LL Cool J’s ‘Mama Said Knock You Out’ Soundtracks DHS Tanker Raid Video
LL Cool J’s Grammy-winning “Mama Said Knock You Out” was utilized by DHS to soundtrack footage of U.S. forces seizing a Venezuelan oil tanker.
LL Cool J discovered his Grammy-winning anthem weaponized by federal brokers after the Department of Homeland Security used “Mama Said Knock You Out” to soundtrack dramatic footage of a Venezuelan oil tanker seizure.
The DHS posted a 45-second video exhibiting U.S. forces rappelling from helicopters onto the deck of an enormous oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast. The company captioned the clip “KNOCKOUT” and set it to LL’s 1990 traditional, turning the Hip-Hop legend’s comeback anthem into authorities propaganda.
“If you threaten America’s national security, we will find you,” DHS wrote alongside the video, which exhibits the coordinated operation involving the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Department of Defense.
KNOCKOUT.
If you threaten our nation, or break the regulation, there is no such thing as a place on land or sea the place we gained’t discover you.
Thank you to the courageous service members from @USCG, @ICEGOV, @FBI, @DeptofWar, and @TheJusticeDept. pic.twitter.com/KUCRjES267
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) December 11, 2025
The tanker seizure represents the most important vessel ever captured by U.S. forces, in line with President Trump. Attorney General Pam Bondi stated the ship had been beneath sanctions for “multiple years” and was a part of an “illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations” linking Venezuela and Iran.
“Mama Said Knock You Out” emerged from LL Cool J’s darkest profession second. After his 1989 album Walking with a Panther obtained harsh criticism from Hip-Hop purists who felt he’d gone too business, LL shared his frustrations together with his grandmother.
Her response turned Hip-Hop historical past: “Oh baby, just knock them out!” The ensuing monitor, produced by Marley Marl, samples James Brown’s “Funky Drummer” and have become LL’s most aggressive assertion.
Released in February 1991, it gained the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance and re-established LL as a power in Hip-Hop after critics had written him off. The tune’s boxing metaphors and defiant lyrics made it an instantaneous traditional, with LL declaring, “Don’t call it a comeback, I been here for years.”
Now these precise preventing phrases accompany federal regulation enforcement operations.
The DHS video continues the Trump administration’s controversial observe of utilizing standard music with out the artist’s permission for presidency messaging.
Last week, Sabrina Carpenter blasted the White House as “evil and disgusting” after they used her tune “Juno” in an ICE arrest montage.
The sample exhibits federal businesses persistently co-opting Hip-Hop and pop music to dramatize enforcement actions for social media consumption.
LL Cool J has not but responded to the usage of his music within the operation.
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