It’s hip-hop’s 50th birthday and to celebrate, LL Cool J and The Roots appeared on The Breakfast Club to talk about the genre’s culture and impact while sharing anecdotes from their own pioneering careers. One detail revealed by LL in the course of the interview was that he and fellow Queens native 50 Cent once recorded an entire album together — but that LL decided to shelve it himself.
The album was first announced in 2006, right around the height of 50’s reign, with LL saying at the time, 50 reminds me a lot of the things that I used to do and the places I used to be in my life, and I think we can have a good time together. He’s talented and I feel like I have something I want to say — I think he can help me get it off my chest.”
Unfortunately, he wasn’t so fond of the end result. As he tells The Breakfast Club in the interview above, “When it was done, I listened to it. I’m like, ‘It sounds good. I like the music, it sounds cool, but it ain’t me.’ So, I ain’t put it out. It was nothing against 50, I love 50. I just wanted to try something different. Maybe we collaborate, write together … It didn’t work.” The collaboration did produce one of LL’s later hits though.
“50 wrote the chorus on ‘Paradise’ for Amerie, which she sung,” LL notes. “He didn’t write my rhymes … when that happened, I didn’t even know 50 was involved. That was The Trackmasters, they got that done.”
You can check out LL’s full interview above.
