Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee and two-time Grammy® Award-winning hip-hop icon LL COOL J triumphantly returns to music with his new single “Saturday Night Special” featuring Rick Ross and Fat Joe. Released via Def Jam Recordings and Virgin Music Group, the track marks LL’s comeback after a decade-long hiatus.
The new single, produced by Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Q-Tip, kicks off with an innovative sonic approach. LL COOL J, Rick Ross, and Fat Joe navigate the track with lyrical finesse, depicting life’s harsh realities and intricate dynamics and the code of ethics that governs it. Named after the revolver class “Saturday Night Special,” the song explores key players in the hustle, such as the “greedy killer” who reacts violently to disrespect and the “daredevil type” who seeks attention. Emphasizing self-preservation and strategic interaction, the song’s core message revolves around trust and reciprocity in the hustle.
The minimalist, black-and-white music video, directed by JakeTheShooter with creative direction from HiHat, brings the hustler anthem to life. Shot in Miami, Florida, the video features LL, Fat Joe, and Rick Ross performing together.
“‘Saturday Night Special’ is just the beginning,” LL said. “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.”
The single is the first release from LL’s highly anticipated 14th studio album, The FORCE (Frequencies of Real Creative Energy), set for release this fall. Executive produced by Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest, the album celebrates the 40th anniversary of Def Jam Recordings, the label that first launched LL’s career.
LL Cool J has his new album locked in and ready to go. In an online clip, LL announced his new single, “Saturday Night Special,” which will arrive this Friday, June 14.
“In case you missed it, here’s a new single, ‘Saturday Night Special,’” LL Cool J said. “It’s coming June 14. Go to the link in the bio. Sign up to the pre-save it. Ya know what I mean?”
Making fans even happier is the announcement of his album for this fall. “It’s the real deal, baby. It’s go time. ‘Saturday Night Special’ is the first single. I’ll let you know about the features. Couple of days … Hit the link in the bio, you’ll be able to find out a little sooner. Tracklisting for the album is coming. Album will be out in the fall. Yo, it’s on, baby.”
On this day in Hip Hop history, LL Cool J released his third studio LP Walking with a Panther on Def Jam Recordings in 1989.
Peaking at #1 on the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop chart and #6 on the Billboard 200, this album continued LL’s streak of commercially successful albums as well as served as one of Hip Hop’s early crossover projects.
During that era, Def Jam was working to bring Hip Hop to the forefront of the mainstream, and this album was geared to reinvent LL Cool J’s sound while retaining its Hip Hop integrity. Although it may have been publicly successful at achieving its goal, some critics have said this project may have brought LL’s street credibility into question.
Regardless of critical opinion, the appeal of this album outshines anything negative that could be said about it. The most impressive and respectable feat of this project is LL’s introduction as a self-produced MC. Throughout Walking with a Panther he proved that not only was he capable of knocking out hit after hit but was also a proficient beat maker. The original production team used to create the majority of LL’s better-known songs prior to this album, L.A. Posse, decided to part ways with Def Jam following a contractual disagreement. This altercation left only one member of the team, Dwanye Simon, left to work with LL Cool J in producing the entirety of the LP.
This project also toted some of LL Cool J’s biggest hit singles including: “Going Back to Cali” and “Jingling Baby.” Both of these singles are hallmarks of LL Cool J’s career and in their own way describe his career as a whole. LL’s appeal was from the beginning catered toward the female demographic while still retaining his “cool guy” demeanor in a way that it wasn’t awkward for males to also be in huge support of his music and style. Much like a proto-Drake, LL Cool J through this album was able to deliver enough to keep the streets happy all while maintaining the attention of his female fan base.
On this date in 1987, LL’s Bigger And Deffer album was released via Def Jam/Columbia/CBS Records. As his second release, the critics expected the “sophomore jinx”, but received the exact opposite. In fact, B.A.D. was the album that catapulted Cool J to superstar status immediately following his cameo appearance as a crate carrying, up and coming “LL Kool J” in Krush Groove. At the time, LL also had two DJs; DJ Cut Creator and West Coast super-producer DJ Bobcat.
Recorded at the legendary Chung King Studios and produced by DJ Pooh and L.A. Posse, Bigger And Deffer contained two of LL’s biggest singles to date; “I’m Bad” and the feminine driven “I Need Love”. This was the first successful Hip Hop love song, however, it set the precedent for many more to follow.
The album made our Top 100 Best Rap Albums list while selling over 3 million copies here in the U.S. Salute to Uncle L, DJs Cut Creator and Bobcat, E Love, and the whole Def Jam team for this classic!
LL Cool J is a hip-hop legend. He’s been relevant for longer than some rappers have been alive, so he gets to say what he wants during interviews. LL went on The Shop with Lena Waithe recently, but rather than target younger rappers, he had criticism for another legend. The NCIS star took Andre 3000 to task for refusing to put out a rap album, and instead give fans an album of flute instrumentals. He was baffled by Andre’s decision. He’s only confused by the flute album, he’s frustrated thinking about the rap album that Andre could have made.
The whole thing came about when Waite asked LL Cool J about inspiration. The rapper noted that he likes to express himself in different mediums, whether it be acting or music. “Sometimes some things are more fascinating to an artist,” he conceded. The thing he couldn’t understand was abandoning a calling. Which is the very thing he felt Andre 3000 did when the Outkast member gave up rapping. “Andre,” he called out. “Do we want him to make a rap album? Sure. But he’s like, ‘I’m on this flute game.’ This is my jam right now, I’m super into this.’”
The man born James Todd Smith appreciates Andre’s artistry, but he wants bars. “I need him to spit, though,” he asserted. “I need him to spit. Flutes? Man, come on, bro. His bars is all the way up. I’m very clear. Not the flute, B. Not the flute. Don’t do the flute.” Lena Waithe came to the defense of Andre’s flute album, New Blue Sun, by describing it as calming. LL Cool J wasn’t having any of it. He likened the album to the notion of him making a violin album. “You wanna hear me do a violin,” he asked Waite. “You might not wanna hear me do sh*t, but do you wanna hear me do a violin?” The comment won over The Shop co-host, Maverick Carter. He agreed that he wanted to hear Andre 3000 “spit” again.
LL was not just critical of other artists, however. He was willing to be brutally honest about his own work. He wait Waite and Carter that he’s put out some bad albums over the course of his career. “I make bad albums, but I also have some smack, some crazy shit too,” he noted. “But I made bad sh*t, or sh*t that people didn’t respond to because that was where I was at.”
He went on to explain that sometimes he made albums knowing they wouldn’t connect with the public. “Sometimes I make records in a vacuum,” he concluded. “Just because it’s for me and then sometimes I make albums for the culture.” Who knows, maybe fans will get that violin album he joked about one day.
You aren’t a viable member of the hip-hop community if you don’t make a statement on the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar battle. At least, it feels that way. Every notable rapper from the 1980s to the present has weighed in on the conflict and chosen sides. Some have criticized Drake and Lamar for going too far and making the battle personal. Others have championed their dedication and their willingness to push the boundaries. Charlamagne tha God dubbed it the greatest rap battle he’s ever seen. Wyclef Jean is the latest legend to give his two cents, and he mostly agrees with Charlamagne.
Wyclef Jean, who rose to fame in the 1990s, fully supports the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar battle. He neglected to mention which artist he picks as the current winner, but he had praise for both sides. He was even okay with the fact that Drake and Lamar were hitting below the belt with their disses. Wyclef shared his thoughts on X (formerly Twitter), along with some context. “As someone who came up with Battle Rap being part of our culture in New Jersey and Brooklyn her[e] is my opinion as a Fugee,” he prefaced.
From there, the Fugees frontman laid out the ground rules for a rap battle as he sees them. The most important rule? That anything was up for grabs. “Drake Vs Kendrick,” he posited. “In True Form of Battle Rap, anything goes.” Wyclef Jean went as far as to endorse multiple responses if it meant getting the upper hand in a battle. “The key is to be ready with what’s called a Rebuttal,” he posited. “Which means you get to respond back to every Diss track as it comes out. You get to put facts to any lies that you feel your opponent has cast on you…”
Wyclef Jean may be best remembered for his genre fusions, but he does have battle experience. He went at it with LL Cool J on the 1998 song “Retaliation.” The rappers eventually squashed their beef at Big Pun’s funeral two years later. Wyclef also had tension with Fugees bandmates Lauryn Hill and Pras, with the former putting out the Grammy-winning diss “Lost Ones” about him. The group has since made up and even performed together onstage.
On this day in Hip Hop history, the self-proclaimed G.O.A.T., LL Cool J released his number one hit single “Mama Said Knock You Out.”
Not only was this song a GRAMMY-winning success, but the story behind it is an interesting one. The track came at a time in LL’s career where his commercial success was beginning to dwindle. He had yet to break into his acting career in a large way and his sales were starting to drop. It’s said at this low moment LL sought counsel from his grandmother who told him to “knock out” all the disbelievers. This inspiration was obviously exactly what LL needed and gave him the power to write one of the most popular songs of the year.
“Mama Said Knock You Out” won Best Rap Solo Performance at the 1992 Grammy Awards. LL Cool J beat out MC Hammer, Monie Love, and Ice- T for the award. The song also peaked at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and 1 on the Billboard Rap Singles chart.
One of the greatest business moves artists and rappers can make is owning their masters. This means they control where their music is licensed (in TV, film, and advertisements) and, as a result, reap the financial rewards. Record labels began taking ownership of artist’s masters in the 1950s. During the “golden age of vinyl,” they cornered the market. And yet, to this day, “…a label is still contractually owning the voices of people who spent their whole lives honing their craft and becoming great writers, vocalists, and superstars, ” said Chance the Rapper in an interview with Success. Many of today’s rappers were inspired by trailblazing artists like Ray Charles and Prince, who took control of their legacies by regaining their masters. Here’s a list of rappers who have been wise enough to gain ownership of their masters.
21 Savage
In January 2017, fresh off the enormous success of his EP Savage Mode, 21 leveraged a deal with Epic Records. He has a 70/30 split with the label. “I make more money off my album sales than I do off touring. For a lot of rappers, most of their money comes from touring,” he admitted on the podcast A Million Dollaz Worth of Game.
The American Dream rapper says that his masters serve as generational wealth for his family. However, if the bag is long enough, he has no problem with handing them over. “But…if a m-thaf-cka come and say, ‘Aye…I got a billion for your masters,’ that m-thaf-cka’s gone,” he added.
Kanye West
“My children gonna own my masters…not your children, my children”.
Kanye West is currently without a record label or a music publisher but has made one thing clear: he has no intention of selling his catalog. Just last year, West acquired his masters from the 2013 Yeezy album up to the present. Def Jam owns the copyright to his recordings up to sometime in the mid-2010s and distributed subsequent releases up to last year’s Donda album. But his actual deal with the label ended in 2021. Sony Publishing will continue to administer his work (such as Vultures ) per the terms of the deal for an unspecified time.
Billboard estimated the songs generate $13.25 million inpublishing royalties annually. Sources said West earns $5 million from his share, valuing the catalog at roughly $175 million. In an effort to give artists the same autonomy, Kanye also tweeted in Sept 2020 that he would be giving all of his G.O.O.D. Music artists back the 50 percent share of their masters. He also proposed an eight-point plan that would revolutionize the music industry. Artists and rappers would receive master ownership, short-term deals, an 80/20 split of royalty payments in the artist’s favor, and transparency.
Media mogul Jay-Z demanded control of his Def Jam masters when he became president of the label in 2004. The rapper’s masters would later revert back to him in 2014, with his publishing rights returned to him around the same time in a separate deal with EMI. As of 2021, his music catalog was worth $95 million. In an interview last year with CBS Morning’s with Gayle King, he revealed that he’s not interested in selling his musical repertoire. “I want my kids to see my work and if they decide to sell it, then it’s up to them.”
Chance The Rapper has mentioned many times the huge impact owning his masters has made on his career. In 2016, Chance declined a record deal with Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music, opting to stay independent. It paid off because he owns all his recording rights, publishing, and distribution. The rapper, who has a 50/50 royalty split, continues to influence rappers and emphasize being in control of one’s career. In 2022, he even helped iconic singer Anita Baker regain control of her master recordings after she asked fans to stop streaming her music.
Drake
In 2021, Drake received the largest deal in music history from Republic Records and Universal. The $400 million deal included recordings, publishing, merchandise, and visual media projects. Prior to the Scorpion rapper’s historic deal, Michael Jackson held the top spot as having the largest deal in music history. According to reports, $250 million went to his estate in 2010 from Sony Music.
LL Cool J
An OG in the game, LL Cool J has owned his masters for over 20 years. The Queens native has full authority over all 13 of his studio albums on Def Jam. In an interview with Million Dollaz Worth of Game, he revealed that being sampled by rappers like Rick Ross and The Notorious B.I.G. proves his legacy is cemented.
No shortage of pressure comes with being a celebrity. From wanting to nail every performance in their respective crafts to being constantly scrutinized for their weight and physical appearance, being in the public eye certainly isn’t easy. Method Man and LL Cool J know this all too well, seeing as they’ve been American hip-hop heartthrobs for decades now. The peak of their careers took place before social media was at the forefront of our lives, but even now, Twitter/X users are sparking debates about which of the two entertainers is more appealing.
To be fair, both the Wu-Tang Clan alum and the “Mama Said Knock You Out” artist have a lot going for them. The former’s been married to Tamika Smith, who he shares three kids with, since 2001. Meanwhile, Cool tied the knot with Simone Smith in 1995, leading to the birth of four beautiful children. Regardless of their marital status, thirsty fans can’t help but lust after Method Man’s gym videos, or drool over LL’s muscular build.
As HipHopDX notes, many are divided between the rap pioneers. “Method Man is aging so much better but LL can still get. In conclusion: Both,” one person shared their opinion under @laugh_track_nat’s tweet. “I read an article where LL Cool J house was getting robbed and he squared up with the thief and beat his ass. So I’m going with him,” another submitted their vote in favour of the 56-year-old. “Hmmmmm. Can I go back and forth ?” someone else flirtatiously inquired, not wanting to give up either hunk.
Keep scrolling to see how Twitter/X users feel about choosing between LL Cool J and Method Man. If you have a preference between the hip-hop icons, be sure to let us know in the comments. For more music/pop culture news, check back in with HNHH later.
New Year’s Eve is right around the corner which means the annual New Year’s Rockin Eve celebration is about to hit New York. The event had already announced an absolutely stacked lineup of performances planned for the night. Megan Thee Stallion, Ludacris, Post Malone, and Doechii were already set to bring hip-hop flavors to the event and now there’s even more on the way.
Recently both LL Cool J and Cardi B were added to the lineup. While fans are hyped for their inclusion, it certainly raises some questions about the ongoing drama in Cardi B’s personal life. She was originally booked to play a show at the same venue as her husband Offset. The pair have been subject to many rumors of separation in recent weeks and Cardi moving her performance to a new venue won’t slow them down. They join an already impressive lineup of performers that includes Tyla, Janelle Monae, Green Day, Sabrina Carpenter, Jelly Roll, Ellie Goulding, and many more. Check out the announcement of their inclusion in the lineup below.
Most of the drama surrounding Cardi B in recent weeks has had to do with her marriage. Fans first noticed that her and husband Offset unfollowed each other on Instagram earlier this month. The rumors haven’t stopped since then, especially after Cardi described herself as “single” in an Instagram livestream. Fans got some mixed messages from Cardi in recent days that didn’t help clear anything up.
Last week, Cardi was caught dissing Offset on video. The clip made the rounds just a day before the pair were back spending time together again on Christmas. While it was still Christmas Cardi also took the opportunity to shoot down fan rumors that Offset had cheated on her. What do you think of Cardi B and LL Cool J being added to the New Year’s Rockin’ Eve Lineup? Do you think Cardi was deliberately trying to get away from Offset on New Years? Let us know in the comment section below.
(@laugh_track_nat) 
?” someone else flirtatiously inquired, not wanting to give up either hunk.
Deena Jones’ Audacity 
(@Dangerous_mind) 
(@TattedShinobi) 
(@TathyanaXO) 
L E A
(@Beautifulndbold)