I Need Love Explained

I Need Love
Cover:I need Love.jpg
Type:single
Artist:LL Cool J
Album:Bigger and Deffer
B-Side:My Rhyme Ain't Done
Released:July 13, 1987
Recorded:1987
Genre:Hip hop soul
Length:5:23
Label:
Producer:
Prev Title:I'm Bad
Prev Year:1987
Next Title:Going Back to Cali
Next Year:1988

"I Need Love" is the second single from LL Cool J's second album, Bigger and Deffer. The single reached number 1 on the Hot Black Singles and number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 while becoming one of the first rap songs to enjoy mainstream popularity in the UK, rising to number 8 in the UK Singles Chart. The single won a Soul Train Music Award for Best Rap Single in 1988 Soul Train Music Awards. The song was listed as number 13 on About.com's Top 100 Rap Songs.[1]

Track listing

A-side

  1. "I Need Love" – 5:23

B-side

  1. "I Need Love" (edit) – 4:15
  2. "My Rhyme Ain't Done" – 3:45

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1987)! scope="col"
Peak
position
US Billboard Hot Black Singles[2] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (1987)! scope="col"
Position
Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)[3] 63
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[4] 33
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[5] 29
UK Singles (OCC)[6] 97
US Hot Crossover Singles (Billboard)[7] 17

Covers and samples

The music, both melody and beats, were lifted from an instrumental by Brooklyn songwriter Jayson Dyall entitled "Zoraida's Heartbeat" which was written and recorded in 1984.[8] This song, along with other songs on a cassette tape of several raw recordings by Jayson Dyall, was presented to LL Cool J by an associate, who met Dyall through a music classifieds ad in early 1986 and told him he could get LL to listen to his music. Dyall never received any acknowledgment from LL Cool J or Def Jam Records for originally writing the music for this song.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 100 Greatest Rap Songs. Henry Adaso. About.com Entertainment.
  2. LL Cool J Chart History: Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Billboard. 2021-10-02.
  3. Web site: Jaaroverzichten 1987. Ultratop. March 18, 2021.
  4. Web site: Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1987. Dutch Top 40. March 18, 2021.
  5. Web site: Jaaroverzichten – Single 1987. dutchcharts.nl. March 18, 2021.
  6. Gallup Year End Charts 1987: Singles. Record Mirror. 36. January 23, 1988. April 7, 2022.
  7. 1987 The Year in Music & Video: Top Hot Crossover Singles . December 26, 1987 . Billboard . 99 . 52 . Y-27. April 7, 2022.
  8. Book: Berry, Michael. Listening to Rap: An Introduction. 14 June 2018. Routledge. 9781315315867. Google Books.