If I have a rap album I'm dropping, then I want it to be the best rap album.
My next project will be a Christian album, another one. I wrote the songs for the ones you're referring to, but I want to do some of my old gospel favorites. That's what my next album's going to be.
I just always want to play people. I don't want it to be necessarily that you relate to the character as female or male, but that you relate to them as a person. That's the driving force.
I didn't want to do an electro-class album or complex rap album. I wanted to do something that was kind of like a political statement, but also club jams. I wanted it to be dancy, but intelligent at the same time.
When I'm creating characters, I just want to create characters that I can relate to, and be as honest about them as people as I can be. That's what I want to see when I go to the movies.
When I want to put out an album, I want to write it. I want to be able to say that I wrote my album, and all this stuff is from me.
I guess rap has such a bad name, because everybody can do it now, and that's probably why people don't want to be considered as rappers anymore, they're not taken seriously anymore. But yeah, rap is definitely the core of what I want to do. But I'm also an artist so I try to do as many things as I can, but I always keep rap in the equation.
The people who go get an LL album want to hear LL. They don't want to hear LL trying to sound like DMX or whoever else is out there. That's not what they want to hear from me, because if they want to hear that they can go get the real thing.
I'm probably more persuasive than the next person if I want to be, but do I want to be? In my head, I just don't go there.
I just want everybody to have fun. When I came into rap, that was my whole inspiration. That's what rap used to be about.
Before, early in my career, it was always just go out there and beat the next guy up. Whoever they put in front of me,just go beat him up. Everything else would take care of itself. You want more money? Go beat the next guy up, it will take care of itself. You want better sponsors? Go beat the next guy, it will take care of itself.
I know as a consumer I want a story. I want a defining - I don't want just an album full of singles. I want to get to know the artist beyond what everyone else can hear on the radio.
I didn't ever want to make a rap album. I considered it too limiting. Now that's exactly what I've gone and done.
I didn't ever want to make a rap album. I considered it too limiting. Now that's exactly what I've gone and done
Next, they'll say, "Do you want to go to heaven?" Have you ever had anybody say, "No, I'd rather go to hell." My friend, understand this, everyone wants to go to heaven. They just don't want God to be there when they get there.
If I write a book, it has to be so awesome. It has to be next level, to prove mysel. Just like if you are an athlete and you want to rap, you better bring the bars. Don't come in with nursery rhymes.