LL Cool J - Classic or Dud?

classic for facing down fox news' bizzare use of an old interview. wtf to fox's snippy put-down of a response (we "wish him the best with his fledgling acting career")

fledgling since the movie Toys, yeah.

stay classy, fox news network.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TqQ0rLY-Qo

don't sleep on LL in Maine. might change your life...

awesome

is he playing a school dance??

I have a house in Brooklyn, I live in Queens...

is there such a thing as "live in Maine"?

history maine

this is fantastic.

"memorieeeees..." bahahaha this video is the best.

This is rap's Gimme Shelter, Stop Making Sense, and Last Waltz rolled into one half-hour masterpiece

what I am taking away from the first three tracks on Authentic is that LL is way more interested in collaborating with people than he is in making a cohesive album

you say that as if that's at all unique for the past 15 years of hip hop

not at all unique, just... this is so LAZY

is there a gear below autopilot?

authenticpilot

my entire hip-hop existence is defined by giving older dudes a massive pass and I've been pro-LL through "Headsprung" so the degree to which this whole thing is just a bland belly flop is legitimately upsetting

okay bland is maybe not the best word to describe "We're The Greatest", lol

LL, and increasingly Jay-Z, are kind of in a category to me of artists who've already had such unprecedented longevity that at this point anything good they do is just a bonus round and anything that sucks is like, well, they had a good run.

"my entire hip-hop existence is defined by giving older dudes a massive pass"

"my entire _____ existence is defined by giving older dudes a massive _____"

I am pretty sure that YouTube was invented so that one day it would be able to play this video. My friend who brought it to my attention explained it thusly:

"A German dude, who sounds like Falco, his mom driving a car and chiming in on the chorus with his dad in the back seat with an accordion and covering the scratches."

Absolutely brilliant. And when they finish the song, keep listening because German dude's outro is equally brilliant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-VM5wqzhWY

G.O.A.T, this one.

Damn

LL Cool J feat. Rick Ross & Fat Joe

Produced by Q-Tip

“Saturday Night Special” 🔥🔥🔥
pic.twitter.com/wcIxh9bNrd

— Andrew Barber (@fakeshoredrive) June 14, 2024

I love that beat

I like to introduce myself to strangers at parties as,

The ladies love
Legend in leather
Long and lean
And I don't wear pleather

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7om2fIAdd0c

another new song. love this...Q-Tip's production on both these songs is bonkers, what a cool decision it was to have him produce the whole thing.

love it

Sounds great!

goddamn q tip is killing it, classic LL perv mode too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_oMmmp7PYg

the outro is so cool

damn that's nice. i grew up with a poster of LL on my wall. who knew he'd be exactly what i needed in my mid-40s

the Gary Numan sample sounds so good

haha I was thinking that sounded like Gary Numan! what a jam

Album signing at Rough Trade in NYC, noon next Friday. I may go to this (or let a co-worker go in my place, depending on how the day goes). More importantly, hope the album as a whole turns out to be a surprise - I always wished he did another one that lived up to his best, and I never would've expected a Q-Tip collaboration.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/31/arts/music/ll-cool-j-the-force.html?unlocked_article_code=1.HE4.isED.cewQdBKJQCRZ&smid=url-share

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k8PhpifGSo

The only thing I’ve read about this album so far that’s even slightly tempered my excitement is the fact that Eminem is on one track. But otherwise I can’t wait to hear it.

Since I’m on my phone I didn’t know that was the track you posted, ha ha. I just saw the url, no thumbnail.

Loving Proclivities. This thing feels dense

Eminem song is good

xps hah, no worries! I've got mixed feelings about Eminem, but some Eminem fans I know really like that track. I kind of like hearing the two together because it highlights their individual strengths, and Eminem claims LL Cool J was a big influence so it could be useful to hear closely with that in mind.

LL also kills it on this song

Really good Whiney interview with LL!

Nice

Really good Whiney interview with LL!

One of my favorite random moments on Conan happened when LL was promoting a movie (forgot which) and he said something like "I mean it, this is a good movie. I'm not just saying that like I've done in the past. I've lied to the people Conan...but not anymore. Rollerball SUCKED!"

Thanks, unperson

Kinda wish LL and Eminem would team up for a whole record. Would keep LL rapping and touring and would give Em the new creative direction he desperately needs.

this is good!

Yeah the whole album is great

okay this is my favourite album of the year

I’m only docking this album points for not being released earlier because this should’ve been playing at everyone’s backyard party this summer.

Great listen for sure.

based off his appearance, imagine a 40 minute q-tip produced eminem album.

watching the vuelta i kept getting shown the car commercial with the qtip vox from chem bros song- like 60 times. i like a world w qtip around, instantly recognizable too /old

That last album still bangs so hard...first hip hop album in years to keep interested front to back...perfect summer soundtrack

Very admirable of LL to cancel his appearance at a 4th of July concert in Philadelphia because city workers there are on strike.

As they say, Labor Loves Cool James. Was glad to see that.

i was listening to some assorted older LL tracks yesterday and was wondering if "going back to cali" is rick rubin's best production. i love all the little drum machine (808?) percussion hits combined with the live horns. i was trying to find an article or something about the production but didn't see much.

the little kalimba melody! how the beat jumps into doubletime and back!

i haven't listened to any rap album like this since the dj quik/kurupt blaqkout album. half the beats sound sampled from a broadcast album. the beats q-tip must have at his disposal. the seamless transitions. the fact LL does not for a second slow down on any song.

"mind in the sky but keep a street level view"

November will be 40 years since the all-time classic debut.