LL Cool J is reminding the world that when it comes to the phrase “G.O.A.T.,” he didn’t just embrace it—he created it.

During a recent appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers, the hip hop icon took a moment to correct the record when the host suggested LL merely claimed to be the first to use the now-famous acronym.

“Claim? Claim? Claim? Interesting way to phrase that claim,” LL said, clearly not feeling the skepticism.

Breaking it down, LL explained the origin of the phrase and how he fused it into the acronym we know today. “I’ll tell you where I got it. I got Greatest of All Time from Muhammad Ali, and I got G.O.A.T. from Earl Manigault who was a street basketball player in New York. I took the two together and I made the acronym G.O.A.T. Greatest of All Time, and then it just kind of spread throughout the world,” he shared.

The rap pioneer said the first time the term appeared publicly was in the year 2000, when he released his eighth studio album G.O.A.T. featuring James T. Smith: The Greatest of All Time. But his lyrical reference to it predates that, with a bar from the track “4,3,2,1” off his 1997 album Phenomenon, where he confidently rhymed, “Watch your mouth, don’t ever step out of line / LL Cool J, ni**a, greatest of all time.”

That lyric and that acronym would go on to define not only his own legacy but the way fans across music, sports, and culture celebrate greatness. While the term is now widely used for athletes, artists, and public figures, LL wants it known that it all started with him.

The message is clear. LL Cool J didn’t just pave the way, he wrote the blueprint.

Full Story: https://thesource.com/2025/07/24/ll-cool-j-sets-the-record-straight-i-invented-g-o-a-t/