LL COOL J
The FORCE (Def Jam)
New York rapper and anthropologist LL Cool J burst onto the scene in the mid-1980s with Radio, which could be heard blasting out of many a beatbox. Nearly 40 years later, he’s about to release his first album in a decade, The FORCE, that could turn out to be the most talked about and monumental rap release this year.
A Tribe Called Quest’s Q-Tip is in the producer’s chair, keeping the beats full-bodied and on point – this is no wasp-in-a-tin-can-sounding hip-hop creation; the tracks here take no prisoners – with LL’s rhymes as commanding as ever. There are guest appearances from fellow rap hall of famers Nas, Busta Rhymes, Snoop Dogg and Eminem too; though just the full-effect widescreen banger that is Proclivities (a Saweetie feature) or pre-album taster single Passion offer proof that LL Cool J is still very much at the top of his game.
words DAVID NOBAKHT
