Mama Said Knock You Out

Mama Said Knock You Out
Studio album by LL Cool J
Released	August 28, 1990
Recorded	August 1989 - April 1990
Studio	Marley Marl's House of Hits (Chestnut Ridge, New York) Chung King House of Metal (Manhattan, New York)
Genre	Golden age hip hop, Hardcore hip hop, East Coast hip hop, Conscious hip hop
Length	61:36
Label	Def Jam Recordings / Columbia Records
Producer(s)	DJ Bobcat, LL Cool J, Marley Marl,

LL Cool J chronology
Previous	Walking with a Panther (1989)
Next	14 Shots to the Dome (1993)

Mama Said Knock You Out is the fourth studio album by American rapper LL Cool J. It was released on August 28, 1990 via Def Jam Recordings and Columbia Records. Recording sessions took place at Marley's House of Hits and Chung King House of Metal in New York City from August 1989 to April 1990. Production was handled entirely by Marley Marl, with co-production from Bobcat and LL Cool J himself. It features guest appearances from Hi-C, Big Money Grip and Bomb. After the disappointing reception of his previous effort Walking with a Panther in 1989, the album was critically and commercially successful.

The album peaked at #16 on the Billboard 200 and #2 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Mama Said Knock You Out released the five singles: "The Boomin' System", "Around the Way Girl", "6 Minutes of Pleasure", "To da Break of Dawn" and the title song "Mama Said Knock You Out". The album was 2X platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), with selling over 2,000,000 copies in the United States.

Legacy

Rolling Stone listed Mama Said Knock You Out at #246 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" in 2020.

Track listing

All songs performed by LL Cool J, except for "Farmers Blvd. (Our Anthem)", performed by LL Cool J, Bomb, Big Money, Grip and HIC.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Time
1.	"The Boomin' System"	Smith, Williams	Marley Marl, LL Cool J (co.)	3:41
2.	"Around the Way Girl"	Smith, Williams	Marley Marl, LL Cool J (co.)	4:07
3.	"Eat Em Up, L Chill"	Smith, Williams	Marley Marl, LL Cool J (co.)	4:37
4.	"Mr. Good Bar"	Smith, Williams	Marley Marl, LL Cool J (co.)	3:42
5.	"Murdergram"	Smith, Williams	Marley Marl, LL Cool J (co.)	3:53
6.	"Cheesy Rat Blues"	Smith, Williams	Marley Marl, LL Cool J (co.)	5:06
7.	"Farmers Blvd. (Our Anthem)"	Big Money, Bomb, Grip, HIC, Smith, Williams	Marley Marl, LL Cool J (co.)	4:26
8.	"Mama Said Knock You Out"	Smith, Williams	Marley Marl, LL Cool J (co.), Bobby "Bobcat" Ervin (co.)	4:50
9.	"Milky Cereal"	Smith, Williams	Marley Marl, LL Cool J (co.)	3:54
10.	"Jingling Baby (Remixed but Still Jingling)"	Latture, Simon, Smith	LL Cool J, Dwayne Simon (co.)	4:57
11.	"To da Break of Dawn"	Smith, Williams	Marley Marl, LL Cool J (co.)	4:32
12.	"6 Minutes of Pleasure"	Smith, Williams	Marley Marl, LL Cool J (co.)	4:34
13.	"Illegal Search"	Smith, Williams	Marley Marl, LL Cool J (co.)	4:31
14.	"The Power of God"	Smith, Williams	Marley Marl, LL Cool J (co.)	4:21

Samples

The Boomin' System

• "Funky Drummer" by James Brown
• "Hold On" by En Vogue

Around the Way Girl

• "Impeach the President" by The Honeydrippers
• "Risin' to the Top" by Keni Burke
• "All Night Long" by Mary Jane Girls

Eat 'Em Up, L Chill

• "Don't Change Your Love" by Five Stairsteps

Mr. Good Bar

• "Cramp Your Style" by All the People feat. Robert Moore
• "UFO" by ESG
• "Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved" by James Brown

Murdergram

• "Moment of Truth" by Earth, Wind & Fire

Cheesy Rat Blues

• "Soul Vibrations" by Kool & the Gang
• "Better Half" by Maceo & the All King's Men
• "Vapors" by Biz Markie

Farmers Blvd. (Our Anthem)

• "Brother's Gonna Work It Out" from The Mack
• "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby" by Barry White
• "Mack Man" by Willie Hutch
• "I Wrote a Simple Song" by Billy Preston

Mama Said Knock You Out

• "Funky Drummer" by James Brown
• "Trip to Your Heart" by Sly & the Family Stone
• "Gangster Boogie" by Chicago Gangsters

Milky Cereal

• "Cramp Your Style" by All the People feat. Robert Moore

Jingling Baby (Remixed but Still Jingling)

• "Walking Into Sunshine" by Central Line
• "You and Love Are the Same" by The Grass Roots
• "High Power Rap" by Crash Crew

To da Break of Dawn

• "Joyous" by Pleasure
• "Got to Getcha" by Maceo & the All King's Men

6 Minutes of Pleasure

• "Ike's Mood I" by Isaac Hayes
• "The Show" by Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick

Illegal Search

• "The Breakdown (Part II)" by Rufus Thomas

The Power of God

• "Think 73'" by James Brown