sampling

LL COOL J Says Being Sampled By The Notorious B.I.G. & Rick Ross Makes Him A “True Artist”

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LL COOL J says that The Notorious B.I.G. and Rick Ross having sampled him solidified his legacy as a “true artist.” The legendary rapper explained why he feels this is the case during an interview with Big Boy’s Neighborhood. Biggie’s 1997 track “Going Back to Cali,” samples LL COOL J’s song of the same name, while Rick Ross’ 2006 song, “I’m Bad,” also samples an LL COOL J song of the same name. Ross also sampled “I Need Love” for 2010’s “Aston Martin Music.”

“I love it,” he said when asked about Biggie’s Life After Death song. “I used to play it all the time, I loved it. Going going, back back, to Cali. I love it. He name-dropped me. I mean, Rick Ross did ‘I’m Bad’ over on one of his albums early on, that’s part of it.”

LL COOL J At The Grammys

LOS ANGELES, CA – FEBRUARY 15: Host LL Cool J speaks onstage during The 58th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on February 15, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

He continued: “Look, being used as source material is the stamp of you being a true artist. When other artists use you as source material. You know what I’m saying? When they use you for inspiration, that’s showing that you’ve really touched the world. And the beauty of it is, is when you really know it’s deep is when other people don’t even know that they’ve utilized you for source material. So I can sit there and watch a kid listening to ‘Going Back to Cali’ by Biggie and just sit there and say to myself, ‘Wow, I did that.’ That’s an incredible feeling because there’s something beautiful about the fact that you inspired another artist and they’re touching fans with utilizing you as inspiration.”

The interview comes as LL COOL J prepares to embark on his F.O.R.C.E. Tour. For his first arena tour in 30 years. he’ll be teaming up with The Roots, DJ Jazzy Jeff, and DJ Z-Trip. The shows will run all over North America from June through September.

LL COOL J On “Big Boy’s Neighborhood”

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Pete Rock Complains About Artists Sampling Recent Music

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Pete Rock says that modern hip-hop producers sample too much music that came out within the last few years. He also doesn’t like that the original songs are often already hits in their own right. He explained his opinion on the state of the genre during a tweet posted on Thursday.

“They are resampling rap and r&b records that was made only 3-4 years ago [crying laughing face emoji] no diggin for the hits they sampling what was already a hit recently lol [shrug emoji],” he wrote via Twitter. Afterward, users had mixed responses to Rock’s take. One noted, “This is nothing new. Good times was released in 78/79, Rappers delight was released in 1980.” Another argued, “Does it matter? The new era mostly do nothing out of love it’s for clout or notoriety. They participation trophy babies. They put for quick buck they not tryin to make music that outlives them. Social media changed the dynamics to all things.”

Pete Rock In NYC

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 01: Pete Rock attends 90’s Night With Talib Kweli In Concert at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill on June 1, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)

This isn’t the first time that Rock has voiced his disappointment with the current state of hip-hop. Back in 2020, he shared a clip of Tory Lanez on Instagram while saying that “you don’t have to have talent no more.”

“Horrible! This new shit is forced!” he wrote at the time, before adding, “No Leadership just Followers! what happened to the actual artist who gave you official inspiration for real to become something in music? for me it was marley marl, teddy riley, howie tee, 45 king, Larry Smith (RIP). This new generation shits on that, leading music to a bad place. Where i come from if your talent wasnt for real you had no chance.” He further argued, “Integrity of hip hop is out the window due to greed and thirstyness to be popular. Thats today’s generation. Minus the real dudes yall know who yall are, my 90’s torch bearers and dudes who keep the music real.” Check out Pete Rock’s latest take on Twitter below.

Pete Rock’s Recent Tweet

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