LL Cool J Certifies Himself as Greatest, Most Important Rapper Ever

LL Cool J isn't waiting until he passes to smell the roses -- he's ordered himself a bouquet of Hip Hop flowers and the little card reads, "HE'S THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME!!!"

That was the DEFinitive statement when LL recently sat with Apple Music's "Le Code" podcast where he put his legacy in stone ... "I’m going to say this humbly, but I really mean this ... I think one day people are going to wake up and realize that LL Cool J is the most important rapper that ever existed. I truly believe one day people are going to say that."

He colorfully continued to make his case using an array of bejeweled metaphors, but LL spit his brightest gems reminding fans of the game-changers he contributed to Hip Hop culture.

“They’re gonna say when it comes to the love songs, they’re gonna say, ‘This is the guy that introduced the love songs and all the love sh*t.’

"When it comes to the G.O.A.T terminology, they gon’ say, ‘This is the guy who came up with all the G.O.A.T stuff,’ I could go on and on and on."

Before everyone goes all scorched earth on LL, just know he's probably been rocking the bells before most of today's streaming audience was even born.

His first album, 1985's "Radio," was Def Jam's first LP ... and his 2000 album, "G.O.A.T. featuring James T. Smith: The Greatest of All Time" pretty much speaks for itself on where he's long seen his place in the game.

We spoke to him in August after the release of his (fourteenth!!!) album "The Force" and he fiercely defended the work ethic it takes to be a successful rapper.