Book It, Buzz: Landing a rap legend at a knock-you-out price

For years now, autographed books coming direct from the publishers -- or direct from the authors themselves -- have been an affordable way to collect ink from notable names in all realms of pop culture.

It's not a perfect system with stamped autos, fakes and autopens sometimes in the mix -- a problem for publishers to catch as they are not authenticators -- but thanks to dedicated collectors on the Blowout Cards Forum and elsewhere, those problems often get caught and fixed ... or at least become well-known enough to avoid if it's an issue that goes uncorrected.

Getting ink in-person is always best -- book tours still happen, of course -- but landing autographed editions from publishers, online sellers or celebs themselves via their websites or other appearances are common.

Our latest subject and autograph in this ongoing series? Rap icon LL Cool J.

Autograph image from eBay ... I'm keeping mine sealed. Keep reading as to why.

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THE RUNDOWN ... 
The Book: LL Cool J Presents The Streets Win: 50 Years of Hip-Hop Greatness
The Authors: LL Cool J, Vikki Tobak, Alec Banks
The Specs: released by Rizzoli New York on Oct. 3, 2023 (336 pages)
The Price: $27.50 ($55 cover price)
The Spot: barnesandnoble.com (sale is over)

Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This book on its own is an impressive one -- a big, flashy and colorful table-worthy piece packed with images and insight on 50 years of the musical genre (click here for an inside look) -- and this signed edition comes to the masses with ink from one of the most-notable, long-running stars who helped bring the book to life and has a prominent place in the industry and its hisory. This is a copy, however, that I'll leave sealed as the signed sheet inside may or may not be affixed to the book itself ... so the only statement of authenticity is it coming in its sealed state. That's a slight bummer, but I can live with a Schrödinger's Cat-style scenario here ... the ink is alive and real inside and legit. (If the sheet was branded specifically for the book or affixed as a bookplate, then it would not be as much of a worry.) It's rare that I'll leave a pack unopened for cards but in this case I think this is my best move, especially with the B&N Signed Edition sticker on the shrink-wrap and not directly on the book. (A second bummer in my eyes.) Despite those, this is still a solid auto to land.

Why this item: This was up for grabs as part of a half-off sale from the chain and it really even cost me less than that with a meaty card rewards program perk for shopping there, too, making this a no-brainer for me to add to my autograph collection. I really should have grabbed two -- one to open and check out and one to keep sealed -- but I didn't. And I should have given some of the asking prices on eBay for this one. (They're findable now and it's not his only book venture so the prices are all over the place but with a strong ceiling vs. this price ... but they'll dry up eventually.)

Chase ink on cards: None that I know of ... LL Cool J has card through the years but has never done a formal signing for a certified auto.

The Bottom Line: I need to grab another of these at some point ... it's a big auto for the genre and that preview link for the book itself is impressive.

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