LL Cool J's "Passion" Is Palpable In New Music Video: Watch

BYGabriel Bras Nevares789 Views
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Screenshot via @LL COOL J channel, "LL COOL J - Passion" Video Upload
LL Cool J's first album in over a decade, "The FORCE," drops later in 2024, and it looks like it might be a highlight of the year.

LL Cool J's new single "Passion" certainly lives up to his title, as he spits on what he loves about rap music and how much he cares about its artistry. It's a very motivating and nostalgic track, an element that its new music video emphasizes by seeing LL in his current form and as a small child. There's a particular emphasis on him writing rhymes in his notebook in presumably his childhood room, and it makes for a dynamic and engaging visual treatment as you can see the bars literally orbit around him and pop up in cartoon speech bubbles.

Furthermore, this is the latest single for LL Cool J's upcoming album, and his first in over a decade, The FORCE (Frequencies Of Real Creative Energy). The project will feature Nas, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, and more massive guests across the 14-track, largely Q-Tip-produced tracklist, and it's shaping up to be one of 2024's biggest legacy releases. "[I was] going back to the drawing board and learning how to rap again," he told the Associated Press about the LP. "The LeBrons, the Stephs, the Jordans and the Kobes, they all go back to the drawing board, they always try to make themselves better. I wasn’t trying to do trendy, and I wasn’t trying to recapture anything I did before."

LL Cool J's "Passion" Music Video: Watch

Also, this "Passion" music video lands among LL Cool J's reflections on his relationship with another icon of the game. During a conversation with Charlamagne Tha God, he spoke on how some people are under the impression that he has beef with Jay-Z. While the two MCs aren't the best of friends, they've shown each other plenty of love over the years despite what some anecdotes, rumors, and lyrical interpretations might have you believe. After all, they're two New York legends.

Meanwhile, LL Cool J is just as prone to talk about the current state of hip-hop. "Drake, that 'Not Like Us' s**t, that s**t's torture for a motherf***er," he said of the K.Dot and Drizzy rap beef during this Charlamagne convo. "Ah, s**t, little kids singing to it. You know that s**t's bananas. You'll be fine, bro. Don't even trip. You just don't take it personal... You can't be overly sensitive. I get it. I been there, I know it. It can be upsetting... But you gotta control that."

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.
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