Walking with a Panther

Walking with a Panther
Studio album by LL Cool J
Released June 6, 1989
Recorded 1987–1989
Genre Hip hop
Length 76:45 (CD)
84:29 (cassette)
Label Def Jam, Columbia, CBS Records
CK 45172 (North America)
465112 (international)
Producer LL Cool J
Dwayne Simon
Rick Rubin
DJ Cut Creator
The Bomb Squad
LL Cool J chronology

Bigger and Deffer
(1987)		 Walking with a Panther
(1989)		 Mama Said Knock You Out
(1990)
Singles from Walking with a Panther
  1. "Going Back to Cali"
    Released: January 27, 1988
  2. "I'm That Type of Guy"
    Released: May 24, 1989
  3. "Big Ole Butt"
    Released: July 7, 1989
  4. "One Shot at Love"
    Released: October 31, 1989
  5. "Jingling Baby"
    Released: January 8, 1990
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
AllHipHop (favorable)[2]
Robert Christgau A−[3]
Q [4]
Rolling Stone [5]
Trouser Press (mixed)[6]
Yahoo! Music (favorable)[7]

Walking with a Panther is the third studio album by American hip-hop artist LL Cool J, released June 6, 1989, on Def Jam Recordings. While his previous album Bigger and Deffer (1987) was produced by The L.A. Posse, Dwayne Simon was the only member left of the group willing to work on Walking with a Panther, as other members, such as Bobby "Bobcat" Erving, wanted a higher pay after realizing how much of a success the previous album had become. Def Jam, however, refused to change the contract which caused the L.A. Posse to leave.[8] Walking with a Panther was primarily produced by L.L. Cool J and Dwayne Simon, with additional production from Rick Rubin and Public Enemy's production team, The Bomb Squad.

Walking with a Panther was a commercial success, peaking at number six on the Billboard 200 and number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, where it spent four weeks. The album contained the singles "Going Back to Cali", "I'm That Type of Guy", "Jingling Baby", "Big Ole Butt" and "One Shot at Love", which also achieved chart success. Walking with a Panther, however, was met with a mixed response from the hip-hop community at the time of its release, who was un-favorable of several of the album's love ballads.[9]

Track listing

All tracks produced by LL Cool J & Dwayne Simon except where noted.

CD
No. TitleWriter(s)Production Length
1. "Droppin' Em"  Dwayne Simon, J.T. Smith  4:22
2. "Smokin', Dopin'"  Simon, Smith  3:31
3. "Fast Peg"  Smith, Bryan PhilpotCo-produced by DJ Cut Creator 1:38
4. "Clap Your Hands"  Smith  5:07
5. "Nitro"  Smith, Eric Sadler, Hank ShockleeCo-produced by The Bomb Squad 4:43
6. "You're My Heart"  Simon, Smith  4:42
7. "I'm That Type of Guy"  Simon, Smith, Steve Ett  5:16
8. "Why Do You Think They Call It Dope?"  Brian Latture, Simon, Smith  3:49
9. "Going Back to Cali"  Smith, Rick RubinProduced by Rick Rubin 4:09
10. "It Gets No Rougher"  Smith, Sadler, H. Shocklee, Keith ShockleeCo-produced by The Bomb Squad 5:16
11. "Big Ole Butt"  Latture, Simon, Smith  4:34
12. "One Shot at Love"  Simon, Smith, Ett  4:18
13. "1-900 LL Cool J"  Simon, Smith  3:01
14. "Two Different Worlds" (featuring Cydne Monet)Simon, Smith, Ett  5:19
15. "Jealous"  Latture, Simon, Smith  3:54
16. "Jingling Baby"  Latture, Simon, Smith  4:15
17. "Def Jam in the Motherland"  Latture, Simon, Smith, Ett  4:35
18. "Change Your Ways"  Simon, Smith, Ett  3:20

The cassette release had a slightly different track listing and two extra songs.

Notes

References

  1. ↑ Allmusic review
  2. ↑ AllHipHop review
  3. ↑ Robert Christgau review
  4. ↑ Q review
  5. ↑ Rolling Stone review
  6. ↑ Trouser Press review
  7. ↑ Yahoo! Music review
  8. ↑ The Rap Talk Crew. "A historic sit-down with Bobcat". Rap Talk Magazine. Retrieved 2010-10-25.
  9. ↑ Huey, Steve. "Walking with a Panther: Review". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-12-23.

See also