God blesses us all with different views and perspectives and levels of influence and power.
— LL Cool J
I think the stuff that plays on the radio, the majority of it is for teenagers, which is okay. That's what pop radio is about. And some of it is great, and some of it is not.
To me, my peers are Bruce Springsteen and Mick Jagger. I'm not talking age-wise, but in terms of careers. Madonna. Those are my peers. And I'm okay with that.
I don't have an image that I'm trying to, like, portray. I'm just being me.
You've got to stay focused without being boring - because all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Skinny, but dull.
I do about 90 percent of my own stunts, and the things I can't do for insurance reasons, like swinging out of a flying helicopter, I wouldn't want to do anyway.
What is more important than the name is that people know that I really like acting, I enjoy it and I want people to know that I am serious. The name thing: I will always be L.L. Cool J.
I'm a real person that cares about his art and cares about what he's doing. I have a heart and a soul and I want to touch people and give.
I think in order to keep America great, we have to keep America creative.
I don't wanna abandon my identity as LL Cool J, but at the same time, I had to figure out how to let people know that I'm really serious about making these movies.
At fourteen, I started sending out demo tapes.
I think fitness is important. I think a healthy lifestyle is important. I think putting positive energy out there is important and just staying connected with the people.
What I don't do is try to like become whoever I'm rapping with. The people who go get an LL album want to hear LL.
The nature of the game is pain.
Stay focused, go after your dreams and keep moving toward your goals.
There's a lot of single black women who did the best that they could and that's a beautiful thing, but they don't know how necessary a father is in a kid's life and how much guys miss that deep down inside.
Hip-hop can be limiting and I refuse to accept limits.
I love my fans, I love my music - I have no reason to retire.
What you do in your art - TV, music, film stuff - touches people. And they want to touch you. So that's a blessing. I'm okay with it.
What I say on a record and what I say off a record is two different things. And that's always been the case. There's a difference between confidence on a record and arrogance.
I think when you move past your fear and you go after your dreams wholeheartedly, you become free. Know what I'm saying? Move past the fear.
If you do cardio one day and the next day you can do weights, do it that way. If you need to do it at night or in the morning, do it that way. Whatever you need to get it done, just get it done.
Nobody is perfect, but life is about choices.
Timing has a lot to with art.
To know the rules of the game, you have to be educated.
The person that made me want to make movies, and the reason I do films, is Bruce Lee. He was an incredible actor, and he had a lot of charisma. Handsome, action, you know, everything was there. I loved Bruce Lee.
The people who go get an LL album want to hear LL. They don't want to hear LL trying to sound like DMX or whoever else is out there. That's not what they want to hear from me, because if they want to hear that they can go get the real thing.
You don't need to be the good guy to get a good message out.
The secret to it all is just to enjoy what you're doing. This is not working at the coal face, this is not sweeping behind a restaurant. It's work, but it's not work. It gives me a different type of energy. I'm grateful for that.
I feel like my peers now are artists like Madonna and the Stones, Michael Jackson and Prince. These are people who were able to take their careers beyond the normal here-today-gone-tomorrow life span.
I just like to do different things. What is more important than the name is that people know that I really like acting, I enjoy it and I want people to know that I am serious.
I'm not giving up my history and what I've done in my music because I love it and I'm very proud of it. I just want to open it up for more people.
When adversity strikes, that's when you have to be the most calm. Take a step back, stay strong, stay grounded and press on.
I'm not trying to be new school and I'm not old school - I'm classic. There's a lot of new cars and there's a lot of old cars, but I'm just classic in doing what I do.
I don't look back. I don't live my life in the rear-view mirror because, if you do, you're bound to end up wrapped around a pole somewhere.
Art is about imagination. When you look at a picture from Salvador Dali, that's about imagination. When you look at Picasso, that's about imagination. Doing stuff from your heart.
Let me tell you something - compared to a TV-drama production schedule, touring is not strenuous.
Sometimes you've just got to grab an apple - or grapes, or strawberries. Something that's healthy but maybe a little bit more adventurous, if you can see fruit as adventurous.
I think the key to working out is for people to think of water - just allow the workouts to fill out the cracks in your lives and seep into wherever you can fit it in.
You can't let your past hold your future hostage.
Once you achieve one goal, you should be looking forward to trying to build onto the next thing, and not just getting comfortable with what you're doing.
We need to make sure that there's art in the school. Why? Why should art be in the school? Because if art isn't in a school, then a guy like Steve Jobs doesn't get a chance to really express himself because in order for art to meet technology, you need art.
I've been training as an actor for six years. Nobody goes to acting school for six years. I mean, the college course is only four years! I absolutely trained.
I am artistic so I reserve the right to change my mind at any point. I just like to do different things. What is more important than the name is that people know that I really like acting, I enjoy it and I want people to know that I am serious.
Stand up and face your fears, or they will defeat you.
I've never been one to have to manipulate women. I always want it to be like a mutual thing, like everybody loves everybody.
Hip-hop's always reached out to kids. If you look at the last 10 big albums it might seem ironic. But when I look at the history of this music it's always had a lot of positivity.
I think that politics could be a positive thing. My beef is that people focus on the personal aspect of a politician too much. They should focus on the results.
Once the referee throws the ball in the air, it's either your ball or their ball and you have to just take your shot.
I think I'm the best, of course. How could I not?
