LL Cool J

In 1998, when Canibus was in the midst of a battle with LL Cool J and spit the lines “Mad at me cause I kick that shit real niggas feel/While 99% of your fans wear high heels,” his scathing assessment wasn’t that far off the mark. With the exception of perhaps two songs, the charismatic MC’s latest effort, Todd Smith, released on Def Jam earlier this year, is primarily geared toward the ladies. While it’s no secret that the ladies love cool James, listening to his blatant overtures on Smith is tiresome after just a few tracks, and ultimately a disappointment for fans who came up listening to banging tracks like “I’m Bad,” “Momma Said Knock You Out” and “Jack the Ripper.” If we’re lucky, he’ll dig through his back catalogue and pull out some of the classics for this performance, because the thought of having to endure that patented lip-licking and bare-chested posturing is more than a little exasperating.