LL Cool J Discusses New Mixtape

By Andres Tardio

From Hip Hop DX.com

LL Cool J is finalizing material for his latest album and finishing up work on an upcoming mixtape, Return of the G.O.A.T. With all the business involved with this stage of his career, the rapper spoke on why he chose to hit the streets with a tape.

"Me and Slay was just talking: 'Let's do a mixtape.' I said, 'Okay. Let's knock it out. Let's hit them something hard, something hot," LL told MTV recently.

"'Let's do something for the fellas so they don't feel I'mma oil my chest up, roll around in some feathers with my toenails painted.' ... So I said, 'Slay, let's do it,' " LL continued.

"I do things when I feel it. I don't do things because everybody else is doing them. Like clothing lines. Let's take that for example. I did a clothing line in '87, Troop. It was everywhere. They talk about clothing lines. Then I did the clothing line with Fubu. It was everywhere in the '90s. Then I did the Todd Smith and this thing with Sears recently with the LL Cool J brand. People talk about Def Jam, I owned a piece of Def Jam. I sold it back. People don't really know my history. I own my own catalog. These are things that people don't understand that's going on in LL's life. I'mma do a mixtape for no money, just to show cats how nice I am on the microphone. You have a whole generation of people who think all I ever do is love songs."

Presumably, LL could have chosen any mixtape deejay to team up with. Why Slay?

"Slay is hot. I have a lot of respect for Slay," he said.

In the mixtape, LL blasts off on a variety of topics. He also spoke on some of them.

On "Laptop Gangsters":

"That's just a freestyle I call 'Laptop Gangsters' because these guys get on the Internet and become laptop gangsters. They have all these theories and ideas of what they think real hip-hop is and what it isn't. The reality is, most of them guys [weren't born] when the music was created. ... Now they wanna get on the Internet and tell me what's what. I'm kinda touching them up a little bit and dealing with that."

On "Who Want It With the G.O.A.T.":

"We used that Rick Ross 'The Boss' beat. I think it's important to just set the tone for what I feel I've contributed to hip-hop and this culture. It's not just about love songs — even though I invented that and brought it to this music. Now you almost can't have an album without it. It's become a part of the blueprint. As the first solo rap star in the history of our culture, sometimes you have to speak and let people know what you're really feeling. I felt a mixtape was the way to do it. Plus, I'm not looking for money from Slay. I'm not trying to get paid off the tape. It's not always about a dollar all the time. Money ain't my god. I'm paid, but it ain't my god. God is my god."

On his new album, LL also explained his confidence.

"I got Def Jam behind me. It's the new Lakers. The energy is great."