The Boomin' System

Recorded in 1989 and 1990 during the Mama Said Knock You Out sessions, after Marley Marl and LL Cool J began working together from a Jingling Baby remix. The single was recorded at House of Hits and mixed at Soundtrack Studios and Power Play Studios in New York. Released by Def Jam and Columbia in 1990 as the first single from Mama Said Knock You Out, it reached number 48 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on Billboard's Hot Rap Singles chart. The record marked LL Cool J's return to harder street-focused material after criticism of Walking with a Panther. It remains a defining car-audio anthem and a key early statement from the Mama Said Knock You Out comeback era. Its title came from LL Cool J's own Cheesy Rat Blues lyric, which Marley Marl sampled and developed into a full track.