"To da Break of Dawn" is a single from both LL Cool J's fourth album, ''

Mama Said Knock You Out ''Mama Said Knock You Out'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper LL Cool J. It was produced mostly by Marley Marl and recorded at his "House of Hits" home studio in Chestnut Ridge and at Chung King House of Metal in New York City. Afte ...

'', and the soundtrack to the Kid 'n Play movie ''

House Party A house party is a type of party where people gather at the residence of the party's host. Organization A house party might be organized several months or just a few hours in advance. News of a party may be spread by personal invitations, ...

''. The song was released on June 17, 1990 by Motown Records and

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 ...

Background

The song was a diss to LL's rivals at the time,

Kool Moe Dee Mohandas Dewese (born August 8, 1962), better known by his stage name Kool Moe Dee, is an American rapper, writer and actor. Considered one of the forerunners of the new jack swing sound in hip hop, he gained fame in the 1980s as a member of one ...

MC Hammer Stanley Kirk Burrell (born March 30, 1962), better known by his stage name MC Hammer (or simply Hammer), is an American rapper, dancer, record producer and entrepreneur. He is known for hit songs such as " U Can't Touch This", "2 Legit 2 Quit" ...

, and Ice-T. Kool Moe Dee responded with the song "Death Blow" from their 1991 album '' Funke, Funke Wisdom''. However, LL would reference the rivalry in the 1995 remix to

I Shot Ya "I Shot Ya" is a song by American rapper LL Cool J featuring Keith Murray, from his sixth album ''Mr. Smith''. The remix version, which featured Prodigy of Mobb Deep, Fat Joe, and Foxy Brown, of the song was released as a B-side to " Hey Lover" ...

, a B-side from his sixth album Mr. Smith. "To da Break of Dawn" was ranked #11 on ''XXL'' magazine's 2015 list of the top 20

diss song 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 ...

s of all time. The song had a similar sound to the growing new jack swing genre. The song peaked at #17 on the

Hot Rap Singles Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stati ...

chart. Additionally, the song's lyrics were sampled in other 1990's hip-hop songs, such as "

No Vaseline "No Vaseline" is a diss track by American rapper Ice Cube from his 1991 album '' Death Certificate''. The song was written and produced by Ice Cube and Sir Jinx. The UK release of ''Death Certificate'' omitted this song, along with the 46-secon ...

" by Ice Cube, "Who's Gonna Take the Weight?" by

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, and "Partner to Swing" by Chino XL.

Track listing

A-Side

#"To Da Break Of Dawn" (Bug Out Mix)- 4:30 #"To Da Break Of Dawn" (Remix Version)- 5:30

B-Side

#"To Da Break Of Dawn" (LP Version)- 4:27 #"To Da Break Of Dawn" (Instrumental)- 4:28

Sampled in

"To da Break of Dawn" was sampled in several other songs following its release. These include: * "

" by Ice Cube * "Check the Technique" by

* "Who's Gonna Take the Weight?" by

* " Love On My Mind" by Xscape * "Partner to Swing" by Chino XL

References

* 1990 singles LL Cool J songs Songs written by LL Cool J 1990 songs Motown singles Def Jam Recordings singles Song recordings produced by Marley Marl Diss tracks {{hiphop-song-stub