I have a tendency to be easily swayed by a cute face or a nice body, so you may want to take my comments about LL Cool J with a grain of salt.

Over time, I've bought CDs from D'Angelo, Eric Benet, Chico DeBarge, Lenny Kravitz and Enrique Iglesias, in part because I found them attractive. But even a sexy body and a blatantly physical advertising campaign couldn't convince me to buy the shirtless Tank's CD. The music has to be at least enjoyable.

So I bought LL Cool J's CD, 10, after being bearhugged by DefJam's muscular ad campaign that smothered me into merciful submission. After slobbering over the covers of XXL and Jet, I figured I should at least buy the damn CD that inspired me to purchase magazines I don't normally get.

The CD begins with an interview with Free from the BET TV show "106th and Park." She continues with clips from the interview throughout the CD.

Even with Free involved, who can focus on anything but LL? The man is all sex appeal. Using a familiar call-and-response device from previous songs, his intro song "Born To Love You," features a cadre of sultry women rapping back in sing song to our hero.

His voice is commanding. His lips are sensual. His body is tight. His lyrics are clear. I'm melting already. Excuse me. Back to the CD.

"Luv U Better" caught my attention with a soulful chorus sung by Marc Dorsey and a mostly entertaining arrangement produced by the Neptunes. I say "mostly entertaining" because there's one annoying sound on this song they could have left out. LL again is classic.

"Paradise," featuring Amerie, is introduced with an outtake from L's interview with Free, and the music from the song "Rising To The Top." He teases us with a clever repetition of the phrase, "Touch it, why don't you?" Is that paradise?

"Fa Ha" starts out with a clip from Hall and Oates's "Rich Girl" and continues on with smart lyrics "for her." My new copy of the CD seemed to skip in the middle of the song, but I couldn't tell if it was a flaw in the product or an intentional sound effect.

I didn't like "Niggy Nuts." Not just the name of the song, but the hard core lyrics and the annoying screaming sound in the background turned me off. Distracted, I look at his picture again on the CD. Those arms! I wonder why his chest isn't as big as the rest of his body. I need to go to the gym again.

Thank God that song is over. "Amazin'" is another hit song in the making, featuring Kandice Love on vocals. "Daddy just made a 9-digit deposit. Believe me sweetie, it's not luck, it's logic," LL raps. "It's so amazin', amazin', amazin'," Love sings. But what amazes her is not the bling bling but the love. The song trails off at the bridge but quickly recovers when LL continues with his rap.

The Neptunes produced "Amazin'" and the followup song "Clockin G's." Is there room for anyone else in the industry to work? The song is quite materialistic, and I stare at the four black-and-white pictures of LL at the barbershop. He's wearing a Kangol and sunglasses in the barber's chair.

"Lollipop" is a corny bubble gum song that somehow manages to take on a deeply sexual appeal in LL's skillful hands. It begins with an Oriental chime followed by the chorus: "Kiss me from head to toe/Oooh baby, I love you so/My sweet love ain't gonna stop/I'm gonna be your lollipop." But LL let's you in on what he means. "When I hit it, I'm athletic," he says.

I expected I would like "After School" even before the song started. Featuring P. Diddy, the song includes pieces from two of my favorite 80s hits, "It Takes Two" and "Rapper's Delight." Meanwhile, LL and P. Diddy discuss a list of different women they like, reminiscent of Jay-Z's "Girls, Girls, Girls." I liked the idea but I wanted the music to be just a little more upbeat to fit the spirit of the two sampled songs.

"Throw Ya L's Up" is a masculine rock/rap piece with a heart-pounding bassline. Like many of his songs, it celebrates LL Cool J and his endurance as a rap music icon over three decades.

"U Should" is another Neptunes-produced song with a slower beat than the others. "U should know how to treat your girl," the chorus repeats. Not much to say about that song. (How much do the Neptunes get paid anyway?)

"10 Million Stars" evokes memories of "Fame," with a clip from the hit song "I Sing the Body Electric." In a clever twist on his earlier song, LL says "you can call it a comeback." He's portraying himself as the real thing, representing rap from the beginning.

I turn the page on the notes and LL is flexing his left bicep. I've never seen a bicep that big before. I would love to touch it. LL is talking to Free again, this time talking about his body. She is understandably impressed.

"Mirror, Mirror" recounts L's career, sampling many of his own previous hit titles, and explaining how he started and why he "turned his radio off" to clear his mind before coming back with his 10th CD. "Who do you love?"

The last song, "Big Mama (Unconditional Love)," is the equivalent of Tupac Shakur's "Dear Momma." The song begins with a voiceover clip from L's grandmother (who died after the song was finished) and then a preachy, sappy paean to grandma over the sounds of the Spinners classic "Sadie." Nevertheless, I was sold when I heard "Early one Sunday morning . . ." I love that old Spinners song.

"Big Mama" brings a cheesy, tearjerking end to the CD but it actually works for this album because the songs are mostly clean. (In contrast, I still don't understand how DMX concludes all his profanity-laden CDs and concerts with a prayer to God. But I digress.)

After listening to LL's CD, I think I know why he never registered to vote before he endorsed Pataki. He's not that deep. He's a simple guy blessed with good looks, sex appeal, a nice body, and lots of money.

Try as we do to hate him, he's still irresistible. After 10 albums, he's still timeless. After three decades, he's still beautiful. And most importantly, he's still L.

© Copyright 2002 by Keith Boykin.