LL Cool J Wants To Change The Ageism Narrative In Rap, Has Unreleased Music With Michael Jackson

In a new interview, LL Cool J admitted he was nervous about the response to his 14th solo album THE POWER would take, saying he had trouble sleeping the night he fell. However, when she checked social media, she was relieved by the positive response.

“When I said to people, 'Yeah, I want to make a culturally relevant album' in the middle of it all [younger artists]people looked at me like I had nine heads,” said the 56-year-old Variety. “They looked at me as if I were a hydra — a hydra! — Looking at me crazy like that, not out of ill will, but just 'How can you do that?'”

While the genre has welcomed older acts, their mainstream success has been a fluke, unless you're Jay-Z, Nas, or Eminem. LL was up for the challenge, though, saying, “It's like breaking the 4-minute mile. Nobody thought it could be broken until Roger Bannister did it, and then a lot of people started breaking it.”

Adding, “Now you will see, when [The FORCE] it's successful, you're going to see people believe they can make it, and it's going to expand the life of hip-hop in general. But if someone doesn't, if I don't Rock the Bells and [other] festivals and show that guys with no records on the market can still be relevant, and if I don't tell you that a guy who's been out for a long time can make a new record and be relevant — if nobody does it, it never happens .”

Also, before LL collaborated with Q-Tip on his latest release, he says he recorded a bunch of songs with Dr. Dre, but the Queens MC wasn't sure about the raps he put down, so he decided to start over. “That would mean I would have more confidence in him than in myself when it should be equal,” she told the agency. “He deserves a better LL than this. To go in there and not give Dre Dre his best LL, it's not fair to him and it's certainly not fair to me because it means I'm not taking advantage of the opportunity.” He went on to say: “We both knew he wasn't there. The sonics were there, but I have to hand over the writing. I don't put anything in unless it feels right.”

Later in the interview he revealed that he and the late Michael Jackson have hidden unreleased songs and that the King of Pop was inspired by LL's song.I'm bad“to make his own”Bad» song. “Me and Michael Jackson went to the studio, man,” he said. “Mike showed me a lot of love in general, and definitely in hip-hop. Let's be clear: To me, this is the king. I'm a fan of Michael Jackson, B. His talent speaks for itself.” Adding, “[Former Def Jam chief] Russell [Simmons] i played my record for him and quincy [Jones]and were inspired. That's okay.”