Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, April 10, 1995                   TAG: 9504110021
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: CHRISTY SLEWINSKI NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

L.L. PLAYS IT COOL ON HIS NEW NBC SERIES

The long-time rapper makes his TV series debut in ``In the House'' opposite Debbie Allen. The show premieres at 8:30 (WSLS, Channel 10).

Cool J (aka James Todd Smith) plays Marion Hill, an on-the-mend football player who's whiling away time until he can return to the field. To cut expenses, Hill moves into the apartment above his garage, and rents out the main house to newly single socialite Allen and her kids (played by Maia Campbell and Jeffery Wood).

Cool J's no stranger to acting; he has appeared in the features ``The Hard Way,'' with Michael J. Fox and James Woods, and ``Toys,'' with Robin Williams. But this time, he's running down the field and carrying the ball.

As for landing his own show: ``It's a natural progression, a natural growth,'' says Cool J, who, in his 27 years, has collected five multiplatinum albums and earned a 1991 Song of the Year Grammy for his hit ``Mama Said Knock You Out.'' His mantelpiece also sports numerous Soul Train, Billboard and New York Music Awards.

Cool J was recruited for TV by Quincy Jones, who, in 1990, introduced TV audiences to rapper Will Smith in NBC's ``The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.''

And he's but one of the ever-growing group of rappers who have moved from the recording studio to the small screen, including Queen Latifah, star of Fox's ``Living Single,'' and Sir Mix-A-Lot, star of UPN's ``The Watcher.'' Then there's also Fox's ``New York Undercover,'' which has been a haven for guest-starring rappers.

Crossing back and forth is a smart move for both the artist and the respective show, says Cool J.

``You have somebody who is viable in the market, who comes in with an already built-in fan base,'' he says.

``For the musicians, it's a chance to explore new worlds, and travel to a new level - go somewhere you've never been. It's also a chance to reach - if we're lucky - 20 million people a week.''

Right now, the rapper, who owns his own record label, P.O.G. (Power of God), is still tied to a multi-album deal with Def Jam Records; his last album, ``14 Shots to the Dome,'' was released in 1993.

But while he'd like to do ``one killer album,'' he's currently channeling his creative energies into TV.

``I'm going to always love music, but I gotta grow . . . I don't want to be doing the same thing for the rest of my life,'' says the affable star. ``I'm hungry for this acting thing, I really am.

``I don't expect it to be a cakewalk, but I'm willing to work hard.''