So it was recently announced that “Exit 13”, the (natch) 13th album by rap legend LL Cool J, will be released this summer. Most LL fans have been pretty disappointed with the emcee/actor’s recorded output of late. The law of diminishing returns has definitely come into play. Quite simply, his last two albums were total crap, and the first single from his new one doesn’t bode well for the future.
The fact that in 2008, LL Cool J is releasing a song called “I Cry” featuring singer Lil’ Mo is a bit of a head scratcher. After all, didn’t Ja Rule (last seen scratching his head, wondering what happened to his career) release a song called “I Cry” featuring Lil’ Mo seven years ago?
It gets worse, folks…the song finds LL, who I might add is 40 years old, reciting tired street platitudes over generic production. It’s quite disappointing, and the fact that LL has joined forces with 50 Cent for at least part of this album disturbs me. Even when he wasn’t as far from his Queens roots as he is now, he didn’t pander to the lowest common denominator in his music. Now, it sounds like he doesn’t want to innovate musically, he just wants a hit. And it doesn’t even sound like he has an idea of what a hit is anymore. Completely disappointing.
Hear it for yourself: http://www.llcoolj.com
