"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 mainstream popularity in the UK, rising to number 8 in the UK Singles Chart. The single won a Soul Train Music Award for Best Rap Single in 1988 Soul Train Music Awards. The song was listed as number 13 on About.com's Top 100 Rap Songs.[1]
Track listing
A-side
- "I Need Love" – 5:23
B-side
- "I Need Love" (edit) – 4:15
- "My Rhyme Ain't Done" – 3:45
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
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Covers and samples
The music, both melody and beats, were lifted from an instrumental by Brooklyn songwriter Jayson Dyall entitled "Zoraida's Heartbeat" which was written and recorded in 1984.[17] This song, along with other songs on a cassette tape of several raw recordings by Jayson Dyall, was presented to LL Cool J by an associate, who met Dyall through a music classifieds ad in early 1986 and told him he could get LL to listen to his music. Dyall never received any acknowledgment from LL Cool J or Def Jam Records for originally writing the music for this song.
- Irish singer-songwriter Luka Bloom recorded a cover version of the song on his 1992 album The Acoustic Motorbike.
- R&B group Blaque sampled the song on their track "Don't Go Looking for Love", which originally appeared on their 1999 self-titled debut album.
- Rapper Necro used the beat on his song "I Need Drugs", which was released on his 2000 album, I Need Drugs.
- Master P sampled this song on his single "I Need Dubs", featuring son Romeo, on his 2005 album Ghetto Bill.
- Amanda Blank sampled the song on "A Love Song" from her 2009 album I Love You.
- Krizz Kaliko copied lyrics of the song for the first few lines of his song "Anxiety", on his debut album Vitiligo by saying, "When I'm alone in my room, sometimes I stare at the wall/And in the back of my mind, I hear my conscious call/Telling me I need a gun."
- Yo Gotti sampled the song on his single "Let's Vibe" featuring Pleasure P.
- Rick Ross interpolated the lyrics on the single "Aston Martin Music" featuring Drake and Chrisette Michele from his 2010 album Teflon Don.
References
- ^ Henry Adaso. "100 Greatest Rap Songs". About.com Entertainment.
- ^ "L.L. Cool J – I Need Love" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
- ^ "L.L. Cool J – I Need Love" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
- ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – I Need Love". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 44, 1987" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
- ^ "L.L. Cool J – I Need Love" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
- ^ "L.L. Cool J – I Need Love". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
- ^ "LL Cool J: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
- ^ "LL Cool J Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
- ^ "LL Cool J Chart History: Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – L.L. Cool J – I Need Love" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
- ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1987". Ultratop. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
- ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1987". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
- ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1987". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
- ^ "Gallup Year End Charts 1987: Singles" (PDF). Record Mirror. January 23, 1988. p. 36. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
- ^ "1987 The Year in Music & Video: Top Hot Crossover Singles". Billboard. Vol. 99, no. 52. December 26, 1987. p. Y-27. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
- ^ Berry, Michael (14 June 2018). Listening to Rap: An Introduction. Routledge. ISBN 9781315315867 – via Google Books.
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