LL COOL J has announced that the follow-up to 2013’s Authentic will be available this fall. The Def Jam Recordings legend revealed the news in an Instagram post on his page on Friday (June 7). The lead single “Saturday Night Special” is expected to be released on June 14th.
“In case you missed it, the new single ‘Saturday Night Special’ is out on June 14th,” he says in the video. “Go to the link in bio, sign up and pre-save. Album coming in the fall. This is the real deal, baby. Time to go. “Saturday Night Special” is the first single. I’ll let you know about the features in a few days…the tracklist for the album is coming soon. The album will be released in the fall. Here we go, baby. New LL. You know what it is. You know exactly what it is.
The announcement of LL COOL J prompted a flood of comments from peers, including Fat Joe, DJ COOL V, Z-Trip, Shortkut and Goodie Mob’s Khujo, who were all eager to get some new music from the Radio MC.
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In addition to his acting career, LL COOL J has also been focusing on building his own brand ROCK THE BELLS. Last year, he teamed up with Vikki Tobak to publish LL COOL J Presents: The Streets Win, a 336-page book that features dozens of articles and interviews with hip-hop’s elite, as well as from some of the culture’s most celebrated photographers (via Grandmaster) Photos Flash, Kurtis Blow, MC Sha-Rock, Chuck D and KRS-One to Nas, Eminem and Dr. Dre.
LL COOL J’s support of this project is a great asset to Tobak. He was able to connect her to people they couldn’t connect to themselves, such as Eminem and Dr. Dre. Tobak said in an interview with AllHipHop in October 2023 that this proves that LL COOL J is his core.
“People sometimes say don’t meet your heroes, but I think he’s an exception,” she said at the time. “I only met him recently, even though we’ve been in the same room for a long time. Of course, he’s like a childhood hero of mine, he’s one of those very special people and you can understand how he became the first That’s something you can’t quite grasp as an artist signed to Def Jam at 16 years old; he’s a performer and a visionary in every way. approach this book.
LL COOL J released his debut album “Radio” in 1985.