''14 Shots to the Dome'' is the fifth studio album by American hip hop recording artist

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 rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, along ...

. It was released on March 30, 1993 via Def Jam Recordings. Recording sessions took place at Marley's House Of Hits, at Cove City Sound Studios and at Unique Recording Studios in New York, and at QDIII Soundlab in Los Angeles, at Bobcat's House in Palmdale, and at Encore Studio in

Burbank Burbank may refer to: Places Australia * Burbank, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane United States * Burbank, California, a city in Los Angeles County * Burbank, Santa Clara County, California, a census-designated place * Burbank, Illinois, ...

. Production was handled by Marley Marl, DJ Bobcat,

Quincy Jones III Quincy Delight Jones III (born 23 December 1968), better known as QDIII, QD3 and Snoopy, is an English-born Swedish-American music producer and film producer. Family Jones was born in Wimbledon, London, the son of Swedish model Ulla Andersson ...

, Andrew Zenable and Chris Forte. It features guest appearances from Lords of the Underground and Lieutenant Stitchie. The album peaked at number five on the ''Billboard'' 200 and topped the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. On June 2, 1993, it was certified Gold by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. It spawned three charted singles: " How I'm Comin'", "

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" b/w "

Back Seat (of My Jeep) "Back Seat (of My Jeep)" is a song by LL Cool J, released as a single on June 1, 1993, for Def Jam Recordings, taken from his fifth album ''14 Shots to the Dome''. It was produced and written by LL Cool J and QD III. The song samples a drum loop ...

" and "

Stand By Your Man "Stand by Your Man" is a song recorded by American country music artist Tammy Wynette, co-written by Wynette and Billy Sherrill. It was released on September 20, 1968, as the first single and title track from the album '' Stand by Your Man''. It ...

". It is his first album following his hugely successful previous album 1990's '' Mama Said Knock You Out''. Unlike that release, which saw him have success on his own terms, ''14 Shots'' sees LL adopting the sound of his

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

gangsta rap Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, emerged in the mid- to late 1980s as a controversial hip-hop subgenre whose lyrics assert the culture and values typical of American street gangs and street hustlers. Many gangsta rappe ...

contemporaries, especially that of

Ice Cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be produc ...

and

Cypress Hill Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. They have sold over 20 million albums worldwide and have multi-platinum and platinum albums. They are considered to be among the main progenitors of West Coast and 1990 ...

. Many fans saw this as a jarring departure, and the album met mixed critical and commercial response. The album's second single " Back Seat" would later be sampled by R&B artist

Monica Monica may refer to: People *Monica (actress) (born 1987), Indian film actress *Monica (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Monica (singer) (born 1980), American R&B singer, songwriter, producer, ...

for her debut single " Don't Take It Personal" which became a major hit two years later.

Track listing

;Sample credits *Track 1 contains elements from "Hot Pants (I'm Coming, I'm Coming)" written by

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

and performed by Bobby Byrd *Track 3 contains samples from "Fool's Paradise" written by Lesette Wilson and Joyce Melissa Morgan and performed by

Meli'sa Morgan Joyce Melissa Morgan (usually spelled Meli'sa; born December 6, 1964) is an American R&B/Soul singer–songwriter. Morgan had a string of urban contemporary hits from the mid–1980s to the mid–1990s. Most notable include her cover version of ...

and " La Di Da Di" written and performed by Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh *Track 4 contains elements from "

Groove Me "Groove Me" is a song recorded by R&B singer King Floyd. Released from his eponymous album in late 1970, it was a crossover hit, spending four non-consecutive weeks at number-one on Billboard Soul chart and peaking at No. 6 on the ''Billboard'' ...

" written and performed by King Floyd *Track 5 contains a sample from "Blind Alley" written and performed by David Porter *Track 6 contains elements from "

The Payback ''The Payback'' is the 37th studio album by American musician James Brown. The album was released in December 1973, by Polydor Records. It was originally scheduled to become the soundtrack for the blaxploitation film '' Hell Up in Harlem'', but ...

" written by

Fred Wesley Fred Wesley (born July 4, 1943) is an American trombonist who worked with James Brown in the 1960s and 1970s and Parliament-Funkadelic in the second half of the 1970s. Biography Wesley was born the son of a high school teacher and big band lead ...

and

John Starks John Levell Starks (born August 10, 1965) is an American former professional basketball shooting guard. Starks was listed at 6'5" and 190 pounds during his NBA playing career. Although he was undrafted in the 1988 NBA draft after attending four ...

and performed by James Brown *Track 7 embodies portions of the composition "

Wonderland by Night "Wonderland by Night" (German title ''"Wunderland bei Nacht"'') is a popular song by Bert Kaempfert that was a '' Billboard'' number one hit for three weeks, starting January 9, 1961. It was recorded in July 1959. The song was written by Klaus G ...

" written by Klaus Günter Neumann and Lincoln Chase *Track 8 contains samples from "Hollywood Squares" written by William Collins, Frank Waddy and George Clinton and performed by

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, and "

One Nation Under a Groove ''One Nation Under a Groove'' is the tenth studio album by American funk rock band Funkadelic, released on September 22, 1978 on Warner Bros. Records. Recording sessions took place at United Sound Studio in Detroit, Michigan, with one song reco ...

" written by George Clinton, Garry Shider and Walter "Junie" Morrison and performed by Funkadelic *Track 9 contains samples from "Get Up & Dance" courtesy of Malaco Records and "Horn Hits for DJs" under license from Tuff City Records *Track 11 contains elements from "Mother's Son" written and performed by Curtis Mayfield *Track 12 contains a sample from "Get Up Get Down" written by Tony Hester and performed by The Dramatics

Personnel

* James Todd Smith – main artist * Dawn Green – backing vocals (tracks: 1, 3) * Cindy Mizelle – backing vocals (track 14) * Marsha McClurkin – backing vocals (track 14) * Mary Brown – backing vocals (track 14) * Nicki Richards – backing vocals (track 14) * Paulette McWilliams – backing vocals (track 14) * Stan "The Guitar Man" Jones – bass & guitar (tracks: 8, 12, 13) * Marlon " Marley Marl" Williams – producer (tracks: 1, 3-7, 9) * Bobby "Bobcat" Ervin – producer (tracks: 8, 12-14), arranger (tracks: 8, 13), mixing (track 8) * Quincy Delight Jones III – producer (tracks: 2, 10, 11), recording (tracks: 2, 10) * Andrew Zenable – producer (track 11) * Christopher Joseph Forte – producer (track 11) * George Karras – engineering (tracks: 1-7, 9-11), mixing (tracks: 8, 12, 13), arranger (track 14) * Frank Heller – engineering (tracks: 1, 3-7, 9) * Dan Hetzel – recording (tracks: 8, 14) * Steve Fredrickson – recording (tracks: 12, 13) * Howie Weinberg – mastering * Jeff Trotter – A&R executive *

Glen E. Friedman Glen Ellis Friedman (born March 3, 1962) is an American photographer and artist. He became known for his activities within rebellious skateboarding and music cultures. Photographing artists Fugazi, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, Circle Jerks, Minor ...

– photography * Albert Watson – photography

Charts

Certifications

References

External links