LL Cool J reveals his Mt. Rushmore of hip-hop.
As part of the promo run for Rock The Bells Festival this past weekend in Queens, New York, LL Cool J made his return to Today with Hoda and Jenna show. On the show, the rapper took part in the fun game where he answers five questions about his musical preferences, including the first song he memorized, his favourite music video and who is on his Mt. Rushmore of hip-hop.
“In terms of collaborators, it would be, DMX, because you know introduced him to the world,” he said about his favourite collaborators. “Eminem, because he’s one of the collaborators on my new record, you haven’t heard that song yet. Method Man, because I just love working with him. We did a great job on “4,3,2,1.” And Biggie, because we did “Flava In Ya Ear.” These are my dudes, I love them.”
“Mama Said Know Yo Out,” he said about his favourite hip-hop video. “I was thinking Lose Yourself by Eminem too. That’s one of my favorite hip-hop songs.”
LL Cool J is prepping the release of his next studio album, which will be his first project in over 10 years, a follow-up on 2013’s “Authentic”. In a recent interview, the “Mama Said Knock You Out” rapper revealed that Eminem will be one of the features on the album, along with Rick Ross, Nas, Fat Joe and Saweetie.
LL Cool J and Eminem has been showing love for each other in recent years, and the Detroit rapper also revealed how LL inspired him while growing up. “I think LL Cool J has been so vital to broadening the horizons of hip-hop,” says Em. “For my eleventh birthday. I got the radio tape. And in that moment, everything LL, I was into it. And I just think about having his posters everywhere. I would say he had a big impact on me early on. He gave me more confidence. Little more self-belief. The swagger that he had, If I can portray that swagger, I can go to school and kids might think I’m cool.”
“You know, LL Cool J got me this chain too. Since I was a little kid, I always wanted a chain. I was recording with Rick Rubin, and I was like, “Yo, can you ask LL where he got his chains from?” So he had these made and sent them to me. “I’m Bad” video, These are the same two chains he’s wearing in that video. That’s crazy, man.”
“I do remember when “Walking With the Panther” came out I wanted to hear that album so bad. There was a hotline you could call. I must have called this f**king thing a hundred times.”
He continued, “One of the pages that I took from him is how you address the haters. The way he did it and his passion in that song [Mama Said Knock You Out]. I don’t care who you are and how much you hate him, there is no way you can not like this song. “Damage, uh, damage, uh, damage, uh, damage.” Like Jesus Christ. He just said damage four times in a row and get away with it, He made you feel it. He was riding that beat, and you could also feel the passion. He wanted the crown back. That’s why they call him the GOAT, man. The whole blueprint he had, I stole it. Just trying to do my version of that.”
