G.O.A.T. (LL Cool J album)

G.O.A.T. featuring James T. Smith: The Greatest of All Time (simply known as G.O.A.T.) is the eighth studio album by American rapper LL Cool J. Released September 12, 2000 on the Def Jam label, the album topped the US Billboard 200, the rapper's first to reach number one.

G.O.A.T.
Studio album by LL Cool J
Released	September 12, 2000
Genre	Hip hop
Length	73:43
Label	Def Jam Universal
Producer	LL Cool J (exec.) James "Bimmy" Antney (also exec.) Ill Am Adam F Havoc Vada Nobles DJ Scratch Rockwilder Ty Fyffe Trackmasters Marc Wiggins
LL Cool J chronology
Phenomenon (1997) G.O.A.T. (2000) 10 (2002)
Singles from G.O.A.T.
"Imagine That" Released: June 27, 2000 "You and Me" Released: October 17, 2000

Background

The bulk of the album came about in 1999, when DJ Scratch handed LL a CD of six instrumentals. The submission of beats took place when Scratch first met LL in the studio, as both men were working on the song "Ill Bomb," for Funkmaster Flex and DJ Big Kap's album, The Tunnel (1999).^[1]

In a 2023 interview with Adam Graham of The Detroit News, who credited LL with creating the acronym G.O.A.T., LL said he got the term from Earl "The Goat" Manigault and Muhammad Ali.^[2] Ali's business entity was called G.O.A.T., Inc., based at his home in Berrien Springs, Michigan.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	73/100[3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[5]

G.O.A.T. received generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 73, based on 12 reviews.^[3] Entertainment Weekly's Tom Sinclair noted that the album "finds the Queens-bred rapper in near top form. Talking trash, passing the mic to guests like DMX and Snoop Dogg, reeling off endlessly inventive boasts — he makes it all seem as easy as chillin’ on the boulevard on a hot summer night. The only downer is the creeping note of defensiveness, as though the old goat (who's all of 32) felt compelled to convince a new generation he's still relevant."^[5]

Nathan Rabin from The A.V. Club found that "G.O.A.T. suffers from an unsure tone and a lack of thematic cohesion. Although a solid album by a gifted performer, it feels like the work of a rapper chasing trends instead of following his own path. That lack of vision makes the boast inherent in the title seem more hopelessly far-fetched than ever."^[6] In her mixed review for AllMusic, editor Diana Potts wrote that G.O.A.T "disappoints. [...] The theme of L.L. as the older seducer who is better than the current man of a girlish temptress has been common through L.L.'s albums. It's like listening to the confessions of a horny 14-year-old teenage boy in the girl's locker room. Even with the help of popular rap acts like DMX and Redman, L.L. Cool J has made the same album he did once before, with no new twists."^[4]

Chart performance

G.O.A.T. debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, becoming his first album to do so.^[7] It also reached number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.^[8] By 2004, the album had sold 818,000 copies in the United States.^[9]

Track listing

G.O.A.T. track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro"	James Todd Smith James "Bimmy" Antney	James "Bimmy" Antney	1:52
2.	"Imagine That" (featuring LeShaun)	J.T. Smith Dana Stinson	Rockwilder	4:59
3.	"Back Where I Belong" (featuring Ja Rule)	J.T. Smith Vada Nobles	Vada Nobles Marc Wiggins	4:07
4.	"LL Cool J" (featuring Kandice Love)	J.T. Smith George Spivey Jay Hawkins	DJ Scratch	4:24
5.	"Take It Off"	J.T. Smith Adam Fenton	Adam F	3:34
6.	"Skit"			0:45
7.	"Fuhgidabowdit" (featuring DMX and Method Man & Redman)	J.T. Smith Jean-Claude Olivier Samuel Barnes Earl Simmons Clifford Smith Reggie Noble	Trackmasters	4:33
8.	"Farmers" (featuring Tikki Diamondz)	J.T. Smith Edward Hinson Norman Whitfield Barrett Strong	Self	3:39
9.	"This Is Us" (featuring Carl Thomas)	J.T. Smith Nobles Carl Thomas	Vada Nobles	5:55
10.	"Can't Think"	J.T. Smith Tyrone Fyffe	Ty Fyffe	4:52
11.	"Hello" (featuring Amil)	J.T. Smith Spivey Denzil Miller Bernard Edwards	DJ Scratch	3:52
12.	"You and Me" (featuring Kelly Price)	J.T. Smith Spivey Giuliano Salerni Phil Hurtt	DJ Scratch	5:31
13.	"Homicide"	J.T. Smith Spivey Carlos Guedes	DJ Scratch	5:01
14.	"U Can't Fuck with Me" (featuring Snoop Dogg, Xzibit and Jayo Felony)	J.T. Smith Spivey	DJ Scratch	4:26
15.	"Queens Is" (featuring Prodigy)	J.T. Smith Kejuan Muchita Albert Johnson	Havoc	4:25
16.	"The G.O.A.T."	J.T. Smith Fenton	Adam F.	4:09

Bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
17.	"Ill Bomb" (Funkmaster Flex & Big Kap featuring LL Cool J)	J.T. Smith Spivey Elias Wrubel	DJ Scratch	4:02
18.	"M.I.S.S. I" (featuring Case)	J.T. Smith Tonee McClinton Karlyton Clanton	Ill Am	3:18
19.	"Shut 'Em Down"	J.T. Smith Spivey	DJ Scratch	3:23
Total length:				73:43

Sample credits^[10]

• "LL Cool J" contains a sample from "I Put a Spell on You" (1956) as performed by Screaming Jay Hawkins.
• "Farmers" contains a sample from "Ungena Za Ulimwengu (Unite the World)" (1971) as performed by The Temptations.
• "Hello" contains elements of "Telephone" (1984) as performed by Diana Ross.
• "You and Me" contains an interpolation of "You'll Never Know" (1981) as performed by Hi-Gloss.
• "Homicide" contains a sample from of "Harposaurus" (1992) as performed by Carlos Guedes
• "Ill Bomb" contains a sample from "I'm Afraid the Masquerade Is Over" (1971) as performed by David Porter.

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for G.O.A.T. Chart (2000) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[11] 65 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[12] 5 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[13] 35 French Albums (SNEP)[14] 56 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[15] 17 Scottish Albums (OCC)[16] 49 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[17] 13 UK Albums (OCC)[18] 29 UK R&B Albums (OCC)[19] 4 US Billboard 200[7] 1 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[8] 1

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for G.O.A.T. Chart (2000) Position US Billboard 200[20] 139 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[21] 50

Certifications

Certifications for G.O.A.T.

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[22]	Gold	50,000^
United States (RIAA)[23]	Gold	500,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. STAFF, AllHipHop (May 29, 2006). "DJ Scratch: Face Off". allhiphop.com. Archived from the original on December 17, 2019. Retrieved December 17, 2019. Well that was basically through the Funk Master Flex [and Big Kap] project, The Tunnel Album. I gave a beat to Flex. It was the track 'Ill Bomb.' Flex put LL on it and he killed it. And that is one of my favorite songs out of my whole discography. I went to do the scratches on the song, and LL was there in the studio, and he asked me if I had any beats. I gave him a cd with six songs on it, and he picked all of them for the album.
2. Graham, Adam (August 16, 2023). "LL Cool J talks hip-hop's 50th anniversary, his new album and his relationship with Eminem". The Detroit News. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
3. "G.O.A.T. Featuring James T. Smith: The Greatest of All Time by LL Cool J, reviewed at metacritic.com". Metacritic.
4. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. G.O.A.T. at AllMusic. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
5. Sinclair, Tom (September 22, 2000). "Music Review: 'G.O.A.T. Featuring James T. Smith the Greatest of All Time'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
6. Rabin, Nathan (September 12, 2000). "LL Cool J: G.O.A.T.: Greatest Of All Time". The A.V. Club. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
7. "LL Cool J Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
8. "LL Cool J Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
9. Baker, Soren (September 2, 2004). "LL Cool J Burns It Up". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
10. G.O.A.T. (booklet). Def Jam, Universal. 2000.
11. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 169.
12. "LL Cool J Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
13. "Dutchcharts.nl – LL Cool J – G.O.A.T. featuring James T. Smith - The Greatest Of All Time" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
14. "Lescharts.com – LL Cool J – G.O.A.T. featuring James T. Smith - The Greatest Of All Time". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
15. "Offiziellecharts.de – LL Cool J – G.O.A.T. featuring James T. Smith - The Greatest Of All Time" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
16. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
17. "Swisscharts.com – LL Cool J – G.O.A.T. featuring James T. Smith - The Greatest Of All Time". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
18. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
19. "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
20. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2000". Billboard. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
21. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2000". Billboard. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
22. "Canadian album certifications – LL Cool J – G.O.A.T." Music Canada.
23. "American album certifications – L.L. Cool J – G.O.A.T." Recording Industry Association of America.