The Memoir Of Ms. Butterfly

L.L. Cool J was born James Todd Smith in 1968 and raised in Queens, New York. He began rapping at age ten, and shortly after that, his grandfather — he had been living with his grandparents since his parents divorced when he was four — bought him D.J. equipment and musical gear, and he began making home demos of his songs. 

James Todd Smith; born c. 1969 in Queens, N.Y.; grandson of Ellen Griffith. Education: Attended Andrew Jackson High School, Queens, N.Y. (left school in 1984. James and Ondrea Smith, little L.L. was never known how it felt to have a happy childhood, for he had already been forced to endure some hardship during his early life.

 Since he was a toddler, he had lived in an awful situation due to the violence that often occurred in his parent’s relationship, which later shockingly resulted in his father’s ruthless shot toward his mother and grandfather by the year 1972.

 Unfortunately, things got worse after surviving. Ondrea began dating a young physical therapist named Roscoe, whom she met while being treated in the hospital, for it turned out that this man frequently abused L.L. mentally and physically. At the same time, the mother left home to work.

 Eventually, he sent these demo tapes to record companies, attracting the interest of Def Jam, a fledgling label run by New York University students Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin.

Def Jam signed L.L. Cool J (his stage name, an abbreviated form of Ladies Love Cool James) and released his debut, “I Need a Beat,” as their first single in 1984.

 The record sold over 100,000 copies, establishing the label and the rapper. Next, cool J dropped out of high school and recorded his debut album, Radio.

Released in 1985, Radio was a major hit, and it earned considerable praise for how it shaped raps into recognizable pop-song structures. On the strength of “I Can’t Live Without My Radio” and “Rock the Bells,” the album went Platinum in 1986.

 His second album, Bigger and Deffer, shot to number three the following year due to the ballad “I Need Love,” which became one of the first pop-rap crossover hits.

Cool J’s knack for making hip-hop as accessible as pop was one of his most extraordinary talents, yet it was also a weakness since it opened him up to accusations of being a sellout.

 Taken from the Less Than Zero soundtrack, 1988’s “Goin’ Back to Cali” walked the line quickly, but most hip-hop fans did not warmly greet 1989’s Walking with a Panther.

 Although it was a Top Ten hit and spawned the gold single “I’m That Type of Guy,” the album was perceived as a pop sellout effort, and on a supporting concert at the Apollo, he was booed.

 However, cool J didn’t take the criticism lying down — he struck back with 1990’s Mama Said Knock You Out, the most brutal record he ever made. He supported the album with a legendary live acoustic performance on MTV Unplugged.

 On the strength of the Top Ten R&B singles “The Boomin’ System” and “Around the Way Girl” (number nine, pop) as well as the hit title track, Mama Said Knock You Out became his biggest-selling album, establishing him as pop star in addition to a rap superstar.

 He soon landed roles in the films The Hard Way (1991) and Toys (1992), and he also performed at Bill Clinton’s presidential inauguration in 1993.

However, Mama Said Knock You Out kept him so busy that he delivered the follow-up, 14 Shots to the Dome, in the spring of 1993. Boasting a harder gangsta rap edge, 14 Shots initially sold well, debuting in the Top Ten, but it was an unfocused effort that generated no significant hit singles.

Consequently, it stalled at gold status and hurt his reputation considerably.

Following the failure of 14 Shots to the Dome, Cool J began starring in the N.B.C. sitcom In the House. He returned to recording in 1995, releasing Mr. Smith toward the end of the year. Unexpectedly, Mr. Smith became a huge hit, going double Platinum and launching two of his biggest hits with the Boyz II Men duet “Hey Lover” and “Doin’ It.

 At the end of 1996, he released the greatest-hits album All World, while Phenomenon appeared one year later. G.O.A.T.: The Greatest of All Time, released in 2000, reached the Top of the album charts, and 2002’s featured one of his biggest hits in the years, “Luv U Better.

 With the help of producer Timbaland, he unleashed the challenging DEFinition album in 2004, just as his James Todd Smith clothing line was hitting the malls. “Control Myself,” a hit single featuring Jennifer Lopez, prefaced 2006’s Todd Smith album. Unfortunately, his 2008 effort Exit 13 would be his last album for Def Jam as the rapper found work as a primetime television star, landing a starring role on C.B.S.’ N.C.I.S.: Los Angeles.

In 2013, he returned to recording, first making news with the track “Accidental Racist,” his much-maligned duet with country star Brad Paisley. Another Paisley duet landed on Cool J’s 2013 album Authentic, a star-studded effort with Eddie Van Halen, Snoop Dogg, and Charlie Wilson appearing as guests.

In addition to a growing film career, the 2010s and 2020s found Cool J inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, awarded a Kennedy Center Honor, and immortalized with a Hollywood Walk of Fame star.

The rest of the 1990s saw L.L. solidify his position in both music and acting for his seventh studio work, Phenomenon, which scored Platinum after being launched in 1997, while his three flicks, namely Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998), Deep Blue Sea (1999), and Any Given Sunday (1999) all became box-office hits with the domestic income above 55 million U.S. dollar.

His star shone more radiantly by the time he entered the third millennium when his next album, G.O.A.T. feat. James T. Smith: The Greatest of All Time strived to the top spot of The Billboard 200 in 2000, and Charlie’s Angels, the movie he starred in that year, scored tremendous results of more than $264 million in its international run. Carefully balancing his involvement in these two fields, he produced another musical work entitled in 2002, then joined Colin Farrell plus Michelle Rodriguez to film S.W.A.T. (2003).

Smoothly released his 11th album, The DEFinition, in 2004; L.L. seemed to concentrate on acting afterward, for he was seen more in Hollywood productions, like Mindhunters Edison and Slow Burn, which all came up in 2005. However, kept being active in portraying characters by 2006 through Last Holiday also Heartland; this attractive guy finally ended his one-year hiatus in music as an album has been slated to appear by March of the year with the title of Todd Smith.

Concerning his love life, L.L. once had established a relationship with Quincy Jones’ daughter, Kidada, but ultimately gave his heart to Simone Johnson, who gave him a son named Najee in 1989 and a daughter, Italia, in 1990 before they got married by 1995. The couple then happily added two more family members, Samaria in 1995 and Nina Simone by the year 2000.

Marked the beginning of 2006, L.L. would likely have his album “Todd Smith, which was the follow-up to his 2004 album “The Definition,” released on March 21. The set, among others, consists of tracks like “It’s L.L. and Santana” featuring Juelz Santana, “Control Myself” featuring Jennifer Lopez and Jermaine Dupri, and “Favorite Flavor” featuring Mary J. Blige.

L.L. Cool J was already well established in his career as a rapper when he met Smith during a chance encounter in 1987 when he was a teenager. “I was just 19, something like that,” L.L. said in an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live. “It was Easter, and I was driving down the block in my mother’s car.

” The rapper said it all started when he stopped the car to say hello to a friend, who asked L.L., “Hey, you wanna meet my cousin?” At first, L.L. told his friend he had somewhere else to go, but seeing Smith for the first time changed his mind: “I looked over and said, ‘Oh yeah, I’ll meet your cousin.

Simone is an entrepreneur and fashionista who, in 2011, co-founded Simone I. Smith Jewelry. According to her website, the idea for her first design came to be following her cancer diagnosis. After surgery, she discovered that the lollipop tattoo on her leg was altered, which inspired her signature lollipop pendant, “A Sweet Touch of Hope.” Then came hoop earrings, bangles, necklaces, and rings. L.L., mL.L.nwhile, is so supportive of Smith’s business that he’s even appeared on HSN to help sell her jewelry line.

In 2004, Simone was diagnosed with stage 3 chondrosarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer found in her right tibia bone. She had to undergo a 15-hour surgery to replace the bone, followed by an intense recovery, including learning to walk again. L.L. stuck by his wife’s side the entire time, even putting his career on hold. The couple has said it made them stronger.

“You don’t abandon someone in that foxhole,” L.L. told Oprah Winfrey about the experience. “You gotta be there in that foxhole with them.” Simone has been cancer-free for nearly 20 years. She and L.L. Cool J now dedicate their time to raising awareness and donating some of Simone’s jewelry line proceeds to the American Cancer Society. 

L.L. Cool J and Simone Smith have four children together; a son named Najee, born September 18, 1989. is 33; and daughters Italia, born January 3, 1991, is 32; Samaria, born September 15, 1995, is 27; and Nina, born August 9, 2000, is 22.

They welcomed their two older children before they were married. While those two have pursued careers away from the spotlight, the youngest daughter Nina follows in her dad’s footsteps in the music industry as an R&B singer. L.L. and Simone also have two grandchildren.

“After my experiences coming up, I’ve been a little uncomfortable with putting a lot of pressure on my kids, but I am a stickler for excellence, and I’m not going to spoil you,” the actor-rapper once told me, Oprah Winfrey, about his parenting style.

“Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with helping your kids getting into position and stuff like that, but I want my kids to deserve and earn it, too, because this is a real world, they’re real people, and I’m a blue-collar guy at the end of the day, and I want them to understand that.” As of 2023, L.L. Cool J and Smith have been married for 27 years. However, the couple keeps their marriage private for the most part, offering glimpses of their love on social media.

The secret to their marriage’s staying power? Smith says marriage works because they put God first, compromise, pick their battles, and respect one another. L.L. advises on successful relationships: “mutual respect and knowing how a person wants to be loved.”

James Todd “L.L. Cool J” Smith has been in the entertainment music business since 1984 with many hits, awards, movies, T.V. shows, and more.

The rapper-turned-actor has stood the test of time and still looks good. He’s bypassed many of the recent health challenges that rappers of his time have recently fallen victim to, like heart failure, prostate cancer, or even arthritis.

Many people can recite some of his lyrics and lines, but most need to learn more about the famed rapper/actor Simone Smith’s wife or how they got together. This mother of four is an entrepreneur celebrating their 27th wedding anniversary this year.

Ms. Butterfly Genesis