LL Cool J Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop. (And Why Would He?)

Though he had wild — very wild — years, he met his wife, Simone Smith, early; the first of their four children was born when LL was 21, and in 1995, they married in their Long Island backyard, a small potluck wedding. They’re now grandparents, living in Los Angeles.

As he rose through fame, LL Cool J evolved musically. His all-out, bare-chested performance was the standout in a 1991 episode of MTV’s “Unplugged” series — the first to feature hip-hop, along with a live backing band. (Tribe, MC Lyte and De La Soul also played.) In the rehearsal, “you could see something click,” said Alex Coletti, the series’ producer. LL had the idea to drop in the Otis Redding “Hard to Handle” riff, as the breakdown in “Mama Said.” “He had a vision,” Coletti recalled. And on his next tour, LL had a live band.

HE FOUND SOME of that same restless, ranging spirit while recording with Q-Tip in his home studio in New Jersey. They were in and out, holed up for over a year, breaking for Q-Tip’s cheffy cooking, and to watch films; Basquiat’s moves in “Downtown 81” led to the funky ode “Basquiat Energy.”

LL had started an album with Dr. Dre, but felt he wasn’t living up to Dre’s production; after Phife Dawg, the Tribe member who died in 2016, came to him in a dream, he called up Q-Tip, who has produced for Nas, the Roots, Jay-Z, Mariah Carey and Esperanza Spalding. “Say less,” Q-Tip responded, when asked to collaborate. He didn’t need convincing.

LL was immediately awed by his musicality. “This is a guy that’s going to sit there and unpack jazz records for me and talk to me about musical theory,” he said. It reminded him of a lesson from a mentor.

“Quincy Jones would always talk to me about soul and science,” he said. “A lot of producers, especially in hip-hop, it’s all soul, it’s all feel. But then there’s a point when you need some science to help bridge the gap and go to the next level.” With Q-Tip, he found the right chemistry. “We didn’t have no eggshells. We didn’t have no weirdness,” LL said. “He got this mild-mannered demeanor,” but Q-Tip wasn’t afraid to push LL lyrically, telling him, “Big bro, that ain’t it.”