Walking with a Panther

Walking With a Panther
Studio album by LL Cool J
Released	March,28 1989
Recorded	1987-1989
Genre	Hip Hop
Length	84:23
Label	Def Jam/Columbia CK-45172
Producer	LL Cool J
Professional reviews
Allmusic.com Rolling Stone link
LL Cool J chronology
Bigger and Deffer (1987) Walking With a Panther (1989) Mama Said Knock You Out (1990)

Walking With a Panther is the third album by high-selling hip-hop artist LL Cool J. Produced in 1989, the album was a commercial success, with several charting singles ("Going Back to Cali," "I'm That Type of Guy", "Jingling Baby," "Big Ole Butt"), however, the album was often criticized by the hip-hop community as being too commercial, materialistic, and "soft" for focusing too much on love ballads albeit with some highly danceable songs. Ironically, critics today consider this album unique, in that LL started a pioneering trend (which would be adapted by other hip-hop artists in later years) by displaying materialistic themes on the album cover: the massive gold chain, or "truck jewelry" as it was then called, on the panther, and beautiful and sexily clad women surrounding LL, who's holding a cell phone in one hand and a bottle of champagne on the other. So many hip-hop albums today portray some or all of these themes on their covers, thanks to LL.

Track listing

1. "Droppin' Em"
2. "Smokin', Dopin'"
3. "Fast Peg"
4. "Clap Your Hands'"
5. "Nitro"
6. "You're My Heart"
7. "I'm That Type of Guy"
8. "Why Do You Think They Call It Dope?"
9. "Going Back to Cali"
10. "It Gets No Rougher"
11. "Big Ole Butt"
12. "One Shot at Love"
13. "1-900 LL Cool J"
14. "Two Different Worlds"
15. "Jealous"
16. "Jingling Baby"
17. "Def Jam in the Motherland"
18. "Change Your Ways"

Samples

• The song Nitro interpolated some parts from (not just) Knee Deep by Funkadelic.
• The song I'm That Type of Guy interpolated some movie quotes from The Wizard of Oz.
• The song Def Jam in the Motherland sampled portions of Love Is The Message by M.F.S.B..
• The song Going Back to Cali was sampled in the also Rick Rubin-produced Hey Baby (Jump Off) by Bow Wow and Omarion.