LL Cool J Talks New Album During TODAY Live Concert

LL Cool J’s fans are loving his new album, The Force.

On September 6, rapper Headsprung stopped by TODAY Plaza to perform new songs from his album Frequency of Real Creative Energy.

The rapper was greeted with cheers from fans who waited outside for hours to see him take the stage in New York City—and the Queens rapper didn’t disappoint.

He started off on a high note by inviting surprise guest Fat Joe and together they rapped the lyrics to their new song: “Saturday Night Special”“

“It’s a song about honesty, about keeping your word, and it’s through the lens of the street,” LL told the crowd.

LL continued his trip down memory lane and performed a medley of his greatest hits, including “Doin’ It,” “It Gets No Rougher,” “I’m Bad” and “Mama Said Knock You Out.”

“40 years and this Man is still at the top of the game… let it sink, guys!” one person commented on his performance online.

Another said: “This man has the greatest career in hip-hop history.”

A third added: “What a stage show… Salute to the GOAT.”

After the performance, LL gave an interview to TODAY for our “8 to 8” video series where he talked about his vibrant rap career, new album and much more.

“The Force” is your first album in 11 years. Can you tell us a little more about True Creative Energy Frequencies and how this acronym influences your creative process?

The title talks about the mindset you need to have in order to use the power in your life to attract what you want into your life to make your dreams come true. You have to vibrate at a certain frequency, and depending on what you are trying to achieve in life, those frequencies can change.

It’s about managing your moods and understanding that when you’re feeling certain things, you have to understand that what you’re obsessing over is what you’re attracting into your life, so you just have to keep that in mind as you go on this journey.

Throughout the entire record I’m just talking about different things that happened. Some of them are facts, some are fiction, some are fantasies, hybrids, blurred reality and all that. But ultimately everything vibrates on an inspired level. That doesn’t mean it’s negative or positive, but it’s definitely really inspired.

Who has been your favorite person to work with over the past three decades?

I think because you have to be on the same page. This is the first collaboration. It has to be you, your ego, your mind and where you are in your mind. But look, I had a blast working with everyone. Q-Tip and I had a great time working together on this project. He’s a great producer and artist, but we just had a great time. I had a lot of fun working with Joe. Eminem and I had a great time working on Murdergram Deux. We did it at Dr. Dre’s studio in Los Angeles, and I’d come into the booth and write my rhymes, then Em would come into the booth and write his rhymes, and then we’d go back and forth. It was amazing, so “Murdergram” was probably one of the most fun collaborations I’ve ever done because we actually did it together in the studio and it was a lot of fun.

You coined the phrase “GOAT”. Who are your top three GOATs from the 90s, 00s and now.

When I coined this term, I had no idea that it would turn into something like this and become part of popular culture. But it’s funny because I came up with it in 2000 and that’s when it kind of took on a life of its own.

There are GOATS that are good at many things. Some unsung, some heroes. It could be the Michael Jordans, Steph Currys, LeBrons, Michael Phelps and Simone Biles of the world, or it could be a teacher who goes above and beyond or a security guard who puts his life on the line. It all depends on the situation, but at the end of the day, it’s all about you going after what you really want and being successful at it, not being afraid and having the courage to be vulnerable, because to be a winner, you have to be are willing to risk being a loser. There is a certain vulnerability associated with this. If you are willing to risk it, risk your emotions, risk your ego, then you will put yourself in a position to succeed. So I say that there are a lot of GOATs for various reasons. Many people are good at many things.

What would you say to the version of yourself that performed at TODAY Plaza in 2004?

I think he was hot. It was hot outside, he pours water. I love it! I love everything about it. It is exactly what it is, exactly what you are looking at. There is no shirt, water is being poured on my chest. Happy. Love it. I love it. I would do it right now, but it’s too cold outside.

Question from Khalid: What was it like to be an artist in the 90s? How did you overcome these difficulties?

When I started, I was doing shows in Maine, and that was the first time hip-hop came to Maine. So it’s going to be about 20 kids in a gym with a few teachers and a couple of parents, and I’m going to be explaining to them that these are turntables and the DJ is going to make the record spin back and forth, and I’m going to say these rhymes, and if you listen, that’s it. will rhyme. Then I try to make comparisons to iambic pentameter, limericks and haiku – anything to make them think we’re doing hip-hop.

In the 90s, hip-hop began to gain momentum, but was still a subculture. I felt like I was the biggest fish in a much smaller aquarium. Then what happened was that some of the songs I wrote during that time transcended that time period and became classics. Then other hits and other things came along, but those were definitely the formative years of hip-hop because it went from block parties, house parties, and projects in the 80s to concerts in the 80s, but still without much attention from anyone. public.

Then the media started paying a little more attention to hip-hop and some groups, but not necessarily to me as much. It wasn’t just me—it was Run-DMC and then NWA and Snoop and all these different groups. Much later Biggie and Pac came along.

It was definitely fun to see music go from being a huge idea in our heads to being a huge idea actually being put into the world. It was a lot of fun and I lost my mind. I found it a couple of times – most of it – but lost most of it, you know what I mean?

Keith Urban is coming to TODAY next week as our next guest on the Plaza. What question do you have for him?

I love Keith! I want to know how he feels going by that last name. He’s urban. I’d like to ask Keith this: He’s done some amazing things in his genre and achieved tremendous success. How has he managed to maintain his long career when he’s only been here for a minute and has been really successful at the highest level for quite some time now. How does it feel? And by the way, I know Keith – how are you doing, Keith?

Rapid fire projectile

What’s your favorite sandwich to order at a bodega?

Turkey and pimento cheese! Not spicy, just with peppers, oil and vinegar. This is regular! It’s New York all day! You have to do it. I just ate one of these yesterday.

What album was the most meaningful to you as a child?

Probably one of them belongs to Richard Pryor (laughs). No, but if you’re asking which album influenced me the most, it wasn’t an album, it was hip-hop. You have to remember that I became a hip-hop fan at age 8, right from the beginning of hip-hop, right? So at the beginning of hip-hop, when those guys who were teenagers were maybe 15, 16, 17 years old, right? And I was about eight, but I was already a fan. So, hip-hop has had a huge influence on me.

I listened to hip-hop before it came out on vinyl. I listened to tapes. Even though I’m from Queens, I was on Long Island and there were foster kids in my neighborhood from the Bronx, and they were a little older, so they came to Long Island with all these tapes from the Bronx. . I was introduced to hip-hop very, very early. That’s why when I started Def Jam at 16, I had already been rapping for about eight years at 16, so I had enough strength to get started. Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin could have started a label around this guy because I was ready.

Who would you like to play in a film version of your life?

Well, it depends on what era. But I’ve already told everyone that I want Snoop Dogg to play me in my biopic. I’ve told everyone this over and over again. I’m kidding! No, I don’t know. I think it would probably have to be someone who has courage, who is like me, but more importantly, who has energy. You have to bring the energy.