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Ll Cool J: New York
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Rap veteran LL COOL J is in talks to become the unlikely new face of lip balm Chapstick. While normally targetted at female customers, Chapstick bosses believe LL Cool J will help them appeal to male consumers. Industry trade magazine Brand Week writes, "It's an obvious fit. LL has been licking his lips for 20 years. They'll get to speak to people who normally would not pick up Chapstick."
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LL Cool J might not have been rap's first artist, but he may well be its most durable. In a career that's spanned more than 15 years, the New York native has managed to navigate hip-hop's stormy waters and create a body of work dotted with touchstones for up-and-comers in the genre. Moreover, based on the evidence ... far, LL Cool J stands a good chance of becoming the most respected actor ever to emerge from the hip-hop landscape. Certainly, few artists in any style of music have shown more ambition or a greater work ethic.
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"LL Cool J did what everyone said was impossible. He defied every rule and paved the way for hip-hop to reach a whole new level of global influence and achievement. LL Cool J was the cornerstone of Def Jam Records, the first superstar who proved that rap artists could be career artists. Over the past 20 years, he has continued to reinvent himself and stay on top."
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His feature film work has ... won LL Cool J some notice, particularly his co-starring effort with Robin Williams in "Toys" (1992). He had made his film debut playing a cop in the Michael J. Fox-James Woods "buddy" crime thriller "The Hard Way" (1991) and provided a song for "Strictly Business" (also 1991). In 1995, he starred as a down-and-out disc jockey in Debbie Allen's feature directorial debut "Out of Sync" (1995). That same year, LL Cool J was also seen as one of the performing rap stars in music documentary "The Show". 1998 saw the performer take on the newly popular teen horror genre, with a featured acting role in "Halloween: H20".
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LL Cool J works out hard and it shows. Most of his fans believe the veteran MC looks better today than he ever did. Now, James Todd Smith and his personal trainer are providing the general public with the blueprint on how to get in pristine shape with their new fitness book, LL Cool J’s Platinum Workout.
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LL Cool J was born in Westchester County and grew up in the working-class section of Hollis, Queens, New York, the only child of Ondrea Smith and her husband, James. Todd sang in the church choir, played football and was even in the Boy Scouts.
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