LL Cool J has revealed that his most difficult rap battle opponent was Canibus.
In an interview with Ray Daniels, the rap legend and actor opened up about the toughest beefs of his lengthy career, which has also seen him spar with Kool Moe Dee, MC Shan, MC Hammer and Ice-T.
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LL said: “I would say out of all them, probably Canibus because he was a pain in the ass. I was a little more disconnected so it made it way more difficult. It’s like one of them Rocky movies when he’s driving through the tunnel with the fucking Rolls-Royce and he’s having flashbacks and shit, you got this Mr. T muthafucka over here rapping out the basement. That was the vibe.
“He’s rapping in my ears, biting at my calf muscles, over here doing sitcoms and shit. I’m like, ‘Yo, this shit is crazy right now!’ This muthafucka fucking with me, bothering me in the middle of the night. Our culture is crazy ’cause they won’t leave you alone about this shit. ‘What you gonna do about your man?’ You just gotta deal with this shit, right? So I would say Canibus.”
Despite their famous feud, LL no longer harbos any ill towards Canibus, adding: “I wish him the best.”
The beef erupted in the late 1990s after Canibus seemingly took a swipe at LL Cool J on “4,3,2,1,” which also featured Redman, Method Man and DMX.
“Yo Method, where the gods at? Redman, where the Squad at? / Yo L, is that a mic on your arm? Let me borrow that,” he rapped on the original version of the song, referencing LL’s bicep tattoo.
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After LL interpreted the rhymes as disrespect, ‘Bus was forced to change his verse on the final cut. LL, however, kept in his response, ensuring he had the last laugh on the track.
“When young sons fantasize of borrowing flows / Tell little shorty with the big mouth the bank is closed / The symbol on my arm is off limits to challengers / You hold the rusty swords, I swing the Excalibur,” the Queens, New York native hit back.
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He added: “Now let’s get back to this mic on my arm / If it ever left my side, it’d transform into a time bomb / You don’t wanna borrow that, you wanna idolize / And you don’t wanna make me mad, n-gga, you wanna socialize.”
Canibus later returned fire with “Second Round K.O.,” which was ranked as one of the 100 Greatest Diss Songs by HipHopDX. The battle didn’t end there, though, as more lyrical punches followed such as “The Ripper Strikes Back,” “Back Where I Belong” and “Rip the Jacker.”
LL Cool J previously admitted that the feud was his fault.
Speaking on Million Dollaz Worth of Game last year, he said: “With [Canibus], I think it was more my fault because I could have addressed him a little differently. He wanted to get a tattoo like mine. I could have said, ‘Good luck with that,’ but I didn’t understand that path at that time.”
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LL went on to acknowledge that his response to ‘Bus’ original “4,3,2,1” verse was immature: “I wasn’t there yet mentally so I was like, ‘The fuck you mean you gonna get something like me?’ That shit sounded crazy to me at that time.”
He continued: “My brain was not developed, I was not developed like that…Now I understand it was a compliment, he was just showing love and, you know, admiration. That’s why I don’t go at him now or try to hurt these dudes. I’m not gonna play that.”
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Canibus and LL Cool J eventually buried the hatchet almost 20 years later when they appeared on stage together at a 2014 Christmas concert at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
