"I'm Bad" (sometimes written as I'm BAD) is the first single from

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 ...

's second album, ''

Bigger and Deffer ''Bigger and Deffer'' (abbreviated as ''BAD'' on the album cover) is the second studio album by American rapper LL Cool J, released on May 29, 1987 by Def Jam Recordings and Columbia Records. It features the hit single “I’m Bad”, and the ...

''. It was released in 1987 for

Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The l ...

and was produced by the production group, The L.A. Posse and LL Cool J, with

Russell Simmons Russell Wendell Simmons (born October 4, 1957) is an American entrepreneur, writer and record executive. He co-founded the hip-hop label Def Jam Recordings, and created the clothing fashion lines Phat Farm, Argyleculture, and Tantris. Simmons ...

executive producing the single. It is not to be confused with the late

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

's song " Bad".

Background

The song samples the " Theme from ''S.W.A.T.''" by Rhythm Heritage,

's "

Rock the Bells Rock the Bells was an annual hip-hop festival that originally took place in Southern California only, but has since toured throughout the world. The concert featured a line-up of high-profile alternative hip-hop artists, often headlined by a mor ...

Federal Signal Corporation Federal Signal Corporation is an American manufacturer headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois. Federal Signal manufactures street sweeper vehicles, public address systems, emergency vehicle equipment, and emergency vehicle lighting. The compan ...

's famous

Q2B The Q2B siren ("Q-siren")https://www.fedsig.com/product/q-siren Federal Signal Q2B Page (contains a sample of the siren's trademarked sound) is an electromechanical siren that is produced by the Federal Signal Corporation and is most recognizab ...

siren, and an

interpolation In the mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing (finding) new data points based on the range of a discrete set of known data points. In engineering and science, one often has ...

of the theme song from the 1960s syndicated animated series ''

Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse ''Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse'', is a 1960 children's cartoon television show, that was produced by Trans-Artists Productions, and syndicated by Tele Features Inc. The characters were originated and created by authors Bob Kane and Gerald J. ...

''. It also uses a riff from "Daisy Lady", by 7th Wonder, which made the song being sampled at least 10 times.

Reception and legacy

I'm Bad made it onto several ''Billboard'' charts. It was LL's Hot 100 debut, reaching #84. It also hit #4 on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

, #2 on the

Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales In the issue dated March 16, 1985, ''Billboard'' magazine debuted its first chart devoted exclusively to 12-inch Singles Sales. The 50-position weekly ranking joined ''Billboard''s established Club Songs chart, reduced to the same 50 positions, ...

, #34 on the

Hot Dance Music/Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

, and #71 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. "I'm Bad" was followed by the single " I Need Love" and " Go Cut Creator Go". The song was sampled in return in Deejay Punk-Roc's My Beatbox which appeared in '' Thrasher Presents Skate and Destroy'' as well as in Eminem’s "

Kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending ...

" from the album of the same name. Ice-T's

diss track A diss track, diss record or diss song (diss – abbr. from ''disrespect'') is a song whose primary purpose is to verbally attack someone else, usually another artist. Diss tracks are often the result of an existing, escalating feud between the t ...

"The Syndicate" mimics the song's hook. The song was featured in the

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

miniseries '' The Last Dance'', where it played in "Episode II" during

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...

's historic playoff game against the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

in Game 2 of the first round of the

1986 NBA playoffs The 1986 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1985–86 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Conference champion Houston Roc ...

in which he scored 63 points.

Track listing

;The Bigger Side *"I'm Bad"- 4:39 ;The Deffer Side *"Get Down"- 3:23

References

1987 singles 1987 songs LL Cool J songs Def Jam Recordings singles Songs written by LL Cool J Hardcore hip hop songs Song recordings produced by the L.A. Posse {{1980s-single-stub