LL Cool J 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 hip hop recording artist, record producer, actor, author and entrepreneur from Queens, New York. He is known for such hip hop hits as "Going Back to Cali", "I'm Bad", "The Boomin' System", "Rock the Bells" and "Mama Said Knock You Out", as well as romantic ballads such as "Doin' It", "I Need Love", "All I Have", "Around the Way Girl" and "Hey Lover". A two-time Grammy Award winner, LL Cool J has released 13 studio
Todd James Pierce and teaches creative writing at California Polytechnic State University. Todd James Pierce Todd James Pierce (born in 1965), is an American novelist and short story writer. Todd James Pierce is primarily known as a novelist and short story writer. He is a graduate of the MFA program at UC Irvine and the Ph.D. program at Florida State University. As the winner of the 2006 Drue Heinz Literature Prize, he is the author of four books (listed below), and his work has appeared in over 80 literary journals and magazines including "The Georgia Review", "The Gettysburg Review", "Indiana Review", "Iowa Review",