Rapper LL Cool J Gives Home Intruder a Serious Beating

(TheBlaze/AP) -- LL Cool J isn't just a tough guy when he plays a special agent on TV's "NCIS: Los Angeles" -- he caught an actual bad guy on Wednesday.

The 44-year-old rapper struggled with and subdued a suspected burglar early Wednesday morning at his home in the Studio City area, police said. He was not injured in the altercation. The same can't be said for the would-be burglar who left LL Cool J's home with a broken nose and jaw after getting pummeled in a "knock-down, drag-out" fight, the Los Angeles Times reports, citing police sources.

Police got a 911 call shortly before 1 a.m. from someone who said her father had spotted an intruder in their home and was holding him downstairs.

"There was a prowler at his residence whom he confronted in the kitchen. ... There was a physical confrontation briefly between the two of them," LAPD spokesman Richard French said.

A 58-year-old man was taken to the hospital and was expected to be arrested on suspicion of burglary. His identity wasn't released but there was no indication that he knew LL Cool J or had a personal vendetta, French said.

"He appeared to be a homeless person," French said.

French said he had no details about the man's injuries or how he may have gotten into the home, a walled and gated mansion in a wealthy hillside section of the San Fernando Valley that's not far from major studios.

"LL Cool J, and his family, are safe and thank everyone for their thoughts and concern," said a statement released by his publicist, Rhett Usry. "As a father, husband and citizen, he is committed to keeping his family safe and is cooperating with authorities on this private matter."

LL Cool J, whose real name is James Todd Smith, has had such hits such as "Mama Said Knock You Out" and "I'm Bad."

KTLA has some additional details:

And because it just seems fitting, here is the music video for LL Cool J's "Mama Said Knock You Out," which includes lyrics that his home intruder perhaps should have listened to beforehand..."I'm gonna knock you out!":

Front page photo via Kevin Winter/WireImage. This story has been updated.