Rate-O-Rama #35: Mama Said Knock You Out

Hello Vocalites!!! Are you ready to have fun, let’s play Rate-O-Rama!

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If you’d like to receive a notification when the next Rate-O-Rama post is published, let me know in the comments.

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About Rate-O-Rama

Rate-O-Rama is a reader participation game.

Every other Wednesday, I will publish an article featuring three songs. Your task is to listen to the provided music videos, then rate each song in the comments section.

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*** Rate-O-Rama #36 will be published on Wednesday June 25, 2025 ***

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(Note: You must be a Vocal Media member to comment. If you’re not a member, you can join for free! You’ll never have to pay unless you choose to upgrade your membership.)

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How to Rate

The rating method is simple:

• Rate each song from 1 to 100 (the more you like it, the higher the rating).
• If possible, leave a brief comment sharing your thoughts on each song.

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After two weeks (on Monday evening), I will tally the ratings and announce the average rating each song receives in the next Rate-O-Rama post.

*** Voting for the 35th Edition of Rate-O-Rama closes on Monday June 23, 2025 ***

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The Results of The Thirty Fourth Edition of Rate-O-Rama

🥉Third Place: Lady Gaga with an 81 point average

🥈Second Place: Bill Haley and His Comets with a 90 point average

🥇First Place: Louis Armstrong with a 98.75 point average

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The Thirty-Fifth Edition features: The rap classic “Mama Said Knock You Out”

🎹 LL Cool J (1991) Before "Mama Said Knock You Out" was released, many people felt that LL Cool J's career was waning; his grandmother, who still believed in his talent, told him to "knock out" all his critics.

The song made it to #1 on the U.S. Rap charts and peaked at #17 on the U.S. pop chart. It also charted well in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. The song also won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Song.

🎺 Trivia:

Q. Which well-known 1970s funk song/film does LL Cool J mention in the lyrics of “Mama Said Knock You Out”?

• Superfly
• The Harder They Come
• Shaft

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🎤 Eagle-Eye Cherry (1999) Cherry’s version of the song appears as a non-LP B-side to his single “Permanent Tears.” He does a smooth groove hip-hop/trip-hop rendition of the song. The song also appears as a B-Side on some of the releases of his 2000 international hit single “Are You Still Having Fun.”

🎤 Trivia:

Q. How is the word Mama respelled on the “Are You Still Having Fun” releases?

• Mamma
• Momma
• Mawmaw

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🎸Five Finger Death Punch (2013) Metal band Five Finger Death Punch released a screamo-esque rendition of LL Cool J’s song as a single in July 2013. At the time covering a rap song was not “cool” or the in thing, but Five Finger Death Punch had never been one to follow trends. They’ve always been the rebels amongst rebels. They went with the song because they felt that LL Cool J is pretty much liked by everybody. He’s cool even when it’s not cool to be cool.

They brought rapper Tech N9ne to record the song with them. Tech N9ne has collaborated with a countless number of performers from a variety of genres.

🎸 Trivia:

Q. Who is the lead singer of Five Finger Death Punch?

• Ivan Moody
• Jonathan Davis
• Zack de la Rocha

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My Thoughts

🎹 LL Cool J: I am not much a fan of rap (I love old school R&B and funk) but I do like a handful of rap songs - this is one of them. My Rating: 92

🎤 Eagle-Eye Cherry: This one of those times where I like the cover slightly better than the original. I like Cherry’s vocal - even though Cool J’s rendition is more powerful. My Rating: 94

🎸 Five Finger Death Punch: I really don’t feel this one. But I am sure there are fans of this genre. My Rating: 70

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Trivia Answers

• Shaft, in the lyrics Cool J raps: “Listen to my gear shift / I'm blasting, outlasting / Kinda like Shaft, so you could say I'm shafting.”Shaft” is a 1971 #1 hit written and performed by Isaac Hayes. The film of the same name starred Richard Roundtree.
• Momma, why they changed the spelling of “Mama” is a mystery to me.
• Ivan Moody, He performed for several other bands including Motograter and Ghost Machine before joining FFDP. Moody was known by the pseudonym "Ghost" during his time with Motograter.

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Now it’s your turn to rate the songs and share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Musically Yours, RHC 🎶