LL Cool J: The FORCE

Ladies Love Cool James is back in full frequencies of real creative energy. The hip-hop veteran has been in the game for almost 40 years and he had to relearn to rap and the craft of writing rhymes.

Nevertheless, LL is still an old-school storyteller even though Producer Q-Tip supplies him with fresh-ass beats. He still has a straightforward flow. Even when he tried to switch it up on “Murdergram Deux,” he couldn’t keep up with Eminem. Then again, Em is the metamorphosis of flow. LL is more compatible with Nas on “Praise Him.” LL is at his best when he just kicks back: “Duke Ellington dexterity, I’m truly a rarity / I’m the sound of Miles Davis, it’s impossible to bury me” (“Black Code Suite”).

Of course LL can’t resist getting his freak on, “I make the panties drop like the elevator cable prop / Gym trainer when I stretch you on the table-top,” he rhymed on “I pull out my stick and invite you to play some tonsil hockey / I put the box in the penalty / Love it when you try to score goals on me mentally.” Uncle L still indulges his own sexual “Proclivities.”

The FORCE arrives just in time to distract from the presidential election, which I really need.