LL Cool J - The Force ALBUM REVIEW
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- Опубликовано: 9 фев 2025
- Listen: • LL COOL J - Murdergram...
A late-career W for LL Cool J.
More rap reviews: • Hip Hop Reviews
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Team: Jeremy - Lead Edits / Anthony - Final Cuts / Austen - Proofing, Posting
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FAV TRACKS: SPIRIT OF CYRUS, THE FORCE, SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIAL, RUNNIT BACK, HUEY IN THE CHAIR, PRAISE HIM, MURDERGRAM DEUX
LEAST FAV TRACK: PROCLIVITIES
LL COOL J - THE FORCE / 2024 / DEF JAM / EAST COAST HIP HOP
7/10
Y'all know this is just my opinion, right?
LL sounded pretty good but I really loved the Q-Tip production and ad-libs/vocals throughout the project. I miss Tribe
i miss tribe too
im glad Q-Tip still cooking up, feels like tribe all over again, and LL uses those beats amazingly
@@pennywarms who doesnt ;_;
Tip had an acclaimed solo album I never listened to after his solo debut. I ain’t even listened to Phife’s either. We deserve the trash music we get tbh.
@@oophorror2251 wdym
LL rapping his ass off on this album. Very impressed with how sharp he sounds at 56 years old.
I dont get how it didn't make his top 50
Melon said knock you out
fax
Don't call it a come-brat
Cal Cus" D'Amato
Best comment!
This is how I found out LL Cool J dropped a album in big '24
^^
2400? Or did you mean '24.
@@mercster wouldn't know what your talm bout friendo
given algorithms don't recommend anything interesting, fantano is usually how I find out about any new music
@@WuntaykTimmy1 Stay in school.
This and the new Common/Pete Rock albums are testaments to the late-career rap albums that some older rappers are scared of. That album and this one are both so solid, refreshing & well made.
Yeah. Common and Pete is my fav. Best álbum of year for me 🩷✨ just sublime
Did fantano even do a review for the Auditorium V1?
it stands as album of the year for me
Yes that Common album is always so refreshing to listen to 👑 They both shine on that record and stood the test of time
Samurai too
Yeah, that new Common/Pete Rock project needs more recognition, real talk.
All jokes aside, I’m really happy this album was good. LL Cool J proved he still has it and gave us one of the hardest albums of the year.
Facts track 2 🎉🎉🎉🎉
That LL and Em track was great. Loved the beat.
Beat reminded me of I’ll Hurt You by Busta and Eminem
Gatman and Robin too
@@yungplouie yeah the beat was pretty similar
It was good but u can tell Eminem wrote it for him
It was awesome, I love hearing LL pull out the game he still got
LL Cool J on that jedi shit 😭
Jedi Master on the Jedi Council shit
LL deserves to have the type of comeback that Nas did with King’s Disease, because this album feels like a strong return to form.
Nas didn't have a comeback tho... Can't pop up in the streaming era and claim it's a comeback. The metric has changed and everything seems better than it actually is.
Magic 3 tho
@@PancakeDiariesHe has. 6 albums (2 trilogies) in the last 4 years, 3 grammy nominations and a grammy won. He has released some of his best albums ever especially in KD3, KD2 and Magic.
@@xyromastr Grammy nominations mean zilch... Ever won album of the year? Is he releasing a.d being heralded amongst rap elite, or just being bundled at nominee time with drill rappers? Best and worst are matters of perspective, btw. Nas NEVER had any comeback apart from the Jay beef that put his sales, visibility, and notoriety back on the table. LL is a different beast from Nas... Big albums, movies, and TV shows. I can guarantee LL is better off than Nas. Now, if ur talking art for the sake of it, then yeah... He's still fire, but he hasn't given us anything as groundbreaking as illmatic SINCE illmatic. I manage rappers, handle contracts, was once signed to AZ etc... I know rap and my opinion stands
@@PancakeDiaries youre saying he has to have an album as innovative as the best hip hop album ever to have a comeback lmao? nas objectively has rejuvenated his career since 2020, you sound like a weird hater.
Didn't think he would review this! It's amazing to see all-time HipHop legends like LL Cool J, Nas, Common and Masta Ace dropping late-career gems
Ace has always been on point.
Rakim dropped a pretty solid joint this year too. I hope three stacks is paying attention.
I don't think Ace has dropped a bad album. His "worst" project is better than some artists entire discography
@@SolidSnake240 Disposable Arts takes the cake for me. Got both the album and instrumentals on vinyl. Far from his only moment though. You could listen to slaughterhouse and the new shit he dropped with marco polo and have a very enjoyable experience.
RIP Phife Dawg
RIP PHIFE
Phife is life in tha afterlife
PHIFE DOG
RIP the 5 foot assassin
a 7 for a rapper who has been around 40 years! Bless you, James Todd Smith
Yeah, especially when all the other songs are so garbage.
That’s so skibidi 😭😭🙏🙏
Don’t sleep on 90-2000s LL. Dude was the only one from the 80s still having hits in that era.
I had Phenomenon on repeat when I was a teenager lol
@@thechief00 Mr Smith all bangers man, "Life as" prod by Easy Moe Bee.... "I shot Ya" "doin it" "loungin" aaaaall classics
don't forget about Public Enemy
@@pegaz354Eh. All due respect to them, PE had a slight comeback with He Got Game, but they were never on the same level of mainstream consciousness as LL. At any m time. LL had literally 20 years of popular bangers.
@@thechief00 This! And who could forget "Doin' It"...remix included!
That whole mafia scheme Em did on Murdergram was rlly good
I like the garden and pick a tulip (tool up) scheme too..
how do you get tulip as an entendre to tool . they sound nothing alike .
@@thdarkonex3 it's a play with words, if, by now, you don't know how Eminem bends words or puts accents on them to rhyme then I don't know what to tell you... It's really not too hard to make such an easy adjustment with pronouncing tulip, hell some people already pronounce it as "toolip", so I'm not seeing why that's so hard of a stretch? "I call it plucking flowers cause I was so quick to pick a tool up" hell I couldn't even say that into the mic without it correcting it to tulip... Just to reassure that's what he meant there's an adlib right after saying "click click"
I love the trend of the 50 and up rappers dropping albums and most of them didnt disappoint
Hip Hop doesn’t age my boy
@@barefoot_ty It sure doesnt bro
@@barefoot_tythanks to jay z who made that cool
@@Newportnews98jay z hasn’t dropped an album in 7 years and only has 2 albums since turning 40. The other old heads make way more music then Jay z he didn’t make anything cool besides tricking people into thinking he can rap 😂
Some artists age and mellow out and don’t have so much to say - which is fine. Others take a look around and suddenly (whatever the reason) get that second wind. The track with em is great fun I think, but I’m in my sixties. Old folk got weird taste, I’m the first to admit it.
He should’ve started the album with “you can call it a comeback, i’ve been gone for years”
"Yeah you called me a chump but I outlasted my peers""
cwhuteuedidthere
@@Caffeine_ClubLL out lasted all his peers, 1984 to 2024, need I say more the GOAT.
He did flip that on Exit 13 on "Time For War" - "It's ok, if you call it a comeback//And let them know I'm ready for combat" already
I had no idea LL Cool J dropped a new album, thanks for letting me know.
Still making solid music after so many years. WW Cool J
This might be LL’s best album in terms of overall Quality & Content. It doesn’t have those traditional “LL” vibes that he’s known for. You can tell he wanted to do something much more meaningful In terms of subject matter, substance & Quality. I’ve sat with this project since it dropped & it’s only gotten better with each listen. Definitely 1 of my favorite projects this year & I’m glad LL dropped this project on us. He was definitely hungry with this one. Great project.
I literally told myself this is probably his best album
And it is his BEST!!!
Best album? come-on man R U crazy. Bad album nothing like his music at all.
Me and my cousin said the same thing. This is one of LL Cool J‘s best albums to come out from him very impressed with this album.
This album has a lot of replay value! Definitely in my top 5 so far. Q-Tip really is HIM.
Holy crap it's Anthony Fantano's review of the new LL Cool J album, The Force
Honestly, this album is pretty friggin’ dope. Some surprising and creative shenanigans going on in there!
Best album of 2024. He was like a super hero to me as a kid. I even had his kids book that came with a CD. I love this record.
Wow
30 Decembers makes me cry. Idk why. I think it’s because the somber instrumental and because LL matches that energy with what he’s describing
Me too!! Damn though i was the only one, everything in that song is so dark, nostalgic and melancholic, feels like an ode to an old relative who passed away too
The dude behind the counter got a million dollar smile
But something tells me the world gonna pay for it
This album randomly popped up in my Spotify and was great! The title track is in my regular rotation now
LL Cool J is still here
@7xxxx7xxxx7 no I was confused that he’s still making music
I would call this album a comeback but LL's been here for years
Big Sean couldn't even get a review😂
Lmfaoooo
Fontana always tries to shit on Eminem like he assumes everyone else would agree with him. What a load of B.S. I loved this album, and Eminem did magic with LL.
yeah one of my fav this year
Fandango definitely puts on a front for his cringeass fanbase that actively watches him whenever he livestreams. It's funny considering how he even admits that he was a big fan of Em while he was growing up which is common for midwestern white boys
It's the current trend, and it gets views/attention. People will wake up eventually
"On his best behavior" LOL
my friend woke me up by sending this album to me and i laughed out loud. now its one of my fav albums, this year😂 shoutout LL! Great Hip-Hop is timeless
Im actually surprised at how LL is still rapping like this, he went crazy on this album. Production was also fire af
Absolutely excited for LL! I'm not very well versed in LL's discography but that said, I noticed how he seemed to have sat back down and retaught himself some stuff while improving his existing skills. Basically sharpening his pen work. Loved his track with Eminem a lot. I will listen to this album for the next week or so. Definitely excited to dive into it deeper. And I'll have to dive back into his discography, properly this time. Thanks for the video, Anthony!
>Basically sharpening his pen work.
"You want a hit, give me an hour, plus a pen and a pad!"
LL still got it, this album was pretty sweet
I normally agree with most of ur sentiment, but you've lost your mind on Proclivities. That's 1 of if not THEE dopest track on the album.
It bangs in the whip for sure.
Damn right brother
LL is from the era that was built different. He'll never fall off.💯
9:31 He can't just give Eminem a compliment
Is that all you were looking to get from this review?
he's a hater fuck him🤣
@@jovanreid6782 no, but he literally can't just give Eminem a compliment without mentioning how bad his modern music is, even when there is literally no reason to do so. It's kinda hard to ignore.
@@jovanreid6782that's kinda the point, this review was about LL, he already mentioned how this brought the best in both of them, gave Em some flowers for being lyrically technical and then went into a side rant to immediately turn anyone off that would have either been open to hearing it (especially since Anthony just said he liked it), or already go in with the preconceived notion that Em will be lame.
Either way, it was fine til the part where he straight dogged Em for being cringe...
The only thing that’s cringe is some nerdy bald “hip hop hipster” with a hitler stash reviewing hip hop albums 😂 nobody takes this weirdo serious except for his equally weird fans.
The Force by LL Cool J is the most critical hip hop album in 2024. It solified not only the resurgence of hip hop legends but hip hop legends reclaiming their place in the genre they helped create to entertain the masses. Thank you, LL Cool J, Greatest Of All Time.
It's one of my favorite albums of the year honestly
Very strong album! Love the retro synths and good collabs. 8/10.
Not bad for his first album back bro
Album 🔥
LL made a very dope album. His wordplay on Passion is insane! I would give this album 4.5 🎤🎙️ out 5. LL came back with a vengeance! Excellent job LL!
Undersold Tip in this review. Honestly one of the GOAT producers.
i like this album but i like all of his albums.
this concludes my indepth album review.
Definitely one of my favorite albums this year!
Finally the industry putting respect on LL Cool J’s name
Your breakdown in the first 4 minutes is so good it's like I heard the album before I heard the album. My takeaway after 4 minutes of you speaking it that it has a nice sound but isn't worth listening to twice.
This album was DOPE!!!
Nobody out today can touch it...
Fontana praising Eminem in 2024???
A hip-hop artist who dropped his first project in 1985 releasing something this good in 2024. Unheard of. LL will always be in my top 5.
one of the rare phoenomenons where the review doesnt have any "if it was called" jokes in the comments
If he was called Kendrick Cool J..... no?
LL one of my favs I still blast 'jingling baby', 'back seat', & 'Around the way girl', also still love the Mr Smith album to this day, he's legendary, had no idea he had a new release coming
The disrespect is crazy. Flirted with R&B? He’s the reason rappers have singers on features. I guess if a rapper isn’t talking about guns and drugs 🍈 thinks they’re irrelevant.
It's like what LL would have made in 1999 if he had the freedom and credibility. But with modern audio quality and production, plus made by a seasoned Qtip. No commercial pressure is exactly right.
I thought the features on The Vow was great. The Force might be the best rap album of 2024.
No, Anthony, I will not stop taking bath salts.
Light 7 seems about right. Good review
Thank you Anthony for your analysis of flow. I’m never sure about a song until I hear Anthony say that there is some good flow.
Mama Said Knock You Out was fire.
the peggy danny shirt goes crazy
One of the best hiphop albums this year imo. Especially that track with Em!
It was an amazing track. However one thing irks me…..I feel like this song should have been on Eminem’s 2020 album “music to be murdered by”. Just my thought though. I’m really happy this song exists nonetheless.
The album is dope and he's tripping saying the vow has no memorable guest on it. That guy out of Louisiana J-sands had bars.
Dope review and like this album a lot. 30 Decembers is actually my favorite joint of the bunch. Also Anthony skipped right over Mr Smith which did have an impact on hip-hop culture in the 90s.
"Flirted a little bit with R&B" what is this guy talking about?
so nice to finally have a hip hop album that actually sounds like hip hop, and by one of the OGs nonetheless. the genre fell off so fucking hard once the trap influences took hold and old school fell to the wayside.
Fell of quality wise. But definitely changed alot of lives with how huge it got because of it
"The DEFinition" is a pretty good album by LL Cool J. It dropped in '04. Worth checking out.
I love that album
Album is str8 🔥
Didn't expect Anthony to enjoy Murdergram Deux.
Happy you reviewed it ❤
I don't think any rapper has a discography more all over the place than LL. From "I need love" to "Bitch don't make me hurt you." Followed by the greatest bars ever written, "zuh zuh zuh zuh zuh, zuh zuh zuh, zuh zuh zuh zuh zuh zuh zuh."
Eminem ????
@@ansuthebeast4845I was thinking the same thing 😂😂
@Newportnews98 insane how eminem can make claim to having one of the best 3 album runs in hip hop,
At the same time, can drop one of the worst record in hip hop as well.
The "zuh" lyrics are an interpolation of a hip-hop song "Planet Rock" from the 80s
@@LetterNumber these are Em fans, the don't know hiphop history bruh
LL is such a legend this album is fire 🔥
This album was way better than I thought it would be
40 yrs after first album he's still showing grandkids what rap music and real hop is not the mumble BS that gen z are listening to..I shiver
His flow on the BBL line was still tight tho
nice a 7! I was really impressed with the album cause I went into listening to it with low expectations
So glad you reviewed this project been enjoying quite a few songs off this
LL Cool J could write Not Like Us but Kendrick could never write Mama Said Knock You Out
🧢🧢🧢LL ain’t making tpab
@@Newportnews98Kendrick ain’t writing “I need love” 🧢🧢🧢
@BOAYang Real spit Fam...The guy above shouldn't even mention kdot with LL...Laughable
Lol...True
@@BOAYangI Need love is corny af 😂😂 LL paved the way for corny rappers like Drake and your proud of that?? LL albums were always average with 1-3 bangers, dude wasnt even better then BDK or Rakim stop the 🧢 he was popular for corny love songs not cuz he had bara
LL got twice the buzz as big sean.
Fantano was never into LL. Period.
I personally love his track with busta using and recreating the CAN sample from the 70s. That beat and the delivery is dope.
went to a listening party for the album in NY. Loved it then loved it now. His best album in 30 years. Most different unique album he's recorded. Most blackest album he's recorded. No tracks gets skipped on this. 5 mics
But does it have better songs than "Accidental Racist"??!!
@@whyisntitpossible404 if you think that’s a good song no need to continue this conversation
@@TrueSankofa7 And people are saying "mama said knock you out" is better. pfft. people clearly have no taste.
This album was a very pleasant surprise, and I wish Q-Tip would produce more albums
It seems like we all forgot that LL may still have that Jack in him. It took Canibus two tries and he found out about Jack first hand, sending his career careening of a ledge very early. Ice T and Kool Moe Dee also had first hand encounters with Jack! Y’all better watch it when talking about LL…you never know, Jack may just appear at your front door.
Ladies Love Cool Melon
LL 🔥🔥🔥
Thank you the overstated.
Gotta say, I’m surprised. I didn’t think Anthony would do an official review for this album
Kanye fans are mad cause he gave this album a higher ratting than dark fantasy😹👎🏽
1 like pack it up bro
@@wilzo7407 Don’t care 🤷🏽♂️ stay mad bro
@@whocares1444 ok
@@wilzo7407what do likes have to do with truth??
@@Apufc66 sigma
LL Cool J is hard as hell
i’m hard as hell (i am not tough) (i am erect)
Anthony’s reviews are always fair and non biased which I greatly appreciate. That said, I do believe he was being kind when he mentioned what was on “the cutting room floor”. Truth be told, LL COMPLETELY did his thing HOWEVER, musically it SUCKED. These are sadly some of the worst beats I’ve ever heard from Q Tip especially considering his stellar production catalog. I cringed through the first listening and decided to give it a second try and had muscle through that one. Murder Deux was the one stand out and I loved it. Mostly because they both killed it lyrically and the track was decent at best. To whoever’s reading this, if you disagree with my critique, insert your favorite producer and ask yourself HONESTLY, would the album be better had …….. produced it? I’m sure you’d answer with a resounding YES, no matter WHO it is.
Rating: LL - 8.5 - Q Tip - 2.
...Q tip? From ' A Tribe called Quest'?
@@figarofugazi5462 do you know of another?
You gave Tip a 2?? Damn that's harsh...I could see some people not liking his production style, but it's not like he was making some trash trap beats either.
@@KardiFan2000 Sadly, yes I did. Q Tip is Legen F’n Dary! Tribe is one of my favorite groups. It’s obvious that you’re familiar with his work as well, so I ask you; when you think of Q Tip the producer and his production catalog including and outside of ATCQ, does ANYTHING on LL’s album give you in anyway closely the feeling you get or have EVER GOTTEN from any of his work? BE HONEST.
@@macosince71 I hear what you're saying. But, it's also 2024. Personally, I'm not going to expect Q-Tip to make beats like it's 1994 anymore. If I want 1994 Q-Tip beats, guess what I'm going to do...listen to his beats from 1994! Lol.
Whether or not you like the production, one thing you have to admit is that Tip has always been musically forward-thinking. Think about it...every Tribe album sounded different from one another, same with every Q-Tip solo album.
Question...since you gave Tip's production a 2, what type of music or album would you compare it to, in order to come up with that score?
Crazy that Fantabo is still doing reviews. Even crazier that people still care
Great to get something new from Q-Tip especially
Am I the only one that thinks that his mustache looks like the pizza hut logo?
I enjoyed this one too, as a fan of LL’s 90s output. Genuinely an entertaining project worth multiple listens.
I listened to it today and its honestly better than anything Drake has but out lately, The production is amazing and i love the space vibe in a couple of the songs and the way the songs transition is another good addition.
Great late career album!
LL created a genre with I need Love . How do you not mention that …?
DEEPEST BLUEST MY HAT IS LIKE A SHARK'S FIN
You sir absolutely 100% don’t know nothing about hip hop stay being the charli xcx stan that you are
I love the shout-out to Ice-T 💯 definitely still killing it on stage 🔥🔥🎤🎸
I literally could not wait for this album