LL Cool J - Classic or Dud?

Best moment = 12" versh of "Rock the Bells". It's such a slamming relentless track. It's the perfection of braggadocio style. Sounds like the whole thing was recorded without a pause. He seems to be audibly running out of breath towards the end. Also, the way he growls at the end of each segment. just like Chuck Berry (sampled on "go cut creator go"!) on "Too Much Monkey Business".

I just bought a used copy of Walkin' With A Panther the other day because I wanted to hear it again ... and it was the frickin' censored version. Now I gotta take the thing back. Still, great record.

Why did he start out "Mama Said Knock You Out" w/ the line "don't call it a comeback"? 'Cause Walkin' With A Panther had hits!

Classic, BTW, J.Lo missteps notwithstanding. "Doin' It" is one of the best singles of the 90s.

"Listen to the way I SLAAAAAAAAAAAAAY your crew."

classic now dud (although the track he did about booty (i think it was with ludacris????? was pretty cool) so i guess he is classic with the occasional daliance in to dud

(Jess, one hot song does not a career revival make)

the art teacher in my high school wz ll cool j's cousin.

"It's LL and Santana"

"eenie meanie minie mo, which muthafucka's the next to go?"

LL has been corny as hell for years.

LL knocked him the fuck out like six years ago

LL hasn't knocked *anyone* the fuck out since like '91

i love LL though.. he's a pip.

does he still have that skinny moustache? that freaked me out for real.

so true

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.

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

It's fantastic

Just read the interview, congrats Whiney

Also that is the best commentary I’ve seen on “Accidental Racist”

I'm in genuine shock. Some of Q's beats and sounds outdo what he did on the last Tribe album.

Yo this is GREAT

It's sounding amazing yeah

Listened to it yesterday and was blown away and am diving in again now. Q-Tip made him a billy woods-level art rap album and he's absolutely risen to the challenge.

Don't call it a comeback!

LL and Busta Rhymes rapping over Can's "Halleluwah" on "Huey in the Chair"!

He'll, Eminem is tolerable

*hell

Yeah my first thought with that Can sample was I actually can't believe it's taken all this time. Unless someone has already used it?

The Eminem track is one of my favs no less.

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/article/2024/sep/05/ll-cool-j-hip-hop-isnt-underdog-music-any-more

From that interview:

Who is your favourite MC, and who would you most like to do a collab with? BadAlbert
If we’re gonna get down to it, probably Big Daddy Kane. Those first couple of albums were just so crazy and hot in the way he delivered them. The wit, the humour, the banter, the flow, the voice. Songs such as Set It Off or Raw were just flawless to me.

Nice. Big Daddy Kane was incredible in 87 and 88. I listened to those first two albums so much in high school.

man tip and ll really matched eachothers greatness on this. incredible album.

Album signing at Rough Trade in NYC, noon next Friday. I may go to this.

That was a lot of fun. Got there maybe 30 minutes early and even though it was sold out, the line wasn't long at all. I think you didn't have to be there today - the event description seems to suggest that they can set aside a copy that ticketholders can pick up later. LL was very cool - he was gracious enough to sign any records you might've brought besides the new one. Most people didn't, but at least a few people besides me brought a couple records from home.

He's doing another signing at B&N later today at 6pm (they start letting people in at 5pm), but it's a ticketed event and they haven't sold out yet. He's really doing it old school with the in-person events to promote this thing.

Actually same deal with B&N:

If you are unable to attend the event, Barnes & Noble - Fifth Ave will hold your Vinyl and/or CD for seven days after the event. Please contact the store to arrange your pickup.

It's so weird to me that Jay-Z is only two years younger than LL

At this point Jay seems older

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/article/2024/sep/05/ll-cool-j-hip-hop-isnt-underdog-music-any-more

Was completely unaware of what happened here in Georgia and London:

themarkmcdonald: Looking back, was it a bad decision to play "I Need Love" live at Hammersmith Odeon, London 1987?

LL Cool J: "I Need Love" is one of the most important songs I’ve done. It helped usher in a whole new sub-genre of hip-hop with songs that are more skewed to females and the love aspect. I got arrested in Columbus, Georgia for humping a couch to it on stage so I think I can handle booing and coins getting tossed in London. I don’t regret playing it and I’d do it all over again.

I got arrested in Columbus, Georgia for humping a couch to it on stage

Somewhere the loins of young JD Vance stirred.

It was all a dream
used to dry hump a couch through the seam

Britishes need love

10 year old me hearing I need love: I was conflicted

Great album...all the better for coming in under 45 minutes

That interview was a great read. I liked the line he said about guys at home sharpening their toothbrushes not getting over a beef.

oh my god whiney's interview needed a footnote to explain who martha quinn is

rip me, i'm deaded

The title track is so good it’s almost miraculous

I AGREE.

Dang this album jams.

Someone I know said something very funny on FB:

"Gonna be funny if we have a hip-hop veteran renaissance where making better than usual music without sweating pop is in fashion, until Andre 3000 looks at his pan pipes and goes 'well now I feel like a schmuck.'"

37 years between buying LL Cool J albums. If I do that again I'll be 93.

til Infinity

This album exceeds any hype about it. So great. For those who buy vinyl, (the Euro pressing at least) sounds fantastic.

I wrote 1000 words or so about this record in my latest newsletter.

Love this album