Mama Said Knock You Out

LL Cool J's egotism is his m.o., his sex appeal, his greatest strength. He'd been on top of the world since he started scoring hits as a teenager, but anyone who's been in the rap game for five years, as he'd been when Mama arrived, has something to prove. So he came out swinging-literally-with the title track, which claims boxing trash talk as proto-rap and turns it into a declaration of ongoing mastery. Beyond that, Mama, with it's ultra-hard Marley Marl production, pumps up his love-man rep (the sweetly affectionate "Around the Way Girl" and an even hornier remix of "Jingling Baby") and his ego (pretty much everything else). It's mostly just old-school boasting, but damn if it isn't deserved.