LL Cool J - Bigger and Deffer (CD)

All Music Guide

After becoming one of rap's first national superstars thanks to the success of 1985's Radio and the similar success of Def Jam labelmates Run-D.M.C. and the Beastie Boys, LL's second album, Bigger and Deffer, finds the still-young Queens rapper in superstar pose. Beginning with "I'm Bad," LL walks the fine line between being a farcical pomposity and a undeniable talent. Thankfully, his blatantly vain performance -- he begins the album with "No rapper can rap quite like I can" -- actually works; indeed, LL was arguably rap's best MC circa 1987, before Chuck D, Ice Cube, and KRS One set new standards for MCing. To modern ears, though, this album isn't nearly as potent as at the time of its release. LL's most effective when he raps with the sort of power that few MCs have ever been able to duplicate ("Get Down," "Go Cut Creator Go"); he also poses in playboy stance here, proving that he can be both hard as well as a lady's man ("Bristol Hotel," "Kanday"); and he also devotes a few tracks ...to flexing his rhyme skills ("My Rhyme Ain't Done," ".357-Break It on Down") and a few to his vanity ("I'm Bad," "The Breakthrough"). Above all, though, the album's out of place, yet standout, ballad, "I Need Love," scored him a huge hit and set the precedent for his continued commercial success with rap for the ladies ("Around the Way Girl," "Doin' It," "Imagine That"). While this album is undoubtedly one of the best albums of its era, it still sounds a bit primitive with its sparse beats and its now-clichéd rhymes. Still, it's a drastic improvement over Radio, showcasing LL's final album as the superstar talent he has always claimed to be before acts such as Public Enemy, N.W.A., Boogie Down Productions, and De La Soul would eclipse his one-man show by the end of the '80s. - Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide Read more Less