LL Cool J talks missing the mark with fans, while relating to Andre 3000’s latest musical pivot.
In a clip from an appearance on LeBron James’ The Shop, alongside fellow guest Lena Waithe, the iconic “Doin’ It” rapper reflected on his music career, admitting his work didn’t always resonate with fans.
“I make bad albums, but I also have some smack, some crazy shit too,” he said. “But I made bad shit, or shit that people didn’t respond to because that was where I was at.”
When pressed to clarify whether he believed in his music at the time, considering it “good,” he responded: “Not always. I’m a little bit of a weirdo, B.”
He continued, “Sometimes I make records in a vacuum just because it’s for me and then sometimes I make albums for the culture. I’m very different in that regard, so you can’t really gauge my albums like that ’cause I don’t make all my records for the culture.”
This realization led LL to connect with Andre 3000, particularly in light of his instrumental album, New Blue Sun, which some felt fell flat.
“Maybe that’s what André was doing with the flute thing,” he speculated. “I can understand it from that point of view. He just expressed it differently.”
In November, after over 17 years, 3 Stacks made a surprising return with new music, an 87-minute exploration of new age, ambient jazz, and spiritual themes — a significant departure from his Outkast roots. His solo debut album sparked division within the Hip Hop community, with some applauding the artist’s innovative leap beyond conventional boundaries, while others simply couldn’t connect with it.
Speaking with CBS Mornings about the criticism he faced, he shared, “Even on the artwork it says, ‘No bars,’ so if you’re disappointed, man, I don’t know what else I could do. I don’t like that people are upset a little bit about it.”
On another note, he also appeared to empathize with fans, understanding their perspective. “If I were waiting for a thing for 17 years, a certain thing that I’m looking for and, something else shows up, I’d probably be upset too. To be a rapper, you gotta be rapping. I haven’t been rapping, like I don’t hang around the studio.”
He added: “I don’t sit and try to rap every day like when I was younger, and that’s all I did. I miss those times a lot, but life changes, life moves on.”