Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
LL Cool J Relearned 'How to Rap' on His First Album in 11 Years, 'the FORCE.' Here's How
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 months ago on
July 12, 2024

LL Cool J will release “The F.O.R.C.E.," his first album in 11 years. (AP/Charles Sykes/Invision)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

NEW YORK — 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’s Journey to His 14th Studio Album

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.

The FORCE: Frequencies of Real Creative Energy

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)

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What to Know About Scott Turner, Trump’s Pick for Housing Secretary

DON'T MISS

Trump Taps Investor Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary

DON'T MISS

NATO Head and Trump Meet in Florida for Talks on Global Security

DON'T MISS

Why Cranberry Sauce Is America’s Least Favorite Thanksgiving Dish – and 5 Creative Ways to Use It

DON'T MISS

‘Get Somebody Else to Do It’: Trump Resistance Encounters Fatigue

DON'T MISS

Anti-Vax Activists Dominate RFK Jr.’s HHS Transition Team

DON'T MISS

Wing ‘Wizard’ Harry Potter to Play for Australia’s Rugby Team. Let the Puns Begin.

DON'T MISS

Tulare County Man Arrested After Allegedly Threatening to Kill Middle School Girls, Staff

DON'T MISS

Two Fresno, Clovis Trustee Races Remain Tight. Bond Measures Passing with Growing Margins

DON'T MISS

Richardson Close to Cementing Northeast Fresno Council Race

UP NEXT

Trump Taps Investor Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary

UP NEXT

NATO Head and Trump Meet in Florida for Talks on Global Security

UP NEXT

Why Cranberry Sauce Is America’s Least Favorite Thanksgiving Dish – and 5 Creative Ways to Use It

UP NEXT

‘Get Somebody Else to Do It’: Trump Resistance Encounters Fatigue

UP NEXT

Anti-Vax Activists Dominate RFK Jr.’s HHS Transition Team

UP NEXT

Wing ‘Wizard’ Harry Potter to Play for Australia’s Rugby Team. Let the Puns Begin.

UP NEXT

Tulare County Man Arrested After Allegedly Threatening to Kill Middle School Girls, Staff

UP NEXT

Two Fresno, Clovis Trustee Races Remain Tight. Bond Measures Passing with Growing Margins

UP NEXT

Richardson Close to Cementing Northeast Fresno Council Race

UP NEXT

Visalia Motorcyclist Killed in Collision on Walnut Avenue

Why Cranberry Sauce Is America’s Least Favorite Thanksgiving Dish – and 5 Creative Ways to Use It

5 hours ago

‘Get Somebody Else to Do It’: Trump Resistance Encounters Fatigue

5 hours ago

Anti-Vax Activists Dominate RFK Jr.’s HHS Transition Team

5 hours ago

Wing ‘Wizard’ Harry Potter to Play for Australia’s Rugby Team. Let the Puns Begin.

5 hours ago

Tulare County Man Arrested After Allegedly Threatening to Kill Middle School Girls, Staff

16 hours ago

Two Fresno, Clovis Trustee Races Remain Tight. Bond Measures Passing with Growing Margins

16 hours ago

Richardson Close to Cementing Northeast Fresno Council Race

17 hours ago

Visalia Motorcyclist Killed in Collision on Walnut Avenue

17 hours ago

DOGE Is a Promising Step Toward Federal Efficiency: Fareed Zakaria

18 hours ago

Listeria Outbreak Tied to Yu Shang Food Leaves California Infant Dead and 10 People Sick

18 hours ago

What to Know About Scott Turner, Trump’s Pick for Housing Secretary

Scott Turner, President-elect Donald Trump choice to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development, is a former NFL player who ran th...

31 minutes ago

31 minutes ago

What to Know About Scott Turner, Trump’s Pick for Housing Secretary

38 minutes ago

Trump Taps Investor Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary

1 hour ago

NATO Head and Trump Meet in Florida for Talks on Global Security

5 hours ago

Why Cranberry Sauce Is America’s Least Favorite Thanksgiving Dish – and 5 Creative Ways to Use It

5 hours ago

‘Get Somebody Else to Do It’: Trump Resistance Encounters Fatigue

5 hours ago

Anti-Vax Activists Dominate RFK Jr.’s HHS Transition Team

5 hours ago

Wing ‘Wizard’ Harry Potter to Play for Australia’s Rugby Team. Let the Puns Begin.

Jason Mitchell, 43, of Strathmore, was arrested for allegedly threatening to kill students and staff at Strathmore Middle School. (Tulare County SO)
16 hours ago

Tulare County Man Arrested After Allegedly Threatening to Kill Middle School Girls, Staff

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend