LL Cool J explained that the title of this song came to him when he was having trouble finding direction with his songwriting. When his grandmother heard about his stuggle, she gave him the simple advice to "knock them out," hence the song title.
The beat came courtesy of LL Cool J's producer Marley Marl. LL wrote the lyrics about staying on top of the rap game. It was one of the first rap hits to use lots of artillery imagery, with bombs, shotguns and a 9mm pistol showing up in the rather bellicose lyric. LL's lyrics are purely metaphorical, but around this time real violence within the hip-hop community was becoming a major problem. With the rise of "gangsta" rap, similar lyrics were often far more literal, depicting real-life events and credible threats.
This won the Grammy award for Best Rap Solo Performance.
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