Rapper as well as performer LL Cool J comes from the United States. LL Cool J’s net worth in 2026 is $120 million. He was among the earliest hip-hop performers to enter modern culture. His career as a lead actor on the national television show NCIS: Los Angeles has made him well-known today. The LL Cool J salary for each episode of NCIS is $350,000.
Earlier Years
Ondrea Griffith, as well as James Louis Smith Jr., gave birth to James Todd Smith in January 1968, near Bay Shore, New York. Throughout his upbringing, LL Cool experienced several terrible incidents. Four-year-old LL discovered his mother, as well as his grandma, had been shot and wounded. In a fight over their separation procedures around 1972, his dad fired and almost murdered them. The very next person his mother dated was a heroin addict called Roscoe Granger, who regularly abused LL.
When Smith started singing in his gospel choir at quite a young age, he developed a passion for singing. Additionally, at the young age of nine, he started rapping. James’s grandpa, the renowned jazz saxophonist, supported him musically and gave him his initial mixing console when he was sixteen. That mixing console was purchased from Sears. His mom supported his work and bought him another Korg drum set with her refund check one year later.
Rapper Career
Smith started to create his own tunes, which he then forwarded to several record labels. Def Jam Records employees got their hands on his sample. Def Jam accepted the sample and issued his debut album. His new professional title, L.L. Cool J, means Ladies Love Cool James has been used to promote that song. The fact that Cool J’s 1984 song “I Need a Beat” sold almost 100,000 copies shows how popular both the rap scene and America were with him. He decided to quit school as a result and make his debut album.
His latest album, “Radio,” achieved platinum status after selling 1,500,000 copies. In addition to being commercially successful, it also received positive reviews because Cool J adopted a traditional song structure that made rap more approachable for general listeners. In 1987, he would release “Bigger and Deffer” as a follow-up. Another of the earliest mainstream rap songs was “I Need Love.” With the record hitting 2X platinum, Cool J was once again hailed with praise from both the press and the public.
He would make a comeback in 1989 and release another platinum-selling record, “Walking with a Panther.” The Western rap music scene started to develop around this period. Hip-hop culture’s themes started to incorporate more gangster elements. He published “Mama Said Knock You Out” in 1990.
The song’s much harsher edges were appealing to the emerging hip-hop generation. It was seen as yet another triumph.
Sadly, neither reviewers nor listeners liked the follow-up record, which was released around 1993. He did take another two-year break before starting his career as an actor. He made appearances in the movies “The Hard Way” as well as “Toys” throughout this period.
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More About L.L. Cool J
He appeared in the NBC comedy “In the House” as well. Around 1995, he made a comeback with the record Mr. Smith. Boys II Men appeared on many tracks on the album, which also included a rendition of “The Lady in My Life” by Michael Jackson. The song’s music video got LL another Grammy nomination and was one of the earliest hip-hop clips ever broadcast on VH1.
More than 2 million units of this record were sold. The following album from LL Cool J was Phenomenon, which went platinum and entered at the top of the Billboard album rankings. Around 2000, he launched G.O.A.T., which also went platinum. “10,” LL Cool J’s ninth professional album, was released around 2002. At the Billboard Rankings, it entered at number 4.
The subsequent four professional albums by LL Cool J saw different levels of popularity. For five consecutive years, from February 2012 to February 2016, LL Cool J ruled over the Grammy Awards. It was revealed around September 2019 that LL Cool J has rejoined Def Jam Recordings and that the latest release is currently in process.
In January 2016, LL Cool J received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The greatest honor given to an artist throughout America, the Yearly Kennedy Center Awards, acknowledged LL Cool J as the earliest rapper in December 2017. He replied to this award with a message on Instagram, which said: This award is dedicated to all of my predecessors and followers. We were brought here to encourage and support each other. Develop and fulfil our aspirations. I sincerely hope I have inspired you, just as you have inspired me.
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Career in Acting
In 2024, LL Cool J’s net worth is $120 million, and he has a distinguished acting career along with a flourishing music background. His debut performance was in a minor role in the high school sports film Wildcats. In the 1992 film Toys, he was cast as Captain Patric Zevo. “In the House,” LL Cool J’s personal TV sitcom, ran from 1995 to 1998. He played a well-known former football player who, due to financial hardship, was forced to lease out a portion of his home to a divorced mother with her two children. LL Cool J had a minor part throughout Halloween H20 in 1998. He made appearances throughout S.W.A.T., Mindhunters, and Deliver Us from Eva over the following several years.
He has played the primary character on the CBS police drama NCIS: Los Angeles since 2009. Former Navy SEAL, as well as NCIS Special Operator Sam Hanna, has been portrayed by LL Cool J.
Personal Life
In 1995, LL Cool J and his spouse, Simone, were married. The couple is the parents of four kids. He gained notoriety in August 2012 after, at his residence near Studio City in Los Angeles, he shattered the nose as well as jawbone of a potential burglar. According to reports, he was upstairs inside his house when he heard noises coming from below and went to see them. When a brawl broke out, LL was able to catch the perpetrator and keep him down till the police came. A hospital afterwards treated the suspect’s wounds. LL Cool J’s assets are unknown to everybody.
