Skip to main content

Art & Creativity Quote by LL Cool J

"What I like to do is just make good music, good movies, hopefully perform a good show full of energy and just have some fun"

About this Quote

There is a studied modesty in LL Cool J framing ambition as a simple preference: “What I like to do is just make good music, good movies…” It’s the language of a veteran who’s already won the argument. By leading with “just,” he shrinks a sprawling, cross-industry career into something almost casual, as if excellence is his baseline and the rest is noise. The repetition of “good” does more than signal quality control; it’s a brand promise pitched in plain speech, the kind that reads as trustworthy because it refuses to sound lofty.

The intent is pragmatic: reassure fans, studios, promoters, and skeptics that the goal isn’t reinvention for its own sake, but consistency across formats. LL Cool J has long occupied a rare lane where rap credibility and mainstream visibility can coexist, and this quote protects that balance. He doesn’t say “art,” “legacy,” or “impact.” He says “good,” “energy,” “fun” - words that translate across audiences and eras, and that sidestep the cultural suspicion that comes with crossing over from music to film and television.

The subtext is control. “Hopefully” nods to the reality of collaborative industries, but the sentence keeps circling back to performance: he’s still the engine. “Full of energy” is also a quiet rebuttal to time. For an artist who’s been around since hip-hop’s early decades, energy is currency - proof he’s present-tense, not a nostalgia act. Fun, here, isn’t frivolous; it’s the alibi for professionalism, the message that the work is serious without acting self-important.

Quote Details

TopicMusic
More Quotes by LL Add to List
LL Cool J on Quality, Performance, and Joy
Click to enlarge Portrait | Landscape

About the Author

LL Cool J

LL Cool J (born January 14, 1968) is a Musician from USA.

40 more quotes available

View Profile

Similar Quotes

Les Baxter, Musician