Don't call it a comeback: LL Cool J has detailed his first new album in 11 years. The formative MC will share The FORCE on September 6 via Def Jam Recordings / Virgin Music Group.
The FORCE marks LL Cool J's first studio album since 2013's Authentic, and its title is an acronym for "Frequencies of Real Creative Energy."
Fourteen tracks in length, the LP was produced by A Tribe Called Quest's Q-Tip, and features collaborations with Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross, Fat Joe, Saweetie, Busta Rhymes, Nas, Eminem and more.
"We're talking 14 tracks of straight fire, all crafted by myself and the one and only Q-Tip," LL Cool J said of his latest in a statement. "When you listen to this album, you're not just hearing music, you're experiencing a whole new vibe, a whole new level of artistic passion."
That "Passion" is on display in a video for the album's first single, which flits between LL furiously working his pad and pen in the basement and rapping live onstage.
LL Cool J became the first rapper to receive the Kennedy Center Honors in 2017. In 2021, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The FORCE:
1. Spirit of Cyrus (feat. Snoop Dogg)
2. The FORCE
3. Saturday Night Special (feat. Rick Ross and Fat Joe)
4. Black Code Suite (feat. Sona Jobarteh)
5. Passion
6. Proclivities (feat. Saweetie)
7. Post Modern
8. 30 Decembers
9. Runnit Back
10. Huey in the Chair (feat. Busta Rhymes)
11. Basquiat Energy
12. Praise Him (feat. Nas)
13. Murdergram Deux (feat. Eminem)
14. The Vow (feat. Mad Squablz, J-S.A.N.D. and Don Pablito)