I got tired of the Ramones around the time I quit and I really got into rap. I thought it was the new punk rock. LL Cool J was my biggest idol.

The quote "I got tired of the Ramones around the time I quit and I really got into rap. I thought it was the new punk rock. LL Cool J was my biggest idol" by Dee Dee Ramone reflects his shifting musical interests and personal evolution. As a founding member of the iconic punk band Ramones, Dee Dee is revealing how his passion for punk rock began to wane, and he became drawn to rap music, particularly the work of LL Cool J, one of the genre's pioneering figures. This shift represents his openness to new forms of music and his recognition of rap as the next big cultural movement, much like punk rock had been in the late 1970s.

By saying that he thought rap was "the new punk rock," Dee Dee draws a parallel between the rebellious and revolutionary spirit of punk rock and the rising influence of hip-hop. Both genres were seen as pushing boundaries and challenging mainstream culture, with punk rock famously rejecting the norms of the established music scene and rap serving as a platform for marginalized voices and urban youth culture. Dee Dee’s comparison suggests that he saw rap as the new form of musical rebellion in the same way punk rock had been in his own early career.

Dee Dee’s admiration for LL Cool J highlights the influence of the rapper on him during this period. LL Cool J, known for his smooth flow and pioneering contributions to hip-hop, became a figure that Dee Dee looked up to, perhaps finding inspiration in his ability to break into mainstream success while maintaining street credibility. Dee Dee’s choice of LL Cool J as his "biggest idol" also shows how deeply hip-hop influenced him during a time of personal and artistic change.

Ultimately, Dee Dee Ramone's quote reflects his evolving musical tastes and the ways in which different genres, such as punk rock and rap, intersected in the cultural landscape. It underscores the fluid nature of musical influence and how artists can be shaped by the movements around them, leading Dee Dee to embrace rap as the next frontier in music that carried the same rebellious energy that punk rock had once given him.