Editing LL Cool J (section)

==Early life and family==
James Todd Smith was born on January 14, 1968, in [[Bay Shore, New York|Bay Shore]], on [[Long Island]], [[New York (state)|New York]] to Ondrea Griffith (born January 19, 1946) and James Louis Smith Jr,<ref name="roots">{{Cite episode |series= Finding Your Roots |series-link= Finding Your Roots |network= [[Public Broadcasting Station]] |date= February 16, 2016 |season= 3 |number= 27 |language=en}}</ref> also known as James Nunya.<ref name="Schneider">{{cite web|url=https://people.com/archive/hip-pop-vol-59-no-6/ |title=Hip Pop |work=People |last=Schneider |first=Karen |date=February 13, 2003 |access-date=August 5, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Twitter.com">{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/llcoolj/status/251558465821106176?lang=en|title=RIP to My Father James Nunya. You passed away yesterday. But The lessons you taught me live on in my heart. Thank you. I love you.|website=Twitter.com|date=September 27, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hollywood.com/general/ll-cool-j-forgives-dad-for-shooting-mother-59572160/ |title=LL Cool J forgives dad for shooting mother |work=Hollywood.com |access-date=August 5, 2018|date=January 28, 2013 }}</ref> His grandfather, who adopted Smith's mother, is of [[Barbadians|Barbadian]] descent.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WNoDAAAAMBAJ&q=LL.+Cool+J+from+Barbados+grandfather+Ebony&pg=PA116 | title=Ebony | date=January 2003 | publisher=Johnson Publishing Company }}</ref> His 1997 memoir says his father abused his mother.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://ca.news.yahoo.com/ll-cool-j-t-stop-150734002.html|title=LL Cool J Can't Stop, Won't Stop. (And Why Would He?)|last=Ryzik|first=Melena|work=[[The New York Times]]|via=[[Yahoo News]]|date=August 31, 2024|access-date=September 6, 2024}}</ref> According to the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', "[As] a kid growing up middle class and [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] in Queens, life for Smith was heart-breaking. His father shot his mother and grandfather, nearly killing them both. When 4-year-old Smith found them, blood was everywhere."<ref name="Wiltz">{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1997-09-19-9709190033-story.html |title=Rapper Ll Cool J Puts Wild Days, Demons Behind Him |work=Chicago Tribune |last=Wiltz |first=Teresa |date=September 19, 1997 |access-date=August 5, 2018}}</ref> In 1972, Smith and his mother moved into his grandparents' home in [[St. Albans, Queens]], where he was raised.<ref name="hhia">Hess, Mickey (2009). ''Hip Hop in America: A Regional Guide''. ABC-CLIO. p. 59. {{ISBN|0-31334-321-7}}.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://qnsmade.co/history/saint-albans/ |title=Southeastern Queens: Saint Albans |work=QNSMADE |access-date=July 1, 2021 |archive-date=July 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709183100/http://qnsmade.co/history/saint-albans/ |url-status=dead }}.</ref> He suffered physical and mental abuse from his mother's ex-boyfriend Roscoe.<ref name="Wiltz"/>

Smith began [[rapper|rapping]] at the age of 10, influenced by the hip-hop group [[Treacherous Three|The Treacherous Three]]. In 1984, sixteen-year-old Smith was creating [[demo tape]]s in his grandparents' home.<ref name="mtv"/> His grandfather, a jazz saxophonist, bought him $2,000 worth of equipment, including two [[Phonograph|turntables]], an [[Audio mixing (recorded music)|audio mixer]] and an [[amplifier]].<ref name=holden>Holden, Stephen. [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE2DF1E31F935A15757C0A961948260 "From Rock To Rap"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205203358/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE2DF1E31F935A15757C0A961948260 |date=December 5, 2008 }}, ''New York Times'', April 26, 1987. Retrieved on November 16, 2008.</ref> During this time, Smith reconciled with his father who "made amends for a lot of things" by offering him guidance at the start of his music career.<ref name="Wiltz" /><ref name="Twitter.com" /><ref>{{Cite web|access-date=September 22, 2022|title=LL Cool J Revealed in 1997 Memoir That His Dad Shot His Mom, Grandfather|url=https://eurweb.com/2022/ll-cool-js-dad-shot-his-mom-grandfather/|website=eurweb.com|date=September 22, 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref> His mother was also supportive of his musical endeavors, using her [[tax refund]] to buy him a [[Korg]] [[drum machine]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.27159/title.ll-cool-j-says-his-mothers-tax-refund-funded-his-demo|title=LL Cool J Says His Mother's Tax Refund Funded His Demo|website=Hiphopdx.com|author=Danielle Harling|date=January 21, 2014|quote=I sent demo after demo into every record company. And I got rejection letters from company after company. And I just kept at it. And then what actually happened is I quit and my mother got her tax return. And she took her tax return and bought me some equipment because she knew I was depressed and I was down in the dumps because I didn't have the proper equipment to make what I felt was a good demo. So, she took her whole tax return bought me a drum machine. It was a Korg actually. And me and my man Frankie we went in the basement, we didn't even read the instructions. We played it manually.}}</ref> Smith has stated that by the time he received musical equipment from his relatives, he "was already a rapper. In this neighborhood, the kids grow up in rap. It's like speaking Spanish if you grow up in an all-Spanish house."<ref name=holden/> This was at the same time that [[NYU]] student [[Rick Rubin]] and [[Promoter (entertainment)|promoter]]-[[Music manager|manager]] [[Russell Simmons]] founded the then-independent [[Def Jam]] label. By using the [[mixing console|mixer]] he had received from his grandfather, Smith produced and mixed his own demos and sent them to various [[Record company|record companies]] throughout New York City, including Def Jam.<ref name=holden/>