Maps of Music

G.O.A.T. (2000)

Where the lyrics of G.O.A.T. take you, and where it was really made.

LL Cool J said he got the G.O.A.T. acronym partly from Muhammad Ali, whose business entity was also called G.O.A.T., Inc.

Key places

Recorded at The Hit Factory (2000)

Recording site The Hit Factory — Wikipedia's recording credits name The Hit Factory in New York City as a place where this album was recorded. The point sits at building-level coordinates. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Mixed at Right Track Recording (2000)

Recording site MSR Studios — Wikipedia's credits name Right Track Recording in New York City as a mixing location for the album. The point sits at building-level coordinates. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Mixed in Los Angeles at Larrabee West (2000)

Recording site Motown Recording Studios — Wikipedia's credits name Larrabee West in Los Angeles as a mixing location for the album. Only the city centre is known, so the point is placed at city level. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• G.O.A.T. featuring James T. Smith: The Greatest of All Time, usually called G.O.A.T.
• Eighth studio album by American rapper LL Cool J
• Released September 12, 2000 under Def Jam Recordings
• Title acronym tied to Muhammad Ali's business entity

Background

• Most of the album came together in 1999
• DJ Scratch gave LL a CD of six instrumentals
• The beats were handed over when Scratch first met LL in the studio
• Both were working on "Ill Bomb" for Funkmaster Flex and DJ Big Kap's album The Tunnel (1999)
• In a 2023 interview with Adam Graham of The Detroit News, LL said he got the term G.O.A.T. from Earl "The Goat" Manigault and Muhammad Ali
• Ali's business entity was called G.O.A.T., Inc., based at his home in Berrien Springs, Michigan

Recording

• Brian Stanley recorded tracks 1 to 4 and 7 to 15
• Troy Hightower recorded track 5 and track 16
• Mixing credits include Brian Stanley, Doug Wilson and Troy Hightower
• Mastering credited to Tom Coyne
• Recording and mixing sites are shown as map points below

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Career

• James Todd Smith, known as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper and actor.
• He was among the earliest rappers to achieve crossover commercial success alongside new-school acts like Run-DMC.
• Signed by Def Jam Recordings in 1984; his breakthrough single "I Need a Beat" (1984) was followed by debut album Radio (1985).
• Later albums Bigger and Deffer (1987), Walking with a Panther (1989), Mama Said Knock You Out (1990), Mr. Smith (1995), and Phenomenon (1997) brought continued success.
• Released The FORCE (2024), his fourteenth studio album, after re-signing with Def Jam.
• Acting work includes Toys, Halloween H20, Any Given Sunday, and NCIS: Los Angeles (2009–2023) as Sam Hanna.
• Two-time Grammy winner; in 2017 became the first rapper to receive a Kennedy Center Honor; inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021 (Musical Excellence).

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Reviews were generally positive
• Metacritic average of 73 from 12 reviews
• Entertainment Weekly's Tom Sinclair found the album finds the rapper near top form, while noting a creeping defensiveness
• The A.V. Club's Nathan Rabin found an unsure tone and a lack of thematic cohesion, calling it a solid album that feels like a rapper chasing trends
• AllMusic's editor Diana Potts gave a mixed review, saying the album disappoints and repeats earlier L.L. Cool J themes

Records

• Debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 200,000 in sales
• His only album to reach number one on that chart
• Knocked Nelly's debut album Country Grammar from the top spot
• Number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart
• 818,000 copies sold in the United States by 2004
• RIAA gold certification on 25 June 2001

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• "LL Cool J" contains a sample from Screaming Jay Hawkins's "I Put a Spell on You" (1956)
• "Farmers" samples the Temptations's "Ungena Za Ulimwengu (Unite the World)" (1971)
• "Hello" contains elements of Diana Ross's "Telephone" (1984)
• "Ill Bomb" samples David Porter's "I'm Afraid the Masquerade Is Over" (1971)
• Ali's business entity G.O.A.T., Inc. was based at his home in Berrien Springs, Michigan

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org

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