LL Cool J is back with another one
LL J’s latest album, ’The Force’, will be welcomed by fans of older hip-hop and may garner some new listeners too.
Rich Homie Quan became the latest MC to sadly die young, at 34, last week. The Rich Gang member was very influential in the 2010s, and certainly left a mark on the trap era.
He will be sadly missed, as will Fatman Scoop — the larger-than-life hype man whose voice helped define many party records over the years.
Fatman Scoop also died recently, collapsing on stage at 56, and joins a big list of hip-hop artists who’ve died at a similar age in recent years (Trugoy, Shock G, Coolio, DMX, Biz Markie, TY, Magoo, and many more).
Meanwhile, there are other rappers from that era making comebacks and LL Cool J, at this stage, has had more comebacks than Muhammad Ali.
He has now been at the forefront of the culture for over 40 years and his latest album, The Force, is another important body of work.
LL Cool J has been written off more times than anyone in rap and, in a genre which churns out new stars almost weekly, he has fended off competition since the mid-80s.
He was largely seen as washed up by many on numerous occasions, but each time he came back “bigger and deffer” — to quote the name of his 1987 album.
40 years into his career, he is wisely not trying to settle scores with the big MCs of this era. Instead, he has offered a very engaging album of rhymes entirely produced by the legendary Q Tip of A Tribe Called Quest.
Q Tip is one of the greatest producers in hip-hop history, but his productions are rarely heard these days — so this is a nice treat.
Like he did with the final Tribe Called Quest album in 2016, Q Tip goes deep into abstract jazz, afro, and psychedelic rock on this record, and it’s pretty forward-thinking stuff.
LL Cool J can rhyme over anything and is on flying form, delivering pacy punchlines and teaming up with everyone from Nas and Rick Ross to Tip and Saweetie.
The album benefits greatly from having one producer and a solid artistic vision and, while it will be welcomed by mainly fans of older hip-hop, it may garner some new listeners too.
I’ve written a lot about rappers of an older generation often struggling with the ageing process, especially seeing as they all came up in a time where rap was seen as a novelty that would barely last a few years.
LL Cool J embodies everything that is great about hip-hop, and he remains a passionate supporter of the culture both on and away from the mic.
Even his more commercial stuff stands up quite well over time; he was once written off for doing love-raps and romantic tunes, but again in this mode he proved to be a pioneer rather than a follower.
The Force is well worth a listen.
Two of the guests, Eminem and Nas, are also rapping well into their 50s and I’ve spoken of both at length lately. Nas is set to drop an eagerly awaited album with DJ Premier fairly soon, but there’s another such collaboration which has impressed many this summer.
The Pete Rock and Common album The Auditorium is a stunning marriage of one of the great rap producers and MCs, and it’s another that I’d highly recommend.
The new Juicy J album, which I mentioned last week, relies mostly on jazz loops and it’s been on constant rotation in my car lately. Lots of these veterans can still deliver!
Rap has had a fairly decent run at recent Super Bowl shows and, with Jay Z and Roc Nation helping pull the strings, this has continued with the announcement that Kendrick Lamar will perform at the next one, in New Orleans in early 2025.
“Rap music is still the most impactful genre to date,” Lamar said in a statement.
“And I’ll be there to remind the world why. They got the right one.”
This should be a fantastic showcase for the culture, and there is no better artist than Lamar to put on a show these days.
There are grumblings from others that Lil Wayne wasn’t picked to play, but don’t be surprised if Weezy himself is asked to guest in his hometown. It should be an interesting night!
