LL COOL J on his first album in 11 years, ‘THE FORCE’: “I want to do the Blackest shit in the world”

nme.com:

LL COOL J has spoken to NME about returning to music after over a decade off with his upcoming album, ‘THE FORCE’ – on his mission to “do the Blackest shit in the world”.Today (Friday June 14), the hip-hop legend dropped ‘Saturday Night Special’ with Rick Ross and Fat Joe – the lead single for his long-awaited comeback LP – as well as announcing that his 14th studio album would arrive later this year. ‘THE FORCE’ will be executively produced by fellow hip-hop juggernaut Q-Tip – best known for his own solo work and being a member of the legendary collective, A Tribe Called Quest.“‘Saturday Night Special’ is just the beginning,” LL COOL J – real name James Todd Smith – said in a press statement. ‘There’s a lot more where this came from, and I’m hype for y’all to hear this new record.

We’re doing this for the fans and for hip-hop culture.”Speaking to NME, Smith elaborated on why ‘Saturday Night Special’ was the perfect introduction to the new era of LL COOL J. “[I tried to] create something that wasn’t following what was going on now, and something that wasn’t trying to recapture what I did then,” COOL J told NME. “Naturally, if it has my DNA in it, it’s going to feel like LL.

It just felt right to me.”The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer went on to say he felt the song was “relevant and had enough meaning and messages in it without being preachy and boring”.“I mean, always keep your word, always paying back is going to be relevant forever, right?

That’s a principle that’s going to always be relevant; the concept of integrity on whatever level,” he explained.“You reach people on a real human level when you write shit that’s real, shit that matters, shit that people can actually relate to.