14 Shots to the Dome

14 Shots to the Dome
Studio album by LL Cool J
Released	March 30, 1993 (1993-03-30)
Recorded	1992–1993
Studio	Marley's House Of Hits (Chestnut Ridge, N.Y.) QDIII Soundlab (Los Angeles) Cove City Sound Studios (Long Island) Unique Recording Studios (New York City) Bobcat's House (Palmdale, Calif.) Encore Studio (Burbank, Calif.)
Genre	Hip hop
Length	64:46
Label	Def Jam Columbia
Producer	Andrew Zenable Christopher Joseph Forte DJ Bobcat Marley Marl Quincy Jones III
LL Cool J chronology
Mama Said Knock You Out (1990) 14 Shots to the Dome (1993) Mr. Smith (1995)
Singles from 14 Shots to the Dome
"How I'm Comin'" Released: February 15, 1993 "Pink Cookies In a Plastic Bag Getting Crushed by Buildings/Back Seat (of My Jeep)" Released: June 1, 1993 "Stand By Your Man" Released: October 4, 1993

14 Shots to the Dome is the fifth studio album by American hip hop recording artist LL Cool J. It was released on March 30, 1993, via Def Jam Recordings. The 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. The album was produced by Marley Marl, DJ Bobcat, Quincy Jones III, 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.

It spawned three charted singles: "How I'm Comin'", "Pink Cookies In a Plastic Bag Getting Crushed by Buildings" b/w "Back Seat (of My Jeep)" and "Stand By Your Man".

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 gangsta rap contemporaries, especially that of Ice Cube and Cypress Hill. 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 for her debut single "Don't Take It Personal" which became a major hit two years later.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Calgary Herald	C+ [2]
Robert Christgau	B [3]
Entertainment Weekly	A [4]
RapReviews	5.5/10 [5]
Rolling Stone	[6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[7]
Select	[8]
The Source	[9]

Robert Christgau stated: "Proof we didn't need that his talent is as phat as an elefant's phart and his brain is the size of a pea. Only it isn't his brain--it's his ability to comprehend contradiction. Like Michael Ivey, of all people, he flunked his follow-up because he can't figure out how to put success and rap together. Where Ivey (or the Basehead 'character,' ha ha) takes his dorky confusion out on women, L.L.'s sexism is love-man suave--his 'It's so relaxin' after a piece of pussy gets off in the back of his Jeep is a rare moment of grace. Instead he slings the gangsta metaphors and handgun memories in the vain hope that the guys hanging out by the check-cashing place will think he's hard. But from the look of the crotch he's grabbing in several photos, as of now he just ain't." ^[3]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"How I'm Comin'"	James Todd Smith Marlon Williams James Brown	Marley Marl	5:05
2.	"Buckin' Em Down'"	J.T. Smith Quincy Jones III	QD3	4:02
3.	"Stand by Your Man"	J.T. Smith Williams Bobby Ervin Ricky Walters Douglas Davis Lesette Wilson Meli'sa Morgan	Marley Marl	4:50
4.	"A Little Somethin'"	J.T. Smith Williams King Floyd	Marley Marl	4:26
5.	"Pink Cookies In a Plastic Bag Getting Crushed by Buildings"	J.T. Smith Williams David Porter	Marley Marl	4:17
6.	"Straight from Queens" (featuring Lt. Stitchie)	J.T. Smith Cleve Laing Williams Fred Wesley Brown John Starks	Marley Marl	4:54
7.	"Funkadelic Relic"	J.T. Smith Williams Klaus Günter Neumann Lincoln Chase	Marley Marl	3:55
8.	"All We Got Left Is the Beat"	J.T. Smith Ervin George Clinton Frank Waddy Garry Shider Walter Morrison William Collins	DJ Bobcat	4:37
9.	"(NFA) No Frontin' Allowed" (featuring Lords of the Underground)	J.T. Smith AlTerick Wardrick Dupré Kelly Williams Ray Smith Tyrone Armstrong	Marley Marl	4:19
10.	"Back Seat (of My Jeep)"	J.T. Smith Jones III	QD3	4:31
11.	"Soul Survivor"	J.T. Smith Andrew Zenable Christopher Joseph Forte Jones III Curtis Mayfield	Andrew Zenable Chris Forte QD3	4:38
12.	"Ain't No Stoppin' This"	J.T. Smith Ervin Tony Hester	DJ Bobcat	4:43
13.	"Diggy Down"	J.T. Smith Ervin M. Smith	DJ Bobcat	4:58
14.	"Crossroads"	J.T. Smith Ervin	DJ Bobcat	5:29
Total length:				1:04:44

Sample credits

• Track 1 contains elements from "Hot Pants (I'm Coming, I'm Coming)" written by James Brown 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 and "La Di Da Di" written and performed by Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh
• Track 4 contains elements from "Groove Me" 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" written by James Brown, Fred Wesley and John Starks and performed by James Brown
• Track 7 embodies portions of the composition "Wonderland by Night" 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 Bootsy's Rubber Band, and "One Nation Under a Groove" 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 – photography
• Albert Watson – photography

Charts

Chart (1993)	Peak position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [10]	74
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [11]	36
UK Albums (OCC) [12]	74
US Billboard 200 [13]	5
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [14]	1

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [15]	Gold	500,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

• List of Billboard number-one R&B albums of 1993

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "14 Shots to the Dome - LL Cool J | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2012-12-07. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
2. Bell, Mike (April 4, 1993). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald .
3. Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: L.L. Cool J". www.robertchristgau.com. Archived from the original on 2004-11-11. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
4. Browne, David (April 9, 1993). "14 Shots to the Dome". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on 2015-06-28. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
5. Juon, Steve 'Flash' (April 11, 2017). "LL Cool J :: 14 Shots to the Dome :: Def Jam/Columbia Records". RapReviews. Archived from the original on 2017-07-07. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
6. Neblett, Touré (May 13, 1993). "14 Shots To The Dome". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on 2021-02-07. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
7. Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. p. 491. ISBN   978-0-7432-0169-8.
8. Higginbotham, Adam (May 1993). "Reviews: Albums". Select . p. 94. Retrieved 2024-12-30.
9. Oh, Minya "Shortie" (June 1993). "Record Report: LL Cool J – 14 Shots to the Dome". The Source . No. 45. New York. pp. 74, 76.
10. "Offiziellecharts.de – LL Cool J – 14 Shots To The Dome" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
11. "Charts.nz – LL Cool J – 14 Shots To The Dome". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
12. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
13. "LL Cool J Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
14. "LL Cool J Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
15. "American album certifications – L.L. Cool J – 14 Shots To The Dome". Recording Industry Association of America.

External links

• 14 Shots To The Dome at Discogs (list of releases)