A key figure in rap's transition from the electronic grooves of old-school hip-hop to the eclectic sampling of the boom-box-led golden age, LL Cool J has inspired a legion of MCs. His energy and hardcore delivery make him a direct forefather of DMX's wild, growling style, and his streetwise rhymes have been an important blueprint for the eloquent grittiness of fellow New Yorkers such as JAY-Z, Nas, and Cam'ron.