LL Cool J’s new single “Passion” certainly lives up to his title, as he spits on what he loves about rap music and how much he cares about its artistry. It’s a very motivating and nostalgic track, an element that its new music video emphasizes by seeing LL in his current form and as a small child. There’s a particular emphasis on him writing rhymes in his notebook in presumably his childhood room, and it makes for a dynamic and engaging visual treatment as you can see the bars literally orbit around him and pop up in cartoon speech bubbles.
Furthermore, this is the latest single for LL Cool J’s upcoming album, and his first in over a decade, The FORCE (Frequencies Of Real Creative Energy). The project will feature Nas, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, and more massive guests across the 14-track, largely Q-Tip-produced tracklist, and it’s shaping up to be one of 2024’s biggest legacy releases. “[I was] going back to the drawing board and learning how to rap again,” he told the Associated Press about the LP. “The LeBrons, the Stephs, the Jordans and the Kobes, they all go back to the drawing board, they always try to make themselves better. I wasn’t trying to do trendy, and I wasn’t trying to recapture anything I did before.”
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LL Cool J’s “Passion” Music Video: Watch
Also, this “Passion” music video lands among LL Cool J’s reflections on his relationship with another icon of the game. During a conversation with Charlamagne Tha God, he spoke on how some people are under the impression that he has beef with Jay-Z. While the two MCs aren’t the best of friends, they’ve shown each other plenty of love over the years despite what some anecdotes, rumors, and lyrical interpretations might have you believe. After all, they’re two New York legends.
Meanwhile, LL Cool J is just as prone to talk about the current state of hip-hop. “Drake, that ‘Not Like Us’ s**t, that s**t’s torture for a motherf***er,” he said of the K.Dot and Drizzy rap beef during this Charlamagne convo. “Ah, s**t, little kids singing to it. You know that s**t’s bananas. You’ll be fine, bro. Don’t even trip. You just don’t take it personal… You can’t be overly sensitive. I get it. I been there, I know it. It can be upsetting… But you gotta control that.”
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