LL COOL J Passed On Two Classic Biggie Beats, Says DJ Clark Kent

LL COOL J passed on two of Biggie‘s most iconic beats, according to DJ Clark Kent.

The Notorious B.I.G.’s second and final album, 1997’s Life After Death, is explored in the first season of Warner Music Group’s Iconic Records podcast series.

During the second episode, producer DJ Clark Kent revealed that LL actually had the beats for “Sky’s the Limit” and Junior M.A.F.I.A.’s “Player’s Anthem” in his possession before Biggie got hold of them.

LL only found out that he’d fumbled the latter after Big Kap played the song at New York City’s famed Hip Hop hotspot, the Tunnel.

“[‘Player’s Anthem’] rings off in the Tunnel,” Clark Kent began. “[Kap] plays it like 10 times in a row. Now, me and Biggie are standing against one of the walls in the Tunnel. LL COOL J’s walking by and the club’s going crazy.

“I’m like, ‘Yo, wassup?’ And he goes, ‘Yo, what is this?’ I was like, ‘It’s the new joint with Big and his crew.’ He was like, ‘Who did this?’ I was like, ‘I did.’ He was like, ‘Yo, dawg, I need a joint like that.'”

DJ Clark Kent then told LL COOL J that “Player’s Anthem” was on a beat tape he previously gave him.

“I said, ‘Well, remember that tape I gave you with the silver label on it? That was the first one on the tape.’ And he was like, ‘This?!’ I was like, ‘Yeah, you had it first,'” he recalled.

“‘You had it before [JAY-Z], you had it before all the guys that you had any rivalries with. You had it first. I shouldn’t have gave it to you but I did. But you had it first and you didn’t pick it. So now you hear it in the club.’

“And he was just like, ‘Damn.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, listen to the tape.'”

related news

Biggie’s ‘Big Poppa’ Was Almost A Lost Boyz Song, Says Nashiem Myrick

May 2, 2023

In addition to “Player’s Anthem,” Clark Kent’s beat tape also included the Bobby Caldwell-sampling instrumental that became Biggie’s “Sky’s the Limit.”

“The next track on there was ‘Sky’s the Limit,'” he said. “He missed that. LL had ‘Player’s Anthem’ and ‘Sky’s the Limit.’ And then it was magical because the Tunnel was upside down that night. And I was just like, ‘We did this yesterday. This shit shouldn’t even be playing.'”

He added: “But it’s me, Big and Un. Un’s like, ‘Yo, this gon’ be the first single!’ And Big’s like, ‘I told you so, I told you.’ And I was just like, ‘Okay, you told me.'”

DJ Clark Kent also spoke about Biggie’s ability to hear a beat as a whole song rather than just something he can rap over.

“I don’t think [LL COOL J] listened to it properly,” he said. “You know, ’cause not all MCs can hear a track and hear the whole song. Biggie hears the track, he hears the whole song. Most people hear the track and they think, ‘How do I rhyme to it?’ Biggie’s like, ‘Oh no, there’s a whole song here.'”

New episodes of Iconic Records: Life After Death are available every Saturday on WMX Hip Hop (channel 1137) on The Roku Channel or the following Monday on Biggie’s YouTube channel.