REVIEW: LL COOL J - THE FORCE

4/5

Force Of Nature.

'Frequencies Of Real Creative Energy'. LL Cool J is a force. No! F### that! He is 'THE Force'. Like Deadpool said that Wolverine was THE X-Man. Fourteen studio albums deep from the man who helped build the Def Jam towers. It's legendary, like Hugh Jackman playing Marvel's scratchy superhero nine times. And now, like finally getting to see Logan in that iconic yellow suit, we get James Todd Smith taking it back to the old-school he ruled like he was the Professor of the Academy of gifted rhymers.

A force of Naughty By Nature, Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Eric B and Rakim, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. Making movies like Will Smith after rapping in the days of the Bad Boys. Now, mama said knock you out again, and you know we ain't calling it a comeback. Ladies still love Cool James, but it's the def jams that mean the most from one of New York's finest from the birthplace of hip-hop. Going long, like a Yankee or the island he came from, borough to borough. His re 'DEFinition' with Timbaland was hot, but this force majeure, which James Todd calls "the blackest s### he ever wrote" might be his best hit since them '14 Shots To The Dome'. And like Nas, it ain't hard to tell that's the 'Bad' ish he's on with the classic cover that looks like a graffiti throwback, all the way down to the Kangol and gold chain of a man who needed love.

Pop the cassette in the tape deck of 'The FORCE', and this is the one that radio needs. It's crazy to think it's been eleven years since LL was 'Authentic', and even more since some fans think he has been. Even though you can't deny the 90s big-three of 'Mr. Smith', 'Phenomenon' (do-do-da-do-do) and 'G.O.A.T' (certified). Or the new millennium, one of the anniversary of '10', the self affirming 'Todd Smith', or the 'Exit 13' detour. Yet walking with a panther once again, we get to see why the most slept on legend in the game, who is still pushing rhymes like his weights is bigger and deffer. Bringing the boom box, street shaking joints of pure 'Passion' for this live 'Saturday Night Special' (featuring Fat Joe and Rick Ross). The punctuated 'Proclivities' (featuring Saweetie and a 'Flava In Your Ear' sample) of these string singles and throwbacks like 'Murdergram Deux' (with an epic Hall of Fame inducting Eminem) makes this amazing album a classic for the source of all you mics. Not just one of the best rap, or actual albums of the year, but one of the best LP's of LL's classic career.

Farming from this boulevard, on this quest, fellow timeless legend Q-Tip is all over this album like a marauder. Producing the entirety of this album like Sufjan Stevens did John Legend's 'Favorite Dream' of a children's album last week. And after the last New Music Friday of Legend, Big Sean and Tyrese's 'Beautiful Pain', nothing is bigger than this. Recorded over four years and with four singles, this creative energy frequency features Snoop Dogg on the 'Spirit Of Cyrus', Busta Rhymes with 'Huey In The Chair', Nas on 'Praise Him', and Don Pablito, J-S.A.N.D. and Mad Squablz on the closing 'Vow'. Not to mention Sona Jobarteh on the standout 'Black Code Suite'. This is spiritually (and almost), 'The GOAT 2' from a man who resigned with Def Jam, like DMX before the late, great's tragic departure. And without them, too, the label on your LP wouldn't be so iconic. "Learning how to rap again" after almost making collaborative albums with 50 Cent (let's hope that sees the light of day like Lenny Kravitz's work with Prince), this is real.

Don't call it a retirement, like he almost did for his 'NCIS: Los Angeles' TV work. This is no lip sync battle for the real rhymer, who was spitting truth on his socials during the lockdown and Black Lives Matter movement of 2002. And now with 'Basquiat Energy' like Jay-Z, from the titular track to when he 'Runnit Back', Cool is on it again. 'Post Modern' impressionism with Tip ad-libs. "I came up off the street/Took some pissy steps up to the belly of the beast/Which way I go?/Kinda confusin', the machines are not workin’/There ain't no tokens or nothin', this s### done changed all a sudden/It’s like I died and came back", James T. Smith rips on '30 Decembers' like he will for the rest of his years and the infamy of his career. But on 'The FORCE' itself, THE force reminds us how far he's come. "Smooth as Luther Vandross down at St. Andrews/Shower on the yacht while we boppin' to Pop Smoke/Somebody tell immigration them cases is wardrobe/Succulent juices, we sip Pétruses in Bordeaux/Never losin' my memories of Farmers and Old Gold." After all these years, 40 to be exact, LL Cool J is still hard as hell. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Playlist Picks: 'Spirit Of Cyrus (Feat. Snoop Dogg)', 'Black Code Suite (Feat. Sona Jobarteh)', 'Murdergram Deux (Feat. Eminem)'.

Spin This: LL Cool J - 'The DEFinition'.