NCIS Los Angeles will return for season 14, episode 15, The Other Shoe, this Sunday (March 19) night with Agent Sam Hanna (played by LL Cool J) taking the lead in the latest investigation. The episode will see Sam go undercover as a fighter in order to catch the leader of a gang dealing drugs on the streets. But will he be able to fool them into believing he is one of them or is Sam going to need help from his team to get out of the situation safely?
WARNING: This article contains spoilers from NCIS Los Angeles.
Actor, rapper and producer LL Cool J has been making music since he was 10 years old when his grandfather first bought him DJ equipment.
For the next four decades, the award-winning artist came out with hits like Going Back to Cali, The Boomin’ System, Rock the Bells, Mama Said Knock You Out and Doin’ It.
He went on to add another string to his bow when he dipped his toe into the world of acting, with his first role in the 1994 series The Adventures of Pete and Pete.
Bar NCIS LA, which he joined in 2009, he has also been in Toys, Deep Blue Sea, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, Mindhunters and Deliver Us From Eva, just to name a few.
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What does the LL stand for in LL Cool J?
NCIS LA’s Sam Hanna star is referred to by his stage name LL Cool J, rather than his real name which is James Todd Smith.
When he was 15, the 55-year-old wanted to have a different name for his music career, at first wanting to call himself J-Ski.
But in the VHS1 documentary Planet Rock: The Story of Hip Hop and the Crack Generation, Cool J opened up about changing his mind as he didn’t want to be associated with narcotics.
The term “ski” or “blow” were widely used at the time by rappers to connect them to drugs.
Then thanks to a friend of his, Cool J eventually wound up with his iconic stage name.
According to The Sun, when he spoke to Katie Couric in 2013, he said: “I had a friend, his name is Playboy Mikey D, he’s a rap artist. We were in a group together.
“I was walking down the street one day, and I said, ‘I want a cool name’.”
Then the name “Ladies Love Cool J” came up in conversation.
Cool J decided to shorten it to “LL” instead of “Ladies Love”, “because Ladies Love Cool James would look a little ridiculous and a little long on a piece of vinyl”.
This name stuck and in 1984, when he was 16, Cool J met Rick Rubin who was a student at NYU, who gave him his first big break, wanting to try and help him get a record deal.
Rick launched Def Jam Recordings which put out his first record I Need A Beat and soon enough, Cool J’s music started to make the rounds.
Years later and the rapper is a massive name in the music industry as well as in the world of NCIS.
Sadly, the end is in sight for NCIS Los Angeles fans after CBS announced it would be ending after 14 years.
Along with Cool J, the show’s original stars Eric Christian Olsen, Daniela Ruah and Chris O’Donnell will be saying goodbye to their roles of Marty Deeks, Kensi Blye and Callen, respectively.
So how will the story of the OSP be brought to a close in just a couple of months’ time?
NCIS Los Angeles season 14 continues every Sunday on CBS in the USA.
