LL Cool J – The FORCE

The FORCE (an acronym for Frequencies of Real Creative Energy) is the fourteenth studio album by American rapper and actor LL Cool J, released on September 6, 2024, by LL Cool J, Inc., Def Jam Recordings, and Virgin Music Group. It is LL Cool J’s first official studio album in over eleven years since his 2013 predecessor, Authentic, released equally as his first under his vanity label, LL Cool J, Inc., along with first by Def Jam since 2008′s Exit 13. It features guest appearances from Snoop Dogg, Fat Joe, Rick Ross, Sona Jobarteh, Saweetie, Busta Rhymes, Nas, Eminem, Mad Squablz, J-S.A.N.D., and Don Pablito.

The album is almost entirely produced by Q-Tip, who provides additional vocals on the bulk of the album, and had been involved in the development of the project since late 2020. The album also features additional production from the album’s guest stars Eminem and Sona Jobarteh, with J-S.A.N.D. producing the album’s final track alongside Kizzo.

Background
The album was originally set for development in the summer of 2014 under the title GOAT 2, alluding to it being a sequel to LL Cool J’s 2000 number-one album G.O.A.T. During 2015, he went idle from music to focus on acting (NCIS: Los Angeles) and hosting (Lip Sync Battle).

In March 2016, he announced his intentions to retire from recording music to focus more on his acting career. After negative feedback from fans, LL would later retract his announcement, and decided to scrap the original album and create a new one. In 2019, it was announced that LL Cool J and former labelmate DMX (who would later die in 2021)[10] resigned with Def Jam Recordings for their upcoming albums to be released. No follow-ups were heard of LL’s album afterwards until March 2022, when he confirmed on Instagram that producer Q-Tip was assigned to produce a majority of the album.

On February 22, 2023, LL playfully reminded his social media followers that his album was scrapped because “it was too hot”, before instating that it was “not yet worthy of a release” that year. That March, he and various artists embarked on a promotional tour leading up to the release of the album. On July 12, 2024, in celebration for the fortieth anniversary of the founding of his label, Def Jam, he announced the newly-titled The FORCE, claiming that he “had to learn how to rap again”.

On July 22, the album’s track list was revealed.

Singles
On June 15, 2024, the first projected single for the album, “Saturday Night Special”, was released. It features Fat Joe and Rick Ross. According to LL, it was originally intended for a joint collaborative album he recorded with rapper 50 Cent; it would ultimately be cancelled, because it “didn’t fit [his] style”.

On July 12, 2024, the second single, “Passion”, was released at the same time the album was announced.

“Proclivities”, featuring Saweetie, was released as the third single on August 9, 2024.

“Murdergram Deux”, featuring Eminem, was released as the fourth single on August 30, 2024.

Critical reception
The FORCE received generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 75, based on five reviews.

Andy Cowan of Mojo declared the album “a comeback”, finding LL Cool J to be “at his sharpest” lyrically, while also praising the guest appearances. Ben Devlin of musicOMH stated, “with no concessions to the mainstream whatsoever, the rapper is perhaps more focused on raw lyricism than on any LL record since Radio”, concluding that “If LL was aiming to re-establish himself as a living legend in the rap scene, The FORCE accomplishes this in spades as he sounds as fired up as ever”. Joe Muggs of The Arts Desk opined that “LL is in fine voice and furious flow”, and called Q-Tip’s production “a reminder that old-school, sample-based hip hop can be as heavyweight, as compelling, as mind-bending as anything post-trap youngsters can come up with”. Rolling Stone’s Miles Marshall Lewis wrote that “The FORCE is hardly LL’s grown-up 4:44 album. He’s the same Farmers Boulevard superhero he’s always been and the album is better for it”, also stating, “If LL has done nothing but craft his blackest album possible within the confines of pop-leaning hip-hop for oldsters, his mission is well accomplished”. Writing for Slant Magazine, Paul Attard was more critical, saying that “LL can still spit circles around nearly anyone. But there’s a surprisingly low ceiling to the music here beyond that, with some moments feeling rather thoughtless in their execution”.

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