LL Cool J's egotism is his m.o., his sex appeal, his greatest strength. He'd been on top of the world since he started scoring hits as a teenager, but anyone who's been in the rap game for five years, as he'd been when Mama arrived, has something to prove. So he came out swinging-literally-with the title track, which claims boxing trash talk as proto-rap and turns it into a declaration of ongoing mastery. Beyond that, Mama, with it's ultra-hard Marley Marl production, pumps up his love-man rep (the sweetly affectionate "Around the Way Girl" and an even hornier remix of "Jingling Baby") and his ego (pretty much everything else). It's mostly just old-school boasting, but damn if it isn't deserved.

Tracklist:

A1 The Boomin' System
A2 Around the Way Girl
A3 Eat Em Up L Chill
A4 Mr. Good Bar
A5 Murdergram
A6 Cheesy Rat Blues
A7 Farmers Blvd. (Our Anthem) (Feat. Big Money, Bom, Grip and HIC)
- Disc 2 -
B1 Mama Said Knock You Out
B2 Milky Cereal
B3 Jingling Baby (Remixed But Still Jingling)
B4 To Da Break of Dawn
B5 6 Minutes of Pleasure
B6 Illegal Search
B7 The Power of God