14 Shots to the Dome | |
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![]() Studio album by LL Cool J | |
Released |
March 30, 1993 |
Recorded |
March 1992 - January 1993 |
Studio |
Marley Marl's House of Hits |
Genre |
|
Length |
64:44 |
Label |
Def Jam Recordings / Columbia |
Producer |
Bobby "Bobcat" Ervin, Christopher Joseph Forte, Marley Marl, Q. D. III, Andrew Zenable |
LL Cool J chronology | |
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Previous |
Mama Said Knock You Out (1990) |
Next |
Mr. Smith (1995) |
14 Shots to the Dome is the fifth studio album by American rapper LL Cool J, released in March 30, 1993 on Def Jam Recordings and Columbia Records. Recording sessions took place at Marley's House of Hits, Cove City Studios and Unique Recording Studios in New York City, QDIII Soundlab in Los Angeles, Bobcat's House in Palmdale and at Encore Studios in Burbank from March 1992 to January 1993. Production was handled by QD3, Marley Marl, Bobby "Bobcat" Ervin, Andrew Zenable and Chris Forte. It includes guest apperances by Lords of the Underground and Lieutenant Stitchie.
The album peaked at #5 on the US Billboard 200 and #1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart in the United States. 14 Shots to the Dome spawned the singles: "How I'm Comin'", "Pink Cookies In a Plastic Bag Getting Crushed by Buildings", "Stand By Your Man" and "Back Seat (of My Jeep)". In June 2, 1993, the album was certified gold by Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
It is his first album following his hugely successful previous album Mama Said Knock You Out. Unlike that release, which saw him have success on his own terms, 14 Shots to the Dome sees LL adopting the sound of West Coast hip hop / Gangsta Rap contemporaries, especially that of Ice Cube and Cypress Hill. Many fans saw this as a jarring departure, the album met with mixed critical and commercial response.
Track listing[]
No. | Title | Performer(s) | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "How I'm Comin'" | LL Cool J | Smith, Williams | Marley Marl | 5:06 |
2. | "Buckin' Em Down" | LL Cool J | Jones, Smith | Q. D. III | 4:03 |
3. | "Stand By Your Man" | LL Cool J | Ervin, Smith, Williams | Marley Marl | 4:50 |
4. | "A Little Somethin'" | LL Cool J | Floyd, Smith, Williams | Marley Marl | 4:26 |
5. | "Pink Cookies in a Plastic Bag Getting Crushed by Buildings" | LL Cool J | Smith, Williams | Marley Marl | 4:18 |
6. | "Straight from Queens" | LL Cool J, Lt. Stitchie | Laing, Smith, Williams | Marley Marl | 4:55 |
7. | "Funkadelic Relic" | LL Cool J | Smith, Williams | Marley Marl | 3:56 |
8. | "All We Got Left Is the Beat" | LL Cool J | Ervin, Smith | Bobby "Bobcat" Ervin | 4:38 |
9. | "(NFA) No Frontin' Allowed" | LL Cool J, Lords of the Underground | Armstrong, Kelly, Smith, Smith, Wardick, Williams | Marley Marl | 4:20 |
10. | "Back Seat" | LL Cool J | Jones, Smith | Q. D. III | 4:32 |
11. | "Soul Survivor" | LL Cool J | Forte, Jones, Smith, Zenable | Q. D. III, Andrew Zenable, Christopher Joseph Forte | 4:38 |
12. | "Ain't No Stoppin' This" | LL Cool J | Ervin, Smith | Bobby "Bobcat" Ervin | 4:44 |
13. | "Diggy Down" | LL Cool J | Ervin, Smith, Smith | Bobby "Bobcat" Ervin | 4:58 |
14. | "Crossroads" | LL Cool J | Ervin, Smith | Bobby "Bobcat" Ervin | 5:29 |
Notes
- Track 1 features background vocals performed by Dawn Greene.
- Track 3 features background vocals performed by Dawn Greene.
- Track 8 features bass and guitar performed by Stan "Tha Guitar Man" Jones.
- Track 12 features bass and guitar performed by Stan "Tha Guitar Man" Jones, and scratches performed by Bobcat.
- Track 13 features bass and guitar performed by Stan "Tha Guitar Man" Jones, and scratches performed by Bobcat.
- Track 14 features background vocals performed by Paulette McWilliams, Nicki Richards and Cindy Mizelle, violins performed by Gayle Dixon, Winterton Garvey, Elena Barere, Regis Indiorio, Karen Karlsrud, Carmel Malin, David Nadien, Anthony Posk, Matthew Raimonda and Elliot Rosoff, violas performed by Olivia Koppell and Julien Barber, cellos performed by Fred Sherry and Eugene Moye, harp performed by Gloria Agostini, and French horns performed by John Clark, Peter Gordon and Robert Carlisle.
Samples[]
How I'm Comin'
- "Operator's Choice" by Mikey Dread
- "Hot Pants - I'm Coming, I'm Coming, I'm Coming" by Bobby Byrd
- "The Humpty Dance" by Digital Underground
- "Don't Change Your Love" by The Five Stairsteps
- " The Boss" by James Brown
Buckin' 'Em Down
- "Gotcha (Theme from "Starsky & Hutch")" by Tom Scott
- "Synthetic Substitution" by Melvin Bliss
- "Sing a Simple Song" by Sly & the Family Stone
- "Born to Be Blue" by Jack Bruce
Stand By Your Man
- "Spinning Wheel" by Lonnie Smith
- "Fool's Paradise" by Meli'sa Morgan
A Little Somethin'
- "Sucker M.C.'s (Krush Groove 1)" by Run-D.M.C.
- "Groove Me" by King Floyd
Pink Cookies in a Plastic Bag Getting Crushed by Buildings
- "Blind Alley" by The Emotions
Straight from Queens
- "Get Outta My Life Woman" by The New Apocalypse
- "The Payback" by James Brown
- "To da Break of Dawn" by LL Cool J
Funkadelic Relic
- "It's a New Day" by Skull Snaps
- "Wonderland by Night" by Bert Kaempfert
- "Rip a Rhyme" by Da Youngsta's
All We Got Left Is the Beat
- "The Humpty Dance" by Digital Underground
- "Bad Seed" by The Propositions
- "Hollywood Squares" by Bootsy's Rubber Band
(NFA) No Frontin' Allowed
- "Just Rhymin' With Biz" by Big Daddy Kane feat. Biz Markie
- "Sing a Simple Song" by Sly & the Family Stone
- "Letha" by Charles Earland
Back Seat (of My Jeep)
- "You're Getting a Little Too Smart" by Detroit Emeralds
- "Big Water Bed" by Monk Higgins feat. The Specialties
Soul Survivor
- "Synthetic Substitution" by Melvin Bliss
- "Mother's Son" by Curtis Mayfield
- "Triple Threat" by Z-3 MC's
- "Cold Crush Brothers at the Dixie" by The Cold Crush Brothers
Ain't No Stoppin' This
- "Funky President (People It's Bad)" by James Brown
- "Get Up and Get Down" by The Dramatics
Diggy Down
- "Summer in the City" by Quincy Jones feat. Valerie Simpson
Cross Roads
- "Synthetic Substitution" by Melvin Bliss
Pink Cookies in a Plastic Bag Getting Crushed by Buildings (Remix)
- "That's All Right With Me" by Esther Phillips