JumpinJack AJ Posted January 18, 2023 Report Share Posted January 18, 2023 (edited) LL Cool J plans to release new album this year: “Wait 'til you hear this MF" Don’t call it a comeback, but LL Cool J said he’s dropping a new album this year. It will be his first project in a decade. BY KEVIN KEISE / 01.16.2023 Don’t call it a comeback, but LL Cool J is planning to drop a new album this year. The hip hop pioneer took to Twitter for the announcement on Saturday (Jan. 14). “I’m competing with myself on this new album,” he wrote. “Wait ’til you hear this MF. This year, B. It’s coming,” the legend continued. LL, whose last album Authentic came 10 years ago, arrived on the music scene with Def Jam and Columbia Records in the mid-’80s. His first project Radio was released in 1985 and featured 13 tracks, including three iconic singles, “I Can’t Live Without My Radio,” “Rock The Bells” and “You’ll Rock.” He then dropped Bigger & Deffer in 1987, which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart. Three years later, he released Mama Said Knock You Out, which peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard 200 and spent 76 weeks on the charts. The Queens native’s music career has been quite historic. Of his 13 studio albums, the first 10 went Platinum, making him the first rapper to do so. He also became a two-time Grammy Award-winning recording artist, as well as an actor, author, entrepreneur and philanthropist. In 2017, the emcee even received a Kennedy Center Honor, and four years later, was inducted into the 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Along with dropping albums, LL has proved to be an outstanding actor. The entertainer, whose real name is James Todd Smith, landed blockbuster roles in films such as Charlie’s Angels, Deep Blue Sea, Any Given Sunday, Last Holiday and Halloween: H2O. He’s also graced the small screen on shows like his former hit series “In The House” and the crime-fighting drama “NCIS: Los Angeles.” Speaking of acting, the rap legend recently asked if he should do a movie based on his life. On Jan. 12, he tweeted, “Should I do a biopic?” Many fans responded, “Yes,” and one actor revealed he would love to star in the role if the chance presented itself. REVOLT reported on Jan. 14 that Mack Wilds was interested in playing the “Luv U Better” hitmaker in an autobiography film. https://www.revolt.tv/article/2023-01-16/267196/ll-cool-j-plans-to-release-new-album-this-year/?fbclid=IwAR1Dez4cwEqo_YHS2HrHhXWlL70Rn8H2iz9fGyr0qtgliy5eigoOtEkw4Ho Edited September 15 by JumpinJack AJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dparrott Posted February 2, 2023 Report Share Posted February 2, 2023 YES Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpinJack AJ Posted February 23, 2023 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2023 This is so corny, so LL...and I love it. I previously saw the headlines that he was scrapping the album and got really disappointed. LL Cool J Trolls Fans By Claiming He Won’t Drop Album With Q-Tip By: Justin IveyCategory: NewsFebruary 22, 2023 Q-Tip executive produced LL Cool J’s next album, which will be the Hip-Hop legend’s first release since 2013. LL Cool J played a trick on his social media followers. The Hip-Hop legend made fans think he scrapped his comeback album on Wednesday morning (February 22). LL Cool J posted a series of since-deleted tweets saying he won’t drop the project, which was executive produced by Q-Tip. “I’m really trying to figure this album out,” he wrote. “SMH. Just not feeling like this album is worthy of being released. I tried.” He added, “Not dropping it.” LL Cool J continued to troll fans on Wednesday afternoon. He posted a video on Instagram with the following caption: “Explanation behind my choice to not release my album.” The clip revealed it was all a ruse to hype his upcoming collaboration with Q-Tip. “I was considering not putting the record out because it’s too f###### good!” he said with a laugh. “Q-Tip, you a genius, baby. Yo, this my favorite album I’ve ever made. I can’t wait for y’all to hear this. Date, tracklisting, coming soon.” LL Cool J hasn’t released an album since 2013’s Authentic. Since then, he’s continued his acting career as one of the stars of the CBS series NCIS: Los Angeles. He also launched his Rock The Bells platform, which ran its first festival in 2022. https://allhiphop.com/news/ll-cool-j-trolls-fans-by-claiming-he-wont-drop-album-with-q-tip/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dparrott Posted March 2, 2023 Report Share Posted March 2, 2023 Awww Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpinJack AJ Posted May 31, 2023 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2023 I say something is off. Dr. Dre is dope, but he's also overrated. It just doesn't make sense to do 30-40 songs together, then scrap 1-3 albums worth of work. There's more to this story. I'm much more excited about him working with Q-Tip. https://www.vibe.com/music/music-news/ll-cool-j-dr-dre-upcoming-album-qtip-1234760828/?fbclid=IwAR0EC-veT9qfVJNtP5K-jc-8t4v8dMby4H5Sd1VY0L_YJgtG3TJ6pHroc6g LL Cool J Reveals Dr. Dre Was The Original Producer For Upcoming Album Before Q-Tip A dream involving the late Phife Dawg encouraged him to work with Tip. BY ARMON SADLER MAY 30, 2023 3:06PM Dr. Dre, LL Cool J, and Q-Tip. Momodu Mansaray/Getty Images; Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images; Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images LL Cool J is preparing for his upcoming album and recently revealed a major shift in his creative process. The 55-year-old said that Dr. Dre was the original producer, before a dream led him to call on Q-Tip. The Queens, N.Y. rapper appeared on the May 22 episode of Way Up With Angela Yee and shared details on his extensive work with the Compton artist. “So, the real story is that I did about 30 to 40 songs with Dr. Dre, and in doing those songs, I felt like the music was amazing,” LL said. “What Dre was bringing to the table was super dope — but I felt like the writing, what I was bringing to these songs didn’t feel strong enough to me.” He went on to discuss a dream where he was visited by the late Phife Dawg, which inspired him to collaborate with The Abstract. “I ended up having a dream, and in this dream, Phife Dawg from A Tribe Called Quest came to me,” the NCIS actor said. “When he came in my dream, he was like, ‘Yo, that album you gonna do with Dre is gonna be dope.’ And I’m looking at him and he’s smirking a little bit. He had a funny look on his face.” Evidently, connecting with one member of A Tribe Called Quest led to another one being on his mind. “And then when I woke up, I just felt like Q-Tip was on my spirit,” LL Cool J said, continuing his story. “So I just called him. He picked up and I told him that I wanted to do an album. We went and did the record and the rest is history.” History has been on LL Cool J’s mind since early in 2023, as he took the stage at the GRAMMYs in February as part of the tribute performance for Hip-Hop’s 50th anniversary. The “Luv U Better” artist was joined by Black Thought, Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five, Queen Latifah, The LOX, Lil Baby, and several other major acts spanning generations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpinJack AJ Posted June 14 Author Report Share Posted June 14 LL dropped his new joint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ant1 Posted June 26 Report Share Posted June 26 (edited) I could care less for Rick Ross or Fat Joe just want LL on the track just spitting on his own but always supported LL i still listen to Exit 13 of and on, but i don't understand this year, LL coming back MC Lyte, and FP i haven't checkd any of today's artist in years but when it comes to the oldschool wanting to make a comeback i'm all about it. Edited June 26 by ant1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpinJack AJ Posted July 12 Author Report Share Posted July 12 New single / music video! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpinJack AJ Posted July 14 Author Report Share Posted July 14 https://apnews.com/article/ll-cool-j-qtip-phife-dawg-eminem-85d1ccddf93d76c36653a11b5b8408ea LL Cool J relearned ‘how to rap’ on his first album in 11 years, ‘The FORCE.’ Here’s how FILE - LL Cool J performs during the MTV Video Music Awards in Newark, N.J., on Sept. 12, 2023. The rapper-actor will release “The F.O.R.C.E.,” his first album in 11 years. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File) 2 of 2 | This cover image shows “The F.O.R.C.E.” by LL Cool J. (Def Jam Recordings/Virgin Music Group via AP) BY MARIA SHERMAN Updated 12:12 AM EDT, July 12, 2024 NEW YORK (AP) — The Grammy award winning rapper-actor- author LL COOL J will release his first new album in 11 years, “The FORCE” in September — 40 years into his hip-hop career. Not that he hasn’t been making music in that time. “I’ve always tinkered around in the studio here and there,” he told The Associated Press over Zoom. But over the last two or so years, inspiration really struck. He started working with a producer and pursuing music-making more seriously. Then he hit a roadblock. “I just felt like the tracks that this producer was giving me were better than the songs that I was writing,” he said. Then the late Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest came to him in a dream. “He told me, ‘Yo, man, that new music you’re working on is great, man.’ But he had a look on his face like a Cheshire cat, like he was lying to me,” he says. It was a wakeup call — and something told him to call A Tribe Called Quest’s Q-Tip to work together. The move worked: Q-Tip produced every track and made all the beats on “The FORCE,” which will be released Sept. 6. LL COOL J describes the process of making his 14th studio album as “going back to the drawing board and learning how to rap again ... making sure I was really inspired by the things I was saying. That’s why there isn’t a lot of fluff on this album.” “The LeBrons, the Stephs, the Jordans and the Kobes, they all go back to the drawing board, they always try to make themselves better” he continued. “I wasn’t trying to do trendy, and I wasn’t trying to recapture anything I did before.” “The FORCE” is an inventive rap record, informed by LL COOL J’s lengthy career, touching on various themes, like the power of self-motivation (“Passion”), full-force swag (“Murdergram Deux,” a long-awaited collab with Eminem ), not-safe-for-work sensuality (“Proclivities” featuring Saweetie) and cautionary tales, as evidenced in the lead single, “Saturday Night Special” featuring Rick Ross and Fat Joe. Particularly effective is the one-two punch of “Huey in the Chair,” — a reference to a famous photo of Black Panther Party co-founder Huey P. Newton — what the rapper describes as “taking a stand for what you believe in,” into the funky downtown beats of “Basquiat Energy,” a celebration of the namesake artist’s innovative spirit. The rapper says the American icons share an ability to “express their personal truths,” something he aimed to do on this album. In that way, “The FORCE,” which stands for “frequencies of real creative energy,” became an unofficial mantra for the release. “That’s what we wanted to present to the world,” he said. “It’s about wanting to vibrate at a high level.” And following the 50th anniversary of hip-hop last year, LL COOL J says he “wanted to show people that artists that have had long storied careers, so to speak, can make modern contributions to hip-hop that have a major impact. I hadn’t seen that done before. It was another challenge: Can I create something that sounds new and fresh?” He’s not leaning into fads here — expect to hear rappers actually rapping — but no one should consider this a play at nostalgia. The album is stacked with features, even beyond Ross, Fat Joe, Saweetie and Eminem: Snoop Dogg, Sona Jobareth, Busta Rhymes, Nas, Mad Squablz, J-S.A.N.D. and Don Pablito are among them. “The one thing I wanted to do is, I wanted to meet people where I’m at now. I wasn’t trying to be preachy,” he said. “I’m not trying to tell people necessarily how to live. I did want to express with people where I’m at artistically at this point in my life and give them that. And then they can take that and do whatever they want with it.” “The FORCE” Track List: 1. “Spirit of Cyrus” (feat. Snoop Dogg) 2. “The FORCE” 3. “Saturday Night Special” (feat. Rick Ross and Fat Joe) 4. “Black Code Suite” (feat. Sona Jobarteh) 5. “Passion” 6. “Proclivities” (feat. Saweetie) 7. “Post Modern” 8. “30 Decembers” 9. “Runnit Back” 10. “Huey In Da Chair” (feat. Busta Rhymes) 11. “Basquiat Energy” 12. “Praise Him” (feat. Nas) 13. “Murdergram Deux” (feat. Eminem) 14. “The Vow” (feat. Mad Squablz, J-S.A.N.D., and Don Pablito) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dparrott Posted July 18 Report Share Posted July 18 Saturday Night Special is kinda meh, but Passion is dope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpinJack AJ Posted August 1 Author Report Share Posted August 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ant1 Posted August 10 Report Share Posted August 10 Oldschool hip hop heads eating right now LL FP MC Lyte all with new albums coming Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpinJack AJ Posted September 11 Author Report Share Posted September 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpinJack AJ Posted September 15 Author Report Share Posted September 15 https://www.nme.com/news/music/ll-cool-j-on-reaction-to-his-desire-to-record-new-album-they-looked-at-me-like-i-was-a-hydra-3793756?fbclid=IwY2xjawFTswFleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHapKYcIsXUZgPeGwsJETuc3FhSoNsbaKXGSHi02y5qCJXVIryGrdtGMYpQ_aem_43llndOQPvvBE8HiDO0nCA LL COOL J on reaction to his desire to record new album: “They looked at me like I was a hydra” "People looked at me like I had nine heads" ByDaniel Peters 14th September 2024 LL Cool J at the MTV Video Music Awards 2024. CREDIT: Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images for MTV LL COOL J has spoken about the reaction he got when he revealed his intention to record a new album. Read More: LL COOL J on his first album in 11 years, ‘THE FORCE’: “I want to do the Blackest **** in the world” In an interview with Variety published yesterday (September 13), the veteran rapper – real name James Todd Smith – talked about how people reacted to his desire to work on ‘The FORCE’, which was eventually released on September 6. It marks his first studio album in eleven years. “When I told people, ‘Yo, I wanna do a culturally relevant album’ in the midst of all these [younger artists], people looked at me like I had nine heads,” Smith told the publication. “They looked at me like I was a hydra – a hydra! – looking at me crazy like that, not because of any ill will, but just ‘How can you do that?’” The rapper, who turned 56 this year, followed through with the project, which was mainly produced by A Tribe Called Quest‘s Q-Tip. Smith felt his ability to record such an album at his age would challenge ageism in hip-hop. “It’s like breaking the four-minute mile,” he says. “Nobody thought it could be broken until Roger Bannister did it, and then a lot of people started breaking it. Now you’ll see, when [‘The FORCE’] has success, you’re [seeing] people believing that they can make it happen, and it’s gonna extend the life of hip-hop in general.” He adds that “if somebody doesn’t do it” to show how “a guy who’s been out for a long time can make a new record and be relevant”, then “it never happens”. LL COOL J. CREDIT: Chris Parsons/Press Last month, Smith previewed ‘The FORCE’ track ‘Murdergram Deux’, which sees his first-ever collaboration with Eminem. Q-Tip shared with Variety that it was a surreal moment to be in the studio with a rapper he and Eminem idolised as kids. “This is like a ****ing dream, isn’t it, Tip?” he recalls Eminem telling him. NME spoke with Smith about ‘The FORCE’, an album that he felt “artistic pressure” from himself to undertake. “[I] want to create something that I love, something that I can really embrace, something that I thought was amazing, something that I felt like, like was meaningful to me, something that I could love as a fan,” he said. He also bristled at the common sentiment that “hip-hop is a young man’s game”, saying: “The genre just turned 50-years-old. So, what are we going to call it in 100 years? How is that mindset even sustainable? “You haven’t had an opportunity to see artists continue to grow. Ultimately, the music determines that. We can talk all we want, but how’s that music sounding, b?” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dparrott Posted September 17 Report Share Posted September 17 the album's just aight for me, a few good songs, a couple of weak ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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