LL Cool J is tired of money rap and says it’s time for rappers who only rap about material things to find another topic.
“[When] a rapper comes out, and he’s talking that money talk, you love it,” LL told Baller Alert. “But 12 years later, he’s still talking that money talk, and now you’re looking at him like, ‘Dude, do you have anything else to talk about?'”
LL then gave reggae legend Bob Marley as an example.
“He talked about something,” he continued. “He had something to say. And guess what? You don’t care what Bob Marley had in the bank. Because that’s not the metric for success. It’s not the metric for cultural success. Bob Marley did not have to be rich. He was rich in what he did and what he created, and what he put in the world. That sh-t matters.”
LL told rappers, “The wallet can’t un-corny you.”
LL Cool J on artists who only talk about how rich they are in their songs:
— Joey (@gothamhiphop) July 27, 2024
“Do you have anything else to talk about?…You know why [we all] know Bob Marley? Because he talked about something. Because he had something to say…The wallet can’t un-corny you.” pic.twitter.com/LhHbLtR3Lo
LL Cool J is an American rapper and actor. Signed to Def Jam Recordings in 1984, LL Cool J’s breakthrough came with his single “I Need a Beat” and his landmark debut album, Radio (1985). He achieved further commercial and critical success with the albums Bigger and Deffer (1987), Walking with a Panther (1989), Mama Said Knock You Out (1990), Mr. Smith (1995), and Phenomenon (1997). His twelfth album, Exit 13 (2008), was his last in his long-tenured deal with Def Jam.
LL Cool J has appeared in numerous films, including Halloween H20, In Too Deep, Any Given Sunday, Deep Blue Sea, S.W.A.T., Mindhunters, Last Holiday, and Edison. He played NCIS Special Agent Sam Hanna in the CBS crime drama television series NCIS: Los Angeles.
A two-time Grammy Award winner, LL Cool J is known for hip-hop songs such as “Going Back to Cali,” “I’m Bad,” “The Boomin’ System,” “Rock the Bells,” and “Mama Said Knock You Out,” as well as R&B hits such as “Doin’ It,” “I Need Love,” “Around the Way Girl” and “Hey Lover”. In 2010, VH1 placed him on their “100 Greatest Artists Of All Time” list. In 2017, LL Cool J became the first rapper to receive the Kennedy Center Honors. In 2021, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with an award for Musical Excellence.
