LL Cool J Relearned ‘How to Rap’ on First Album in 11 Years: ‘The FORCE’

NEW YORK (AP) — The Grammy-award-winning rapper-actor-author LL COOL J is set to release his first new album in 11 years, titled “The FORCE,” this September, marking 40 years of his illustrious hip-hop career.

Though LL COOL J hasn’t released an album in over a decade, he didn’t stray far from music. “I’ve always tinkered around in the studio here and there,” he shared with The Associated Press over Zoom. However, in the past couple of years, he felt a renewed sense of inspiration and began focusing more seriously on his music.

Initially, he faced some hurdles. “I just felt like the tracks that this producer was giving me were better than the songs that I was writing,” he admitted. A turning point came when he dreamt of the late Phife Dawg from A Tribe Called Quest. Phife Dawg gave him a mixed message, saying, “Yo, man, that new music you’re working on is great, man,” but with a look that suggested otherwise.

This dream prompted LL COOL J to contact Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest. The collaboration proved fruitful as Q-Tip produced every track and made all the beats for “The FORCE,” set for release on September 16.

Describing the experience of creating his 14th studio album, LL COOL J said it felt like “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.”

Drawing parallels with iconic athletes like LeBron James and Michael Jordan, he mentioned their constant strive to improve. “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 noted. Likewise, he wasn’t aiming for trends or trying to recapture past glories.

“The FORCE” emerges as an inventive rap record, reflecting LL COOL J’s extensive career. It touches on various themes, such as self-motivation in “Passion,” unfiltered swagger in “Murdergram Deux” (featuring Eminem), sensuality in “Proclivities” (featuring Saweetie), and cautionary narratives as showcased in the lead single “Saturday Night Special” with Rick Ross and Fat Joe.

A particularly striking sequence in the album is the transition from “Huey in the Chair,” a tribute to Black Panther Party co-founder Huey P. Newton, to “Basquiat Energy,” celebrating the innovative spirit of artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. LL COOL J remarks that both American icons share an ability to “express their personal truths,” a latitude he has pursued on this album.

As for the album’s title, “The FORCE” stands for “frequencies of real creative energy,” which evolved into a guiding principle for the project. “That’s what we wanted to present to the world,” he explained. “It’s about wanting to vibrate at a high level.”

Marking the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, LL COOL J aimed to demonstrate that veteran artists could still make modern, impactful contributions to the genre. “I hadn’t seen that done before. It was another challenge: Can I create something that sounds new and fresh?”

For those expecting nostalgia, the album isn’t about chasing old memories or trends. Rather, LL COOL J stays true to the art of rapping. Along with the likes of Eminem, Rick Ross, and Saweetie, the album features Snoop Dogg, Sona Jobareth, Busta Rhymes, Nas, Mad Squablz, J-S.A.N.D., and Don Pablito among others.

LL COOL J emphasizes that his intention was to meet listeners where he is today as an artist. “I’m not 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.”