Rap veteran LL Cool J, 56, went through a very traumatic experience at a young age that no child should ever have to witness.
The artist born James Smith Jr. witnessed his father shoot his mother and grandfather with a firearm following his parents’ separation in 1972. Both victims survived the assault, though no one was prosecuted.
LL’s been on a media run to talk about his contributions to the music industry months after dropping his 15th album, “The FORCE” on Sept. 6. The music icon recently sat down with UK outlet Great Company to talk about his music career and his personal life.
At one point in the interview, host Jamie Laing asked LL about seeing his dad, James Smith Sr. (aka James Nunya), harm his mom, Ondrea Griffith, and his granddad, Eugene Griffith at a young age.
“He shot her and he shot my grandfather,” the Queens, New York native recalled. “I was 4 but I was there.”
He said that moment taught him a lot, including how to follow directions. According to LL, his grandfather, a war veteran, was on the floor bleeding out on the dining room following the attack but still managed to tell the future rap legend to “go back” from the kitchen where the violent incident took place.
“I’m walking and the bullets are hitting the refrigerator. Mother’s lying right there and he says, ‘Go back. Go back,’” he said.
The “Mama Said Knock You Out” hitmaker then recalled going to fetch towels and handing them to his granddad.
“He was calm and it taught me to be calm,” LL said about his granddad. “It was strange but you know you learn early on.”
Good Company shared a clip of Mr. Ladies Love Cool James talking about his family’s past on the outlet’s Instagram page.
“Wow, a crazy story. Another reminder [of] how dangerous it could be if a woman leaves an abusive man. Can’t believe LL Cool J witnessed this at 4 years old and still remembers this traumatic event clearly,” one person wrote.
A like-minded Instagram user posted, “That story is absolutely WILD! Witnessing that at 4 years old.” A third individual agreed, commenting, “Wow, that’s some serious trauma to have witnessed.”
One fan stated, “LL is a legend and a gent. I’m sure that moment could have brought him down a different path. He [chose] the wiser one, kindness.”
A few suggested that he make a movie about his entire life. In addition, someone pointed out, “He has a song about this. It is heartbreaking.”
LL included a track titled “Father” on the 1996 movie soundtrack for “Phenomenon.” The Trackmasters-produced record featured Smith going into detail about his dad’s brutal actions against his mom.
“My pops got drunk when me and my moms bounced. Swigged some Jack Dan’, sniffed up an ounce,” LL said on the song. “Grabbed the shotty, left Long Isle for Queens. Possessed by a demon… a devil it seemed.”
The “Any Given Sunday” actor continued, “I was too young to understand the risk. When your moms come home off the midnight shift. She turned around, heard the shotgun click. My pops said, ‘You think that you could leave me, b—h?’”
LL closed out the verse by rhyming, “He blasted my mom’s in the back. She fell down screaming. I can’t forget that. My grandfather tried to close the do’. He got shot ten times in the stomach, yo. For real.”
Previously, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer covered the shooting in his 1998 memoir titled “I Make My Own Rules.”
LL revealed that his father had been trying to win his mother back, but his efforts were of no use. Knowing her routine, he waited in the bushes nearby when she came home from work.
“Ondrea, I’m sick of your motherf—king s—t,” his father yelled to his mother before firing the first shot in her back.
The book explains LL’s grandfather got hit with the second shot after coming to the front door to see what had transpired
“If he hadn’t my mother would have taken it, and it might have killed her,” LL wrote. He then recalls his grandmother calling the police and ambulance and she ran to his father’s car and cursed him out.
According to LL, his father was never charged or prosecuted for the matter due to fleeing to California and changing his name. Over the years, the family gave up seeking justice.
In 2013, the multi-time Grammy Awards host sat down with Oprah Winfrey’s “Next Chapter” series to discuss dealing with the fallout from seeing the violence his mother endured when he was a child.
“I guess it would leave you scarred, at four years old, based on how the people around you dealt with it and encouraged you to deal with it. It was tough,” LL admitted to Winfrey.
He went on to say, “My mother forgave my father… And he came back into my life, made amends for a lot of things by helping to guide me with my music career early on and kind of helping me in that area.”
James Smith Sr. passed away on Sept. 27, 2012. The following day, LL tweeted, “RIP to my father, James Nunya. You passed away yesterday. But the lessons you taught me live on in my heart. Thank you. I love you.”
LL broke onto the national music scene with 1985’s “Radio” studio LP. His discography also features the 2x-platinum “Bigger and Deffer” project and the Billboard 200 chart-topping “G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time)” album.
Before becoming famous, Smith was born on Jan. 14, 1968, on Long Island, New York. He was later raised by his mother and grandparents in the St. Albans neighborhood of Queens.
According to the Chicago Tribune, LL grew up “middle class.” However, he supposedly lived around street violence, drug abuse, and gang activity before launching his professional rap career at 16 years old.
LL went on to leave a historic mark on the entertainment business. The 2-time Grammy Award winner was the first artist signed to the now-iconic Def Jam label in 1984 and the first rapper to receive the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors in 2017.
Additionally, LL has acted in a number of movies since 1985 including “Krush Groove (RUN-DMC), “In Too Deep” (Omar Epps), “Deliver Us from Eva” (Gabrielle Union), “Grudge Match” (Robert De Niro), “Kingdom Come” (Vivica A. Fox), “S.W.A.T.”, “Deep Blue Sea” (Samuel Jackson). He earned a cameo in the romantic comedy “Woo.”
His television credits include acting on the “In the House” sitcom and later the “NCIS: Los Angeles” franchise as well as hosting “Lip Sync Battle” with Chrissy Teigen.
