Phenomenon (LL Cool J album)
Encyclopedia
Phenomenon is the seventh studio album
by rapper LL Cool J
. After the success of his previous release Mr. Smith
, the same basic principles are followed here, with several R&B
-influenced tracks, and a couple of more hardcore Rap tracks. The album was not as commercially successful as Mr. Smith in terms of sales, but it did go Platinum. The album is executively produced by Sean "Puffy" Combs
and therefore features production from his in-house roster of producers The Hitmen
.
wears a shirt that says "Phenomenon" in an episode of NCIS: Los Angeles ("Predator" in season 1).
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by rapper LL Cool J
LL Cool J
James Todd Smith , better known as LL Cool J , is an American rapper, entrepreneur, and actor...
. After the success of his previous release Mr. Smith
Mr. Smith (album)
-Track Notes:* No Airplay - edited on both the Edited and Explicit Versions of the Album, However the Explicit only backmasks on the song, the Edited version even edits the intro....
, the same basic principles are followed here, with several R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
-influenced tracks, and a couple of more hardcore Rap tracks. The album was not as commercially successful as Mr. Smith in terms of sales, but it did go Platinum. The album is executively produced by Sean "Puffy" Combs
Sean Combs
Sean John Combs , also known by his stage names Diddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He has won three Grammy Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards, and his clothing line earned a Council of Fashion Designers of America award. He was originally...
and therefore features production from his in-house roster of producers The Hitmen
The Hitmen (production team)
The Hitmen is a production team formed by Sean "Diddy" Combs to produce hip hop and R&B records for his Bad Boy label's recording artists. Because of its great success, the group has also been hired for projects outside of Bad Boy-Production:...
.
Track listing
# | Title | Length | Featured Artists | Producer(s) | Sample(s) |
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1 | "Phenomenon" | 4:04 | Sean "Puffy" Combs for The Hitmen The Hitmen (production team) The Hitmen is a production team formed by Sean "Diddy" Combs to produce hip hop and R&B records for his Bad Boy label's recording artists. Because of its great success, the group has also been hired for projects outside of Bad Boy-Production:... |
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2 | "Candy Candy (LL Cool J song) "Candy" is the fifth and final single from LL Cool J's seventh album, Phenomenon. It was released on July 3, 1998 for Def Jam Recordings and featured production from the Trackmasters, who were then known as Poke & Tone. The song spent two weeks on the Billboard charts' Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay,... " |
4:32 | Ricky Bell Ricky Bell (singer) Ricky Bell, nicknamed "Slick" is an American R&B singer best known as one of the founding members of New Edition and the lead singer of Bell Biv DeVoe... & Ralph Tresvant Ralph Tresvant Ralph Tresvant , aka Rizz, is an American tenor singer, best known as one of the lead singers in New Edition.-New Edition:Tresvant sang lead on many of the New Edition lead singles including "Candy Girl", "Cool It Now" and "If It Isn't Love"... |
Trackmasters Trackmasters The Trackmasters are the successful production duo of Poke and Tone , sometimes credited as Poke & Tone, best known for their commercial hit records in the late 90s and early 2000s. Throughout their career they have worked with various hip-hop and R&B artists including R... |
Alexander O'Neal Alexander O'Neal is an American R&B singer. He is best-known for the songs "If You Were Here Tonight" and "Fake", and the duets with Cherrelle, "Saturday Love" and "Never Knew Love Like This".-Biography:... Candy Girl (New Edition song) "Candy Girl" is an R&B song by boy band New Edition. Released in 1983, it was the first single from their debut album of the same name. It hit number one in the United Kingdom in May 1983, becoming the 31st best selling single of the year there.-History:... " by New Edition New Edition New Edition is an R&B group formed in Boston in 1978. The group reached its height of popularity during the 1980s. They were the progenitors of the boy band movement of the 1980s and 1990s and led the way for groups like New Kids on the Block, Boyz II Men, Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync... |
3 | "Starsky & Hutch" | 4:03 | Busta Rhymes Busta Rhymes Trevor Tahiem Smith, Jr., better known by his stage name Busta Rhymes ,Smith is an American rapper, producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the alias Busta Rhymes after NFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes... |
L.E.S. | |
4 | "Another Dollar" | 3:48 | Curt Gowdy Curt Gowdy Curtis Edward "Curt" Gowdy was an American sportscaster, well known as the longtime "voice" of the Boston Red Sox and for his coverage of many nationally-televised sporting events, primarily for NBC Sports in the 1960s and 1970s.-Early years:The son of a manager for the Union Pacific railroad,... , Trackmasters Trackmasters The Trackmasters are the successful production duo of Poke and Tone , sometimes credited as Poke & Tone, best known for their commercial hit records in the late 90s and early 2000s. Throughout their career they have worked with various hip-hop and R&B artists including R... |
Dr. John Malcolm John "Mac" Rebennack, Jr. , better known by the stage name Dr. John , is an American singer-songwriter, pianist and guitarist, whose music combines blues, pop, jazz as well as Zydeco, boogie woogie and rock and roll.Active as a session musician since the late 1950s, he came to wider... |
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5 | "Nobody Can Freak You" | 3:20 | LeShaun & Keith Sweat Keith Sweat Keith Sweat is an American R&B/soul, singer-songwriter, record producer, radio personality and a major contributor to the new jack swing era.-Music career:... |
Trackmasters Trackmasters The Trackmasters are the successful production duo of Poke and Tone , sometimes credited as Poke & Tone, best known for their commercial hit records in the late 90s and early 2000s. Throughout their career they have worked with various hip-hop and R&B artists including R... |
Steve Arrington Steve Arrington , is an American singer, songwriter, drummer, record producer, engineer and minister, who grew up in Dayton, Ohio.-Biography:... |
6 | "Hot Hot Hot Hot Hot Hot (LL Cool J song) "Hot Hot Hot" is the fourth single from LL Cool J's seventh album Phenomenon. It was released on March 27, 1998 for Def Jam Recordings and was produced by Puff Daddy, D-Dot and Amen-Ra of the production team, The Hitmen... " |
4:22 | Sean "Puffy" Combs, Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie Deric Angelettie Deric Michael Angelettie , otherwise known as D-Dot, Papa Dot and The Madd Rapper, is a rapper, record producer, CEO and entrepreneur. He graduated from Samuel J. Tilden High School in 1986. He then attended Howard University from 1986-1989. He dropped out to pursue a music career... & Ron "Amen-Ra" Lawrence for The Hitmen The Hitmen Hitmen are an Australian Hard rock band. The group went through a large number of lineup changes in its short late 1970s and early 1980s run, then regrouped under a new name, Hitmen DTK, between 1989 and 1992. They reformed in 2007 and continue to play.... |
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7 | "4, 3, 2, 1" | 4:16 | Canibus Canibus Germaine Williams , better known by his stage name Canibus, is a Jamaican-born American rapper. He is a part of supergroup The HRSMN. Canibus rose to fame in the mid-nineties... , DMX DMX (rapper) Earl Simmons , better known by his stage name DMX, is a multiplatinum American rapper and actor who rose to fame in the late 1990s. His stage name pays tribute to the Oberheim DMX drum machine, an instrument he used when he made his own rap beats in the 80's... , Method Man Method Man Clifford Smith , better known by his stage name Method Man is an American hip hop artist, record producer, actor and member of the hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He took his stage name from the 1979 film The Fearless Young Boxer, also known as Method Man. He is one half of the rap duo Method Man... & Redman |
Erick Sermon Erick Sermon Erick Sermon , in Bay Shore, New York is an American rapper, musician, and producer.Sermon is best known as half of late-1980s/1990s hip hop group EPMD and for production work. He currently resides in Islandia, New York.- Career :... |
Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five was an influential American hip-hop group formed in the South Bronx of New York City in 1978. Composed of one DJ and five rappers Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five was an influential American hip-hop group formed in the South Bronx of New York City in... |
8 | "Wanna Get Paid" | 4:11 | The Lost Boyz The Lost Boyz The Lost Boyz is a hip hop group from South Jamaica, Queens, New York. The original group members were lead MC Mr. Cheeks, backup MC and promoter Freaky Tah , DJ Spigg Nice and Pretty Lou.-Recording career:... |
Daven "Prestige" Vanderpool | |
9 | "Father Father (song) "Father" is the third single from LL Cool J's seventh album, Phenomenon. It was released on January 13, 1998 for Def Jam Recordings and was produced by Erick Sermon and LL Cool J.... " |
4:44 | Trackmasters Trackmasters The Trackmasters are the successful production duo of Poke and Tone , sometimes credited as Poke & Tone, best known for their commercial hit records in the late 90s and early 2000s. Throughout their career they have worked with various hip-hop and R&B artists including R... |
George Michael George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley... |
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10 | "Don't Be Late, Don't Come Too Soon" | 6:38 | Tamia Tamia Tamia Hill , and known professionally as Tamia, is a four-time Grammy-nominated Canadian R&B and soul singer, songwriter, record producer, composer, model, entrepreneur and philanthropist, as well as an occasional actress.She is best known for her 2000 hit "Stranger In My House" and Fabolous' 2003... |
Steven "Stevie J" Jordan Stevie J --MSGOLDBERG1 23:09, 23 November 2011 Stevie J. is an American musician, singer, record producer and songwriter. This upstate New Yorker is the leader of the Bad Boy Entertainment Hitmen roster of in-house producers and writers during the 90s and thus worked often with the label's owner Sean... for The Hitmen The Hitmen Hitmen are an Australian Hard rock band. The group went through a large number of lineup changes in its short late 1970s and early 1980s run, then regrouped under a new name, Hitmen DTK, between 1989 and 1992. They reformed in 2007 and continue to play.... |
Unreleased Tracks
- There is an unreleased verse by CanibusCanibusGermaine Williams , better known by his stage name Canibus, is a Jamaican-born American rapper. He is a part of supergroup The HRSMN. Canibus rose to fame in the mid-nineties...
from the song 4, 3, 2, 1. It has different lyrics which mentions borrowing the mic on LL's arm . The song also caused the rivalry between the LL Cool JLL Cool JJames Todd Smith , better known as LL Cool J , is an American rapper, entrepreneur, and actor...
and CanibusCanibusGermaine Williams , better known by his stage name Canibus, is a Jamaican-born American rapper. He is a part of supergroup The HRSMN. Canibus rose to fame in the mid-nineties...
. - For the original version of 4, 3, 2, 1, it contains lyrics from LL not on the album version, such as "I need drama// I'm like Alfred Hitchcock// Your baby's gonna back up like Sir Mixalot//" and "This ain't no GAP commercial". Canibus also has extended lyrics http://ripthejacker.net/canibuslyrics/index.php?showtopic=30.
- According to the BeefBeefBeef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...
DVD, Master PMaster PPercy Robert Miller , better known by his stage name Master P or his business name P. Miller, is an American rapper, actor, entrepreneur, investor, and producer. He is the founder of the popular label No Limit Records, which went bankrupt and was relaunched as New No Limit Records through Koch...
was apparently also supposed to appear on 4, 3, 2, 1. His verse ended up on the remix, replacing Canibus.
Trivia
LL Cool JLL Cool J
James Todd Smith , better known as LL Cool J , is an American rapper, entrepreneur, and actor...
wears a shirt that says "Phenomenon" in an episode of NCIS: Los Angeles ("Predator" in season 1).