LL Cool J

A high-school dropout who also happened to be one of hip-hop’s first superstars, LL Cool J was just 17 when he released the Run-DMC-like hit single “I Can’t Live Without My Radio.” Thanks to its skeletal beats and the massive basslines of “Rock the Bells,” his Def Jam debut, Radio, quickly went platinum and set the tone for LL’s career-long balancing act between the streets and the suburbs. In other words, it’s the reason why he can get away with being a seething madman (“Mama Said Knock You Out”) one second and rico suave (“I Need Love”) the next.

Things get even more complicated in our Next Steps, as we continue to share the best material from a staggering stack of albums and singles.

While it might seem that LL Cool J sometimes lets his acting career get in the way of music, the more-old-school-than-you MC spends most of his free minutes with a mic. In fact, he’s released a new album nearly every two years since the mid-’80s, straight up until his 12th — and final — proper album for Def Jam, 2008’s Exit 13. That’s a lot of hip-hop, and the best of it is distilled into our Next Steps, including a block-rocking “Flava In Ya Ear” remix, a break-driven battle track (“To da Break of Dawn,” which disses MC Hammer and Ice-T), and the classic posse-cut debut of Canibus and DMX, “4,3,2,1.”

Decades of music also drop in our Deep Cuts, along with some of LL’s can’t-miss cameos.

Back when it first came out, Walking with a Panther was criticized for being too commercial. Which is funny, because it basically predicted rap’s key pop crossover moments in the ‘90s and beyond, from the killer P-funk loops of “Nitro” (a favorite of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg) to the spotlight-stealing appearance of James Brown’s band — in sample form — on “It Gets No Rougher.” On the hardcore side of things, LL Cool J spits some serious lyrical swords across the chaotic chorus line of “Crossroads,” the frantic funk licks of “4 Seasons,” and the horror-score keys of “Queens Is,” a crucial collab with Mobb Deep.

Here’s how long LL Cool J’s been in the game: Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin were still NYU students when they pressed his first single, “I Need a Beat.” Lucky for them, Def Jam’s first 12-inch went on to sell more than 100,000 copies and spark one of hip-hop’s most successful careers. We’re talking one smash single after another, from beat-backed ballads like “I Need Love,” “Around the Way Girl,” and “Hey Lover” to absolute bangers like “Headsprung,” “What You Want,” and the one and only “Mama Said Knock You Out.” And then there’s his stone-cold classics — simple but sick singles like “Going Back to Cali,” “Rock the Bells,” and “I Can’t Live Without My Radio.” All together now: Don’t call it a comeback, LL’s been here for years . . .