Walking with a Panther

Walking with a Panther is the third studio album by American hip hop recording artist LL Cool J, released June 9, 1989, on Def Jam Recordings.

Walking with a Panther
Studio album by LL Cool J
Released	June 9, 1989
Recorded	1987–89
Genre	Golden age hip hop
Length	76:45 (CD) 84:29 (cassette) 67:16 (LP)
Label	Def Jam, Columbia, CBS Records CK 45172 (North America) 465112 (international)
Producer	LL Cool J Dwayne Simon Rick Rubin DJ Cut Creator The Bomb Squad
LL Cool J chronology
Bigger and Deffer (1987) Walking with a Panther (1989) Mama Said Knock You Out (1990)
Singles from Walking with a Panther
"Going Back to Cali" Released: January 27, 1988 "I'm That Type of Guy" Released: May 24, 1989 "Big Ole Butt" Released: July 7, 1989 "One Shot at Love" Released: October 31, 1989 "Jingling Baby" Released: January 8, 1990

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
AllHipHop	(favorable)[2]
Robert Christgau	A−[3]
Q	[4]
Rolling Stone	[5]
Trouser Press	(mixed)[6]
Yahoo! Music	(favorable)[7]

Background

While his previous album Bigger and Deffer (1987) was produced by The L.A. Posse, Dwayne Simon was the only member left of the group willing to work on Walking with a Panther, as other members, such as Bobby "Bobcat" Erving, wanted a higher pay after realizing how much of a success the previous album had become. Def Jam, however, refused to change the contract, which caused the L.A. Posse to leave.[8] Walking with a Panther was primarily produced by LL Cool J and Dwayne Simon, with additional production from Rick Rubin and Public Enemy's production team, The Bomb Squad.

Reception

Walking with a Panther was a commercial success, peaking at number six on the Billboard 200 and number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, where it spent four weeks. The album contained the singles "Going Back to Cali", "I'm That Type of Guy", "Jingling Baby", "Big Ole Butt" and "One Shot at Love", which also achieved chart success. Walking with a Panther, however, was met with a mixed response from the hip-hop community at the time of its release, which was un-favorable of several of the album's love ballads.[9] Despite this, Walking With a Panther was well received by music critics. [10] The album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Track listing

All tracks produced by LL Cool J & Dwayne Simon except where noted.

CD

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Droppin' Em"	Dwayne Simon, J.T. Smith		4:22
2.	"Smokin', Dopin'"	Simon, Smith		3:31
3.	"Fast Peg"	Smith, Bryan Philpot	Co-produced by DJ Cut Creator	1:38
4.	"Clap Your Hands"	Smith		5:07
5.	"Nitro"	Smith, Eric Sadler, Hank Shocklee	Co-produced by The Bomb Squad	4:43
6.	"You're My Heart"	Simon, Smith		4:42
7.	"I'm That Type of Guy"	Simon, Smith, Steve Ett		5:16
8.	"Why Do You Think They Call It Dope?"	Brian Latture, Simon, Smith		3:49
9.	"Going Back to Cali"	Smith, Rick Rubin	Produced by Rick Rubin	4:09
10.	"It Gets No Rougher"	Smith, Sadler, H. Shocklee, Keith Shocklee	Co-produced by The Bomb Squad	5:16
11.	"Big Ole Butt"	Latture, Simon, Smith		4:34
12.	"One Shot at Love"	Simon, Smith, Ett		4:18
13.	"1-900 LL Cool J"	Simon, Smith		3:01
14.	"Two Different Worlds" (featuring Cydne Monet)	Simon, Smith, Ett		5:19
15.	"Jealous"	Latture, Simon, Smith		3:54
16.	"Jingling Baby"	Latture, Simon, Smith		4:15
17.	"Def Jam in the Motherland"	Latture, Simon, Smith, Ett		4:35
18.	"Change Your Ways"	Simon, Smith, Ett		3:20

The cassette release had a slightly different track listing and two extra songs.

Cassette

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Droppin' Em"	Dwayne Simon, J.T. Smith		4:22
2.	"Smokin', Dopin'"	Simon, Smith		3:31
3.	"Fast Peg"	Smith, Bryan Philpot	Co-produced by DJ Cut Creator	1:38
4.	"Clap Your Hands"	Smith		5:07
5.	"Nitro"	Smith, Eric Sadler, Hank Shocklee	Co-produced by The Bomb Squad	4:43
6.	"You're My Heart"	Simon, Smith		4:42
7.	"I'm That Type of Guy"	Simon, Smith, Steve Ett		5:16
8.	"Why Do You Think They Call It Dope?"	Brian Latture, Simon, Smith		3:49
9.	"Going Back to Cali"	Smith, Rick Rubin	Produced by Rick Rubin	4:09
10.	"Crime Stories" (cassette bonus track)	Latture, Simon, Smith, Ett		3:10
11.	"It Gets No Rougher"	Smith, Sadler, H. Shocklee, Keith Shocklee	Co-produced by The Bomb Squad	5:16
12.	"Big Ole Butt"	Latture, Simon, Smith		4:34
13.	"One Shot at Love"	Simon, Smith, Ett		4:18
14.	"1-900 LL Cool J"	Simon, Smith		3:01
15.	"Two Different Worlds" (featuring Cydne Monet)	Simon, Smith, Ett		5:19
16.	"Jealous"	Latture, Simon, Smith		3:54
17.	"Jingling Baby"	Latture, Simon, Smith		4:15
18.	"Def Jam in the Motherland"	Latture, Simon, Smith, Ett		4:35
19.	"Change Your Ways"	Simon, Smith, Ett		3:20
20.	"Jack The Ripper" (cassette bonus track)	Smith, Rubin	Produced by Rick Rubin	4:52

The vinyl version omits tracks 9, 10, 19 & 20.

Charts

Chart positions

Chart (1989)	Peak position
Australian Albums Chart[11]	85
Dutch Albums Chart	63
New Zealand Albums Chart	48
UK Albums Chart	43
US Billboard 200	6
US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1990)	Position
US Billboard 200	61

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[12]	Platinum	1,000,000^^
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

See also

• List of number-one R&B albums of 1989 (U.S.)

References

1. Allmusic review
2. AllHipHop review
3. Robert Christgau review
4. "Q review". Archived from the original on 2009-06-19. Retrieved 2009-06-21.
5. Rolling Stone review
6. Trouser Press review
7. Yahoo! Music review
8. The Rap Talk Crew. "A historic sit-down with Bobcat". Rap Talk Magazine. Archived from the original on 2012-08-26. Retrieved 2010-10-25.
9. Anderson, Kyle. "LL Cool J: The stories behind the songs". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
10. Huey, Steve. "Walking with a Panther: Review". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-12-23.
11. "ARIA Albums Chart w/c 25-9-1989". ARIA. Retrieved 2020-04-18 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The HP column displays the highest position reached.
12. "American album certifications – LL Cool J – Walking with a Panther". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.