Eminem, just like every one of us, has always been a massive fanboy over his favorite rapper. For the Rap God, LL Cool J leads the laundry list of classic emcees who inspired young Marshall Mathers to pursue rap. In fact, Eminem's earliest works pre-Slim Shady EP era sounds exactly like a mix of LL, Run DMC, and Nas—flow, delivery, everything.
In a recent promo for MTV's Behind the Music documentary, the Music to Be Murdered By rapper revealed several new bits that LL had done for him, including personalized gold chains and a varsity jacket Em wears the entire video. To sum it up, here's everything we know about Eminem and LL Cool J's wholesome relationship.
9 The Two Met For The First Time In 1998
Eminem and LL Cool J met in person for the first time shortly after signing to Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment in 1998 after his Slim Shady EP landed on the Doctor's hands. During an interview on LL's Rock The Bells Radio show oan SiriusXM back in 2018, Em detailed the bizrre encounter.
"I’m like, ‘Yo, he’s in here by himself.’ I was buggin’ the f**k out," he recalled the moment the two were in the same room before the set of "Just Don't Give A F**k" music video. "You quoted a lyric back to me. You said, ‘Yo, how can I be white / I don’t even exist.’ You quoting that lyric back to me, was like, I think I s**t myself."
8 Eminem Rapped To LL Cool J's 'I'm Bad' When Meeting Kim Scott For The First Time
During his high school days, Eminem was a big fanboy of LL Cool J. In fact, he met his longtime sweetheart Kimberly Scott while rapping LL's "I'm Bad" on the table, shirtless.
"He had the whole package — the look, the swag, the chain, everything! You know, you just wanted to be LL Cool J," he recalled the moment when young Em saw the music video for the first time. "He was like the first rockstar of rap. I’m like, 'Yo, I wanted that.' That is what actually made me want to rap."
7 He Allegedly Helped LL Write Anti-Canibus Diss Track 'The Ripper Strikes Back'
Canibus is one of the illest emcees to ever feud with Eminem. Before Em was famous, LL Cool J was at the height of his feud against the Jamaican-born rapper. However, it all started after a misunderstanding that Wyclef Jean confronted Em for allegedly ghost-writing LL's anti-Canibus diss track, "The Ripper Strikes Back." Eminem denied, but after that, Canibus wrote a track called "Phuck U" and took subliminal shots at Em and LL Cool J.
6 Eminem Honored LL In His 'Higher' Music Video
One of Eminem's recent videos, "Higher" from Music to Be Murdered By, has been largely inspired by LL's "Mama Said Knock You Out."
"Mama Said Knock You Out’ was such an unorthodox hit," Eminem said. "It’s another way that I’m saying LL has been such an innovator. Because a song like that, for a song like that to be a hit, he is so raw on that song. That something like that could become a hit, it just changed the whole game."
5 LL & Em Once Drove Around Blasting Em's 'Relapse' Album
Em has always been the harshest critic against his own work, especially the 2009 heavily-accented serial killer-themed album, Relapse. However, LL is one of the few who actually enjoyed the album, and the two even drove around listening to it at one point.
"I was sitting there thinking 'I don’t even know what to say.' Before we got into the track I was 'I just wanna say what you mean to me, man. I’m a stan of you,'" Eminem said during an interview with KXNG Crooked. "Just for 15-16 years old Marshall to think that that can actually happen one day, LL Cool J is sitting in the car with me listening to my album."
4 LL Gifted Em Personalized Gold Rope Chains
As mentioned, Eminem talked about his relationship with LL on MTV's upcoming Behind the Music documentary. "The Real Slim Shady" rapper recalled the time when he was extremely fascinated by LL's chains from the "I'm Bad" music video and asked his producing partner, Rick Rubin, about where LL got the chains from.
Interestingly, this isn't the only documentary Marshall has been involved with recently. Aside from the now-released Netflix special LA Originals, Em's also set to be featured on Big Daddy Kane's upcoming Paragraphs I Manifest documentary.
3 ... And It's Not The Only Thing He's Ever Gifted The Rap God
Back in February 2020, LL gifted Em and his producing partner and mentor, Dr. Dre, a one-of-a-kind Rock the Bells varsity old-school jacket. This isn't the first and the only time both elite emcees honored the culture, as Em once performed a rendition of LL's "Rock the Bells" on the stage of the Hip-Hop Honor Awards in 2009.
2 Em Once Prank Called LL Live On Shade45 Radio Station
Not Slim Shady, but "Jason from Miami." Eminem did a prank call on LL Cool J when L was a guest on Tony Touch's "Toca Tuesday" show on Shade45 back in 2008. He challenged LL to a round of "Name That Tune" and rapped to LL's "Eat 'Em Up L Chill."
"Hold your nose, dead bodies are around/ I leave scratch marks under the tears of a clown." It didn't take him too long to realize "Jason" was, in fact, Slim Shady in another character.
1 Eminem Has Only Read One Book In Full & It's LL's 'I Make My Own Rules'
Eminem is such a big fan of LL Cool J that the first book he's ever read from cover to cover was LL's 1997 biography "I Make My Own Rules." Written by Karen Hunter, the title itself is a nod to LL's collaboration with Red Hot Chili Peppers of the same name.
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