''Bigger and Deffer'' (abbreviated as ''BAD'' on the album cover) is the second

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by American rapper

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip ho ...

, released on May 29, 1987, by

Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The l ...

and

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. With over two million copies sold in the United States, it remains one of LL Cool J's best-selling releases. ''Bigger and Deffer'' dominated the summer of 1987, spending 11 weeks atop the ''Billboard''

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...

chart, and peaking at number three on the ''Billboard'' 200. It became the fourth hip hop album to receive

platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

certification by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA). ''Bigger and Deffer'' features the hit single "

I'm Bad "I'm Bad" (sometimes written as I'm BAD) is the first single from LL Cool J's second album, ''Bigger and Deffer''. It was released in 1987 for Def Jam Recordings and was produced by the production group, The L.A. Posse and LL Cool J, with Russel ...

", and the first commercially successful rap ballad, "

I Need Love "I Need Love" is the second single from LL Cool J's second album, '' Bigger and Deffer''. The single reached number 1 on the Hot Black Singles and number 14 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 while becoming one of the first rap songs to enjoy mainst ...

". It also contains the track "Go Cut Creator Go", which paid homage to his DJ. Other tracks like "Kanday", "The Do Wop", "My Rhyme Ain't Done", "The Breakthrough", and "The Bristol Hotel" were also popular with fans, and helped make the album a hip-hop classic. In 1998, the album was selected as one of ''

The Source The Source may refer to: Film and television * ''The Source'' (1918 film), 1918 American drama directed by George Melford * ''The Source'' (1999 film), a 1999 documentary film about the Beat generation * ''The Source'' (2002 film), a 2002 scienc ...

''s 100 Best Rap Albums. The cover photo was taken in front of Andrew Jackson High School in

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

(from which he dropped out), while standing on the hood of his

Audi 5000 5000 or ''variation'', may refer to: In general * A.D. 5000, the last year of the 5th millennium CE * 5000 BCE, a year in the 5th millennium BC * 5000s AD, a decade, century, millennium in the 6th millennium CE * 5000s BCE, a decade, century, m ...

, and the back cover was shot in his grandmother's basement (his residence at the time). Both images were shot by

Glen E. Friedman Glen Ellis Friedman (born March 3, 1962) is an American photographer and artist. He became known for his activities within rebellious skateboarding and music cultures. Photographing artists Fugazi, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, Circle Jerks, Minor ...

Critical reception

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

wrote that ''Bigger and Deffer'' paled beside LL Cool J's debut album, ''

Radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

'': "Like the pop-metal egotists he resembles every which way but white, J proves that there's something worse than a middle-class adolescent who's gotta be a big shot this instant--the same adolescent the instant he becomes a big shot. Overrated though it was, the debut had guts, spritz, musical integrity, and

Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (, ; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is a co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popularize hip hop by produci ...

. Breakthrough though it may be, the follow-up has a swelled head, a swollen dick, received beats, and quotes from

Berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples of berries in the cul ...

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black. In the ...

, and the Moonglows that confuse me. Could it be that the planet existed before he brought it to fruition?"

Track listing

All tracks written and produced by

and L.A. Posse, except where noted.

Personnel

* James Todd Smith – vocals, producer * Bobby Ervin –

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...

Russell Simmons Russell Wendell Simmons (born October 4, 1957) is an American entrepreneur, writer and record executive. He co-founded the hip-hop label Def Jam Recordings, and created the clothing fashion lines Phat Farm, Argyleculture, and Tantris. He has p ...

– production supervisor * Steven Ett –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

, mixing * Rod Hui – engineer * Jay Henry – engineer * Mark Mandelbaum – engineer * Chuck Vale – assistant engineer *

Howie Weinberg Howie Weinberg is an American audio mastering engineer. Over the course of his career, he has received over 2,257 mastering credits, three TEC Awards, 21 Grammy Awards, two Juno Awards, and one Mercury Prize. Career Weinberg mastered Herbie Ha ...

– mastering * L.A. Posse (Darryl Pierce, Dwayne Simon, and Bobby Erving) – additional vocals, producer *

Eric Haze Eric Haze (born 1961) is an American artist, graphic designer and art director. Career Eric Haze was born in 1961 in New York City to progressive parents of the Upper West Side. Haze was drawn to art through his father's friend's pop art collect ...

– design *

Nelson George Nelson George (born September 1, 1957) is an American author, columnist, music and culture critic, journalist, and filmmaker. He has been nominated twice for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Biography George attended St. John's Universit ...

–

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

– liner photography

Charts

Album

Singles

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1987 albums LL Cool J albums Def Jam Recordings albums Albums recorded at Chung King Studios