Songoftheday 9/7/23 - This is hard to say I want to make sure, I go about this in the right way...

 

 

"Luv U Better" - LL Cool J

from the album 10 (2002)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #4 (three weeks)

Weeks in the Top-40: 17

 

Today's song comes from rapper LL Cool J, who returned to the top-40 on Billboard's Hot 100 in the beginning of 1998 with his confessional single "Father". In 2000, the rapper returned with his eighth studio album G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time). Despite the record becoming his first and so far only #1 album on the Billboard 200 sales tally, the lead single from it, "Imagine That", stalled all the way down at #98 on the Billboard Hot 100 and even missed the R&B top-40 at #46, with the album selling only gold (a half-million shipped) and spending just 12 weeks on the list.

Nevertheless, LL regrouped and came back in 2002 with his next album 10, signifying his tenth record on the Def Jam label (including his 1996 hits collection All World). The first single from it was "Luv U Better". Written by the rapper (under his real name James Todd Smith) and the Neptunes production team of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, the lyrics have LL reconnecting with an ex (and baby mama) and promising to be a better partner on this go around. The production is rather basic but is dominated by a muddy guitar sample with a much better bass groove. But something clicked as LL found himself back on top of the game...

"Luv U Better" brought LL Cool J back to the top ten on Billboard's Hot 100 in November of 2002, while spending a month (four weeks) on top of the R&B Singles chart and #2 on the Rap Singles list. On the radio, the song peaked at #7 on the dance/R&B-oriented Rhythmic format. Internationally, the single went to #7 in the United Kingdom. The 10 album, released in October of that year, spent a week at #2 on the Billboard 200, and spent two weeks at #1 on the R&B Albums chart, going on to selling over a half-million copies. At the Grammy Awards in 2004, "Luv U Better" was nominated for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, losing to Beyonce and Jay-Z for "Crazy In Love". 

LL Cool J and the 10 album will be back to the series.

(5/10)

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Here's LL performing on The Today Show in 2002 to promote the single...

And lastly, from an intimate concert set from 2010...

Up tomorrow: Canadian popster heads to the half-pipes.