LL Cool J perfected the rap love song. Rappers as disparate as street ... and don’t sleep on “Headsprung,” which featured Uncle L collaborating with Timbaland. LL’s penchant for love ...

If LL COOL J wasn’t the world’s first modern rap star ... defiant anthems (“I’m Bad”) to surprisingly tender love songs (“I Need Love”). By the end of the ’90s, each of his ...