LL Cool J |
Thu. September 09.2004 12:00 AM EDT |
LL Cool J: Make 'Em Say "Uncle"The original crunkster hooks up with Timbaland, parties with midgets, and is always ready to grab the mic. by C. Bottomley |
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LL Cool J doesn't need anyone reminding him how great he is. During the course of our interview, he likens himself to Picasso and Rembrandt, displays a fascination with Napoleon, and explains that, like God, he was there at the sixth day of hip-hop
The DEFinition is a timely reminder that Uncle L has always been something pretty special. He's teamed up with the producer Timbaland (a legend in his own right thanks to work done with Aaliyah and Missy Elliott) for a disc of tropical club bangers laced with trademark braggadocio and the kind of seductive delivery he perfected with "I Need Love." L's part of the bling generation now, but amid all the talk of Escalades and Versace shades, there a lots of great lines like "ask Russell Simmons who built the west wing." It's amazing L could fit it all in. The 36-year-old multi-hyphenate continues to add to his acting resume. He's set to appear opposite Justin Timberlake in next year's thriller Edison. He's also behind a new line of clothing, James Todd Smith, that's branded after his given name. The moniker boldly stands out on the preppy-looking green shirt he's wearing when he sits down to chat. As always, L's charisma is enough to make anyone a true believer. Exuding charm, he told us why he never gets rusty, why Timbaland might be the best producer he's worked with since Marley Marl, and how after 20 years of being bigger and deffer than the rest, nothing's shocking to him. VH1: You recorded a lot of the album in Miami. Did that inspire the music's feel? LL Cool J: Definitely. Me and Tim [Mosley, AKA Timbaland] recorded on South Beach. I was just hanging out in Miami vibing - partying, going to the clubs, hanging out. I had a great time recording this record. VH1: It sounds a lot more focused than your last album 10. For instance, the tracks are segued together. LL: I wanted it to be a total party record. There are a lot of [songs] designed for that 1:15 in the morning slot, when you're partying, the champagne is flowing, the midgets are running around on the bar, everybody is dancing, I'm standing on two tables, my crew is happy& Obviously during a party there are going to be different moods. You're not going to be 150 mph for the whole party - unless it's a rave! VH1: Which club has the midgets? LL: When we made the video for "Headsprung," I kept everybody afterwards, kept the music blasting and had ice cream and chicken. And there was midgets there, just hanging out, y'know? VH1: With the music, movies and now a new clothing line, how do you manage your time? LL: Music and film both emanate from the same place for me. I'm an artist first. I love art. I love creating. If I wanted to learn sculpture, I would enjoy it. When I go to Paris, I go to the Louvre museum and get lost. I'm there looking at pictures that Napoleon commissioned of great battles, of him being crowned by the Pope & VH1: So there's no distinction between those sides of you. LL: That "turn it on/turn it off" thing is crazy if it is not coming from the same place. In terms of scheduling that's just prioritizing. "You know what? Hold off. I want to work on my record a little bit." "I've got three movies in the can; let me do this." It is the same thing with my family. It's all a matter of balancing. VH1: But when you're not behind the mic all the time, does it take a while to get back up to speed? LL: I've just been doing it so long it is real for me. I've been a fan since nine, and I've been writing since 12. I just love it, man! I can't even explain it. I can listen to the radio and that's like practice for me. We all got to warm up. You start on the record and the first couple of songs you might throw away. But you get back into the groove, and you figure it out. The more I think about that question, I don't know how I do that. Have you ever heard boxers try to talk about it afterwards how they landed the big shot? They're like, "I was just in the flow and, boom, there it is. Bang! Got 'em." That's just how it is. VH1: Still, when Muhammad Ali returned to fight Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle, nobody thought he'd still be in the shape to fight. LL: The difference between sport and art is that is physical, this is mental. Maybe if I was a guitar player, would my fingers slow down [if I didn't practice]? I don't know. But when it comes to painting, I would think a guy gets better. Picasso got better, Rembrandt got better, Leonardo Da Vinci got better, and Gauguin - those guys got better. VH1: Does a producer like Timbaland ever give you advice on how to rap? LL: Of course! VH1: How much direction do you get from the people you work with? LL: All of the producers are different. They all give you different levels of input. It's like basketball or boxing in that respect. They're like coaches. That's the joy of it, 'cause even if a producer says, "I want to see you do it this way," you still have to be able to do it. VH1: What kind of coach is Timbaland? LL: There are some producers that are producers, and there are some guys who make beats and are really programmers but call themselves producers. I love the producers that challenge me. Timbaland might say, 'No, I want you to flow different, or flow like this&' OK, but I still have to write it and make it my own - grasp it, engage it, and be passionate about it and believe it. Unless you have someone write your songs and you are just a capable rapper, there really is no escape route. VH1: Was Timbaland on you and challenging you to do something different everyday? LL: When he is beating me in the head, [saying] "Do this, do that," it was great. That's the thing that makes it fly. The last person that I had like that, that really made me feel like it was a collaboration, was Marley [Marl]. And that was a lot of albums ago! VH1: Do young hip-hoppers ever ask you for advice about how to stay in the game so long? LL: Nah. They say it to me. A lot of times they don't ask me, but they are like, "Oh I want to be here like Uncle L &" VH1: Has hip-hop ever gone in an unexpected direction for you? Like say, crunk? LL: I was making records with a Roland 808 [vintage drum machine - Old School Ed.] on my first album. Crunk is really just a lot of Roland 808 or 909 records. That is really not any different. [Early rap duo] Mantronix would be crunk now. VH1: So this return to hip-hop basics doesn't surprise you at all. LL: It don't surprise me at all. None of it. I got into it close to the genesis. They say God created the earth in six days and rested on the seventh. So maybe I came into the party on the fifth or sixth day of hip-hop, so to speak. Nothing surprises me. I can understand why the Neptunes' can do minimalist production tracks with drum beats for the Clipse, with the [imitates "Grindin'" beat] da da, duh duh, da da, duh. Think about how that sounds to me! Rick Rubin was doing them type of beats [years ago]! |
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