Walking with a Panther

LL Cool J’s third album annoyed hip-hop’s hardman purists by including three ballads. But it was a 67-minute double LP (and a 77-minute CD and an 85-minute cassette); it had three of everything. The singles “I’m That Type Of Guy,” “Jingling Baby” and “Big Ole Butt” emphasized his smirking loverman persona, while rampaging battle-rap tracks like “Why Do You Think They Call It Dope?”, “Droppin’ Em” and “Nitro” left other rappers choking on his dust. And of course, it also contains the minimalist art-rap masterpiece “Going Back To Cali,” on which LL breaks his usual florid imagery down to vivid, poetic shards. The whole album is a feast of language laid over stark, punishing beats, almost all of them assembled by LL and co-producer Dwayne Simon, with a few contributions from Rick Rubin and Public Enemy’s Bomb Squad.