LL Cool J Excludes JAY-Z And DMX From His Def Jam Mount Rushmore

LL Cool J is a legend. He doesn’t have to back up his claims on hip-hop culture. That being said, LL is dishing out some hot takes during his recent press tour. The rapper is promoting the release of his new album, and discussing where he stands within the culture. He recently went on the Club Shay Shay pod, and declared that he should be on the Mount Rushmore of Def Jam artists. Shannon Sharpe noted some of the other names who have been on the label, but LL Cool J stood firm and prioritized himself over the likes of JAY-Z and DMX.

Shannon Sharpe asked which four artists defined Def Jam to LL Cool J, and the latter answered quickly. “It’s LL, it’s Public Enemy, it’s the Beastie Boys and it would have to be Slick Rick,” he asserted. It’s tough to argue with any of his picks. All four acts were defining hip-hop names in the 1980s, and helped turn it into what it is today. LL Cool J is one of the few artists who could get away with putting himself on the list because, frankly, he deserves it. He was the first solo superstar to crossover. He was also the first artist on Def Jam, period. Still, Sharpe stirred the pot.

The host listed off the other rappers who were on Def Jam after LL. “We got JAY-Z, we got Kanye, we got Rihanna, we got DMX, we got Luda, we got Nas,” he read aloud. “Was Hov not on Def Jam?” LL Cool J gave Sharpe a puzzled look before noting that JAY-Z arrived a decade after he did. “Yeah, a thousand years later,” he quipped. This isn’t the first time LL has discussed his fraught relationship with JAY-Z in recent weeks. He also set the record straight on a rumor that JAY-Z battle rapped him in a parking lot in 1996. LL admitted the story was true. That said, he rapped JAY’s partner beforehand, and claimed he spent all of his rhymes.

LL Cool J and JAY-Z have never collaborated, and most of their comments about one another have contained slight jabs. In the same Out of Context interview where LL addressed the rap battle, he shut down the rumor that he dissed JAY-Z on the song “Loungin.” The Queens legend asserted that he would have no reason to diss Hov back in 1996. Why? Because he wasn’t big enough to warrant the attention. It’s blunt but it’s also true. “What could I possibly want from him in 1996,” LL noted. “What do I want with him?”