While on The Joe Budden Podcast, LL Cool J discussed his 1997 beef with Canibus, and explained the story behind the “Second Round K.O.” hitmaker’s original “4,3,2,1” verse.
The original “4,3,2,1” song was a posse cut led by LL Cool J and featuring Canibus, DMX, Master P, Method Man, and Redman. A conversation about the microphone tattoo on LL’s arm ignited the beef between Canibus and LL.
LL Cool J would fire a diss shot at Canibus on the track’s final version. He raps, “Now let’s get back to this mic on my arm / If it ever left my side, it’d transform into a time bomb / You don’t wanna borrow that, you wanna idolize.”
LL revealed his issues with the Canibus verse and took accountability after Joe Budden asked a question about it. “I have a hip-hop question I always wanted to ask you,” said Budden. “What was so wrong with Canibus’s verse on ‘4,3,2,1’?”
“Yeah, I can tell you easily,” replied LL. “He met me at a time in my life when I led with my ego – straight up – primarily. So, when you come up to a guy who is still territorial, say to him, ‘Oh, I’m going to get a tattoo just like yours.’ I wasn’t as mature as I am now. So instead of me saying, ‘Alright, shorty, go ahead.’ I ain’t f*ckin’ like that. I did not like that sh*t, it bothered me. And I was like, ‘No, you got to get your own.’ Then he gets on the mic, ‘L, is that a mic on your arm? Let me borrow that, and that was it.”
In the original version of “4,3,2,1,” Canibus raps, “Yo L, is that a mic on your arm? / Let me borrow that / Who’s the God of rap you saying is nice? / I’ll beat a dead nigga to death and beat a dead nigga to life.”
In the conversation with Joe, LL added: “It was based on around our conversation. You know what it goes back to? [laughs] You know how in the hood, back in the days. ‘Yo, ni**a, I told you.’ You know, like that kind … you know how like back in the days [laughs]. Like, I told you, man. And he caught me in that zone. He really didn’t do nothing wrong. I’m just saying, looking back. But, what you gonna do.”
LL versus Canibus would produce many of the greatest diss tracks ever, with people still debating who won the battle today. LL released his 7th studio album, Phenomenon, in September 1997, featuring the title track, “4,3,2,1,” “Father,” and “Candy.”
After the beef with Uncle L, Canibus would wage war with rap icon Eminem. It was revealed earlier this month that Marshall Mathers would be featured on LL’s upcoming album.
LL Cool J will release his new album, The Force, on September 6. It is his first album in 11 years. He shared many details about the upcoming album during a listening event last week.
“I’m just excited for [fans] to get to experience what me and Q-Tip have been working on all this time,” he said. “I know it’s been a long time since I put out an album that moved the culture and gave people my perspective on where I think the state of the art should be. And so, rather than get out here and talk about what should be, I decided to create some music and show people what I think hip-hop can sound like in 2024, you know what I’m saying?”