NINE! platinum albums, that's great.To be one of the pioneers of hip-hop and beat such mc's as kool mo bee and canibus in battles . enough said ,go cop this album. and oh yeah! don't forget to catch the source awards where LL is going to recieve the life time acheivement award.