"Paradise" is a song by American rapper

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 ...

featuring American singer

Amerie Amerie Mi Marie Nicholson ( Rogers; born January 12, 1980) is an American singer. Born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, she gained an appreciation of the classical arts from her mother Mi Suk Rogers and of music from her father Charles Rogers, and ...

. The song was released on December 14, 2002, as the second single from LL Cool J's ninth studio album, '' 10'' (2002). It also appears on the soundtrack to the 2003 film ''

Deliver Us from Eva ''Deliver Us from Eva'' is a 2003 American romantic comedy film starring LL Cool J and Gabrielle Union, revolving around LL's character Ray being paid to date a troublesome young lady named Eva (Union). It is considered by many as a modern update ...

'', in which LL Cool J stars alongside

Gabrielle Union Gabrielle Monique Union-Wade ( Union; born October 29, 1972) is an American actress. Her career began in the 1990s, when she made dozens of appearances on television sitcoms, prior to landing supporting roles in 1999 teen films '' She's All That ...

. Singer Tweet was originally slated to provide vocals but Amerie was eventually chosen instead. On the August 12, 2022 edition of

The Breakfast Club ''The Breakfast Club'' is a 1985 American teen coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by John Hughes. It stars Emilio Estevez, Paul Gleason, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, and Ally Sheedy. The film ...

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...

revealed that he ghostwritten LL’s verses on the song. "Paradise" embodies portions of

Keni Burke Kenneth M. "Keni" Burke (born September 28, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist who began his career with four siblings in the 1970s band the Five Stairsteps. Biography Five Stairsteps As a member ...

's 1982 song " Risin' to the Top", penned by Burke,

Allan Felder Allan Wayne Felder (May 26, 1943 – November 7, 1999) was an American songwriter. He had many successes with songs created during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s – frequently collaborating with Norman Harris, Bunny Sigler Walter "Bunny" Si ...

, and

Norma Jean Wright Norma Jean Wright (born July 15, 1956) is an American singer and was the lead vocalist of the American group Chic, a soul, R&B and disco band, from 1977 to 1978.Hogan, EdNorma Jean Wright Biography, Allmusic, retrieved 2011-08-08 Early life Norm ...

Music video

A music video, featuring clips from ''

'', was produced to promote both the single and the film.

Track listings

*UK CD single #"Paradise" (Album Version featuring

) – 4:35 #"Paradise" (James Yarde Mix featuring Terri Walker) – 5:22 #"Paradise" (Instrumental) – 4:42 #"Paradise" (featuring Amerie) (music video) – 4:21 *European CD single #"Paradise" (Radio Edit featuring Amerie) – 4:04 #"Paradise" (Album Version featuring Amerie) – 4:35 #"After School" (Album Version featuring

P. Diddy Sean Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, actor, record producer, and record executive. Born in New York City, he worked as a talent directo ...

) – 4:39 #"Paradise" (featuring Amerie) (music video) – 4:21 *Australian CD single #"Paradise" (Radio Edit featuring Amerie) – 4:04 #"Paradise" (Album Version featuring Amerie) – 4:35 #"After School" (featuring P. Diddy) – 4:39 #"LL Cool J Megamix" #"Paradise" (featuring Amerie) (music video) – 4:21 *US 12-inch single :A1. "Paradise" (Radio Version featuring Amerie) :A2. "Paradise" (LP Version featuring Amerie) :A3. "Paradise" (Instrumental) :B1. "After School" (Radio Version featuring P. Diddy) :B2. "After School" (LP Version featuring P. Diddy) :B3. "After School" (Instrumental) *European 12-inch single :A1. "Paradise" (featuring Amerie) – 4:35 :B1. "Paradise" (James Yarde Mix featuring Terri Walker) – 5:22 :B2. "Paradise" (Instrumental) – 4:42

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

2002 songs 2003 singles Amerie songs Def Jam Recordings singles LL Cool J songs Music videos directed by Benny Boom Song recordings produced by Trackmasters Songs written for films Songs written by Allan Felder Songs written by Amerie Songs written by Jean-Claude Olivier Songs written by LL Cool J Songs written by Samuel Barnes (songwriter) {{hiphop-song-stub