''Walking with a Panther'' is the third

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

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 ...

, released June 9, 1989, on Def Jam Recordings.

Background

While his previous 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 f ...

'' (1987) was produced by

The L.A. Posse The L.A. Posse is a multiplatinum American hip hop record production team. History L.A. Posse was initially made up of founders Dwayne "Muffla" Simon and Darryl "Big Dad" Pierce who were later joined by Bobby " DJ Bobcat" Ervin and Mark " DJ P ...

, Dwayne Simon was the only member left of the group willing to work on ''Walking with a Panther'', as other members, such as Bobby "Bobcat" Erving, wanted a higher pay after realizing how much of a success the previous album had become. Def Jam, however, refused to change the contract, which caused the L.A. Posse to leave. ''Walking with a Panther'' was primarily produced by LL Cool J and Dwayne Simon, with additional production from Rick Rubin and Public Enemy's production team,

The Bomb Squad The Bomb Squad were an American hip hop production team known for its work with hip hop group Public Enemy. The Bomb Squad is noted for its dense, distinct, innovative production style, often utilizing dozens of samples on just one track. The ...

Reception

''Walking with a Panther'' was a commercial success, peaking at number six on the ''Billboard'' 200 and number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, where it spent four weeks. The album contained the singles "Going Back to Cali", "I'm That Type of Guy", "Jingling Baby", "Big Ole Butt" and "One Shot at Love", which also achieved chart success. ''Walking with a Panther'', however, was met with a mixed response from the hip-hop community at the time of its release, which was un-favorable of several of the album's love ballads. Despite this, ''Walking With a Panther'' was well received by music critics. The album was certified platinum 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 ...

(RIAA).

Track listing

All tracks produced by LL Cool J & Dwayne Simon except where noted. The cassette release had a slightly different track listing and two extra songs. The vinyl version omits tracks 9, 10, 19 & 20.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walking With A Panther 1989 albums LL Cool J albums Def Jam Recordings albums Albums produced by Rick Rubin