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On Friday, LL Cool J announced his new album The FORCE, produced by A Tribe Called Quest’s Q-Tip and featuring Nas, Eminem, Rick Ross, Fat Joe, Busta Rhymes, Saweetie, Snoop Dogg, and more. To celebrate, the rap icon went on Charlamagne Tha God’s Out Of Context series, where he addressed the longstanding rumor that Jay-Z ridiculed him during a ‘90s rap battle.
LL Cool J said it was “bullshit” that, during the rap battle, he rapped a verse from his 1993 song “Funkadelic Relic.” Here’s what happened, according to him:
I see the guy, he’s in the club trying to flash money to get my attention and I’m looking like, okay. And then his man Sauce [Money] came up to me and was rappin’. So, I had a couple of rhymes… remember, I’m albums in now.
These are guys that ain’t had that deal. So, when I ain’t had a deal, I had a suitcase of rhymes. Now I’m albums in. Sauce said some rhymes. I said a couple of rhymes. Then I said a little bit of a song, “Ain’t No Stopping This.” A little bit. Then Jay came up rapping. I was out of rhymes, b. In no scenario was I fully loaded and ready to rhyme. If I was, I’m not exactly the first rapper that you wanna get into that shit with
So yes, did I run out of rhymes? Was I finished rapping? Abso-fucking-lutely. Was it their peanut gallery? Absolutely. But do you really wanna get into some of that shit with LL? You really want that? You dudes want those problems or it’s just a nice story to have?
Charlamagne also inquired if his 1996 track “Loungin” was a Jay-Z diss track since the music video depicted LL Cool J riding in a Lexus, which Jay-Z was known for driving at the time. However, he claimed it wasn’t, and that he “had no reason to diss him.” He said he tries to avoid problems with other rappers and prefers to stay positive, and said it must be “torture” for Drake to have deal with the aftermath of Kendrick Lamar’s massive diss track “Not Like Us.” “You’ll be fine, bro. Don’t trip,” he offered, saying rappers shouldn’t take diss tracks so personally.
Watch the full interview below, and see the tracklist for The FORCE.
TRACKLIST:
01 “Spirit Of Cyrus” (Feat. Snoop Dogg)
02 “The FORCE”
03 “Saturday Night Special” (Feat. Rick Ross & Fat Joe)
04 “Black Code Suite” (Feat. Sona Jobarteh)
05 “Passion”
06 “Proclivities” (Feat. Saweetie)
07 “Post Modern”
08 “30 Decembers”
09 “Runnit Back”
10 “Huey In Da 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., & Don Pablito)
The FORCE is out 9/6 on Def Jam Recordings / Virgin Music Group.