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At the end of last week I got a phone call from LL Cool J and his manager, the lovely Claudine, telling me that he was spending his Friday night down at New York's legendary Chung King Studios laying down the final touches to his latest album, Exit 13 — and would I like to come down with a camera crew for an exclusive first listen?
We jumped at the chance — after all, this was an opportunity to witness history in the making.
Back in 1984, the teenage LL Cool J played an incredible role in the birth and foundation of Def Jam Records, founded by Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin. Almost immediately after being signed, LL provided the now-legendary label with its first-ever hit, "I Need a Beat," and soon after the monumental Radio album, which spawned hits like "I Can't Live Without My Radio" and "Rock the Bells" that lofted the LP to platinum status. You could even argue that without LL and the success of his first record, we might not have the Def Jam that we know and love:A label that's given us classics from Slick Rick, the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, EMPD, Onyx, Method Man, DMX, Ludacris, Young Jeezy, Rick Ross and, later this year, the Def Jam debut from Nas.
What sometimes gets lost in the recent drama is just what LL has achieved since 1984. How many rappers (or any musicians) have consistently released albums every two years for more than 20 years? When Nas and Jay released their debut albums (in 1994 and 1996, respectively), LL was already a superstar with several hits, a handful of movies and bundles of awards already under his belt. Sure, even LL will admit that he's had his misses but you can't deny his classics like "Mama Said Knock You Out," "Hey Lover," "Doin' It," "I Need Love," "The Boomin' System," "I Shot Ya" and "Round the Way Girl," to name just a few.
Some 23 years after his debut, Exit 13 marks the end of that era: LL has been vocal about his unhappiness with Def Jam and particularly label head Jay-Z in recent years, and he's said this will be his last album for the label. LL addressed the situation for us in these video clips ...
As his last album with the label he has called home for so much of his life, and with the G-Unit general 50 Cent at the helm as executive producer, I was excited to see what artistic place this situation had brought LL to. The songs were still raw and unmastered but LL played them for us anyway. The whole Exit 13 album has been structured in a way that it tells a story from beginning to end. And from the tracks we heard, it's fair to say that LL hasn't been afraid of using young, upcoming and relatively unknown producers to provide him with the beats. Lyrically and flow-wise you can definitely sense 50's influence on the album. Don't get me wrong: LL is by no means rapping like 50, but 50 has definitely brought out a grittier and more aggressive side to LL's rapping. In fact, LL himself said, "50 brought my ear closer to the streets. This is my most honest record ever." And that's exactly what 50 intended to do: When he first called LL to discuss the idea of executive producing the album, 50 said, "Let's bring the old LL back. My LL!"
Ladies and gentlemen, LL is back, as you'll hear for yourself when Exit 13 comes out early next year — and look for much more from our interview with LL, coming soon.