That's the second great review for the new LL I've seen - will listen! Also fun the read the full Burning Ambulance treatment given to something less esoteric than what we usually depend on you for.
LL is my gateway into hip hop. It started with him and his war with Kool Moe Dee as written about in Spin magazine. I own every LL record. I have seen him in concert a bunch. I think LL is a little bit like Walt Whitman of hip hop. He is vast, contains multitudes....and he can go. LL is literally the bedrock on which Def Jam was built, and Def Jam is what hip hop is built on. LL is the on of the pieces of the foundation of hip hop.
what a shame about the ra records on leo/bandcamp being withdrawn: i'm glad i at least grabbed the disney songs one but i regret not scoring more. any chance they will someday be available?
Hard to say at the moment, but I now have a good relationship with Irwin Chusid, who runs all things Ra, so maybe I can convince him somewhere down the road...
I loved your review of LL Cool J's album. A former music critic whose opinion I trust called me a two weeks back raving about it. I finally listened last night and agreed. The old school, including the recent Common/Pete Rock and Rakim releases, has proved that making dope records doesn't have to end at 35. I hope Big Daddy Kane teams up with someone and returns soon to the studio.
Kane was the first rapper I *loved* in high school. I agree; he could do such an incredible "old man returns bearing wisdom" album with the right producer.
I saw him about 15 years ago perforning in Prospect Park with a white soul band that was sorta like the Dap-Kings, and they were great. Kane still sounded the way we remember him and the band was killer.
I hadn’t heard anything about this. Murdergram Deux is a total banger. I’m a bigger fan of LL Cool J now than I was in the time. If I listened to rap back then it was Tribe Called Quest, Beastie Boys or Public Enemy. I rediscovered Mama Said Knock You Out a couple years ago and the energy of it and the inventive wordplay knocked me out of my shoes. One of my go-to albums any time I go to the gym.
If someone would have told me 15 years ago that in 2024 on the eve of the end of democracy I would be listening to a new LL Cool J album I would have laughed, but your review is sending me there now.
That's the second great review for the new LL I've seen - will listen! Also fun the read the full Burning Ambulance treatment given to something less esoteric than what we usually depend on you for.
LL’s peak was before my 12-17 “golden era” so this release wasn’t on my radar at all. thanks for changing that! i’m excited to give it a listen
LL is my gateway into hip hop. It started with him and his war with Kool Moe Dee as written about in Spin magazine. I own every LL record. I have seen him in concert a bunch. I think LL is a little bit like Walt Whitman of hip hop. He is vast, contains multitudes....and he can go. LL is literally the bedrock on which Def Jam was built, and Def Jam is what hip hop is built on. LL is the on of the pieces of the foundation of hip hop.
what a shame about the ra records on leo/bandcamp being withdrawn: i'm glad i at least grabbed the disney songs one but i regret not scoring more. any chance they will someday be available?
Hard to say at the moment, but I now have a good relationship with Irwin Chusid, who runs all things Ra, so maybe I can convince him somewhere down the road...
My buddy was texting me repeatedly the other day that I needed to listen, to which I said 'yeah, yeah, ok".
I listened today. I was laughing by the first minute: "oh SHIT, what?!?".
This is a surprise up there with that Black Thought & Dangermouse record.
Soooooo many people have slept on him from the jump. This album isn’t a surprise to me.
I loved your review of LL Cool J's album. A former music critic whose opinion I trust called me a two weeks back raving about it. I finally listened last night and agreed. The old school, including the recent Common/Pete Rock and Rakim releases, has proved that making dope records doesn't have to end at 35. I hope Big Daddy Kane teams up with someone and returns soon to the studio.
Kane was the first rapper I *loved* in high school. I agree; he could do such an incredible "old man returns bearing wisdom" album with the right producer.
I saw him about 15 years ago perforning in Prospect Park with a white soul band that was sorta like the Dap-Kings, and they were great. Kane still sounded the way we remember him and the band was killer.
I hadn’t heard anything about this. Murdergram Deux is a total banger. I’m a bigger fan of LL Cool J now than I was in the time. If I listened to rap back then it was Tribe Called Quest, Beastie Boys or Public Enemy. I rediscovered Mama Said Knock You Out a couple years ago and the energy of it and the inventive wordplay knocked me out of my shoes. One of my go-to albums any time I go to the gym.
If someone would have told me 15 years ago that in 2024 on the eve of the end of democracy I would be listening to a new LL Cool J album I would have laughed, but your review is sending me there now.