There are few people in Hip-Hop as dominating as LL Cool J. If you’re an adult now, he was there when you were probably still a kid. If you’re younger, LL was likely around before you were seeded. But both young and old know LL Cool J as an icon. With no sense of history, this man has reigned always. In these twenty years, LL’s made some mistakes. He’s crossed over, crossed back, and crossed out competitors the whole time. In an exclusive interview with AllHipHop.com, LL confronts his triumphs, some of his mistakes, gives wise insights to the oncoming election and explained his new album The DEFinition. Mr. Smith, we followed you then, salute you now, and we don’t dare mention retirement. AllHipHop.com: What was your aim for this album? LL: My aim was to make a record that could play at 1:15 in the morning in the club. And to make something new, and to challenge and stretch myself a bit and not repeat myself in terms of what I did. In terms of what single I dropped, the video I put out, my whole approach to it, I wanted to stretch myself. I wanted to challenge everything. Thus, I put out hits from the “challenge myself” intellect, to make the game interesting. I’m loving the success that it’s having and I feel great about the way it’s exploding around the country. Even internationally, it’s really doing well and I’m very thankful. I didn’t want to do anything political or social. Well, social is a different word because fun is social. But I didn’t want to do anything political. I wanted it to be pure entertainment. AllHipHop.com: Why not political? LL: I think that… for me, there is enough of that out there and there is a time and a place to do that. One of the greatest services that I can supply mankind with, apart from the interviews and my life, is to give them an opportunity to take an hour and forget about their problems, the strife, forget about what’s going on in the world and have a good time. I think as an artist, we have the responsibility. That’s part of the reason why people make music, why people paint pictures, and why people sculpt, and why they do what they do, to let people escape and give them that vibe. AllHipHop.com: I kind of disagree with that. Not that I disagree with you doing that, because that has been your zone for the majority of your career, but now there’s no balance in Hip-Hop. So when you were out, there might have been a Chuck D. LL: I understand what you are saying on that, but I think that at those times you have to listen to the deeper meaning. A lot of what Chuck was talking about and the things he was dealing with was about the government and how they treat the community. My perspective is more about how the community treats [itself]. That is very important to me. I’m very much one who believes in self help. I have faith in God and I believe that we have to raise our children. We can’t ask the government to do that. For me I would rather set the example, through the actions. By doing the things I do and not limiting myself, by being willing to take risks. A lot of times words are important but they have to coincide with what’s in your heart. Because if you speak a d they don’t coincide with that’s in your heart they are empty and meaningless. It’s important to me, whatever I do, that it coincides with my heart. Whether it’s my imagination, whatever, it has to coincide with what’s going on inside of me so that I can look people in the eye and feel good about what I do. So for me at this point in my career, making a political album would not be real for me. I have said the things I wanted to say just like on the one in the morning record when I said, “Uncle LL I got product for sale so I can bail Al Sharpton out of Jail.” Its funny but when you think about it its necessary. AG Gaston had to be around to bail Martin Luther King out of jail. So you have to read between the lines. I said, “Get my Bentley park on and them give my dogs platform to bark on.” If you pay attention to that economic empowerment is the key to all the freedom we are seeking politically. It’s the Bob Johnson’s and Oprah’s and God willing, the LL Cool J’s that are going to make the difference and make all of those political dreams that partly Chuck D and others talk about even possible. We need to make sure that the focus is correct. AllHipHop.com: Did you recently just go to the Democratic Convention in Boston? LL: I went to the convention, but I went to [perform at] the Rock to Vote concert. And what I said after I finished performing was, I’m not here to endorse any particular candidate. I said that if there is any candidate that is looking for my endorsement, we have to meet face to face and I need to know what their plans are and how they are going to affect my community, and then America as a whole, and then my community within America. I have to know what the plan is. I’m not going to lend my name and my credibility. I respect them of course. And I said it respectfully because you have to respect the people that are running for the leadership of our country because this is a great country. And I do love this country because it has given me a great opportunity. Regardless of what our ancestry is, ultimately we are all here because of our ancestry. So whether good or bad, at the […]

During Jay-Z and Nas’s battle of boasts, Jay would often compare their lyrical tirades to boxing. Although his comments were made partially to quell the fears of another battle potentially going wrong (Biggie/’Pac), for the most part, his assertion was correct. For instance, rappers spend just as many hours recording in the studio as boxers do training in the gym. And each witty bar by a rapper against his opponent stings just as much as a stiff jab by a boxer against his. But while the men’s divisions of rap and boxing are fraught with testosterone-filled rage over disrespect and the argument against who’s number one, the women’s stage is decidedly less crowded. Enter Remy Martin, the Laila Ali of rap. This Bronx-bombshell is the undisputed female champion of hip-hop. Check the unwavering confidence she displays as she sashays across the screen in the “Lean Back” video. Peep her rapid delivery on “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah,” as she spits: “If you fronting then I will flip/ I’ll give it to a lil’ chic real quick.” And don’t forget she’s battle tested, too. Just ask Lady (no) Luck. But Ms. Martin leaves that all between the ropes if you will. Outside of the ring, she’s surprisingly as domestic as Martha Stewart, enjoys Jeopardy, and has a crush on a certain somebody you know. She can’t be going soft can she? Watch for the hook. AllHipHop.com: What’s going on, Remy? How you doing? Remy Martin: I’m fine. AllHipHop.com: You sound real relaxed right now. Remy Martin: I’m chilling. They got me in the [Universal Records] office; they got some like metallic green couch, mad juice and stuff. I don’t know where the cookies and potato chips is, but—Hell yeah. Hold on one second, wait, wait. Let me see if somebody can open my soda can. [laughs] They asking me, ‘Is there any specific cookies or potato chips you want?’ The good kind, hello? AllHipHop.com: So they treating you much better now? Remy Martin: Yeah. [raps] When you first come in the came they try to play you/ then you drop a couple of hits, look how they wave to you. I couldn’t have said it better. AllHipHop.com: And now you got them running to get you the kind of cookies you want. Remy Martin: I don’t even care. I’ma test it when we on the phone while we doing the interview. I’ll be like, Nah, I don’t like these kind, I need something else. We’ll see if they go back. Let’s just test it. Nah, I’m playing. I don’t do sh*t like that. AllHipHop.com: Now you’re on Terror Squad/Universal, and I wanted to ask you about that, because we had a previous interview with you in November and you were saying business wise, you wanted to go somewhere else from TS. You didn’t make it sound like beef, but you said you and Joe were so cool that you couldn’t go business. Did something change? Remy Martin: Now we have more people, like, Universal is a big label so it’s not like just me under Terror Squad. I have Terror Squad, I have SRC helping, I have Universal, so I have all these different outlets. Say me and Joe, we just can’t figure it out. I say I feel one way, he say he feel another way, we won’t just keep arguing forever AllHipHop.com: It always seems like every female rapper needs a male rapper to co-sign for them. Like with Biggie and Kim, Jay-Z and Foxy, but with you and Joe it seems different. Obviously TS is a co-sign, but it seems like you and Joe are on the same plane. Remy Martin: Because it’s like that with Joe. But actually Joe’s not the one who brought me in. Pun brought me in. So, rest in peace, if Pun was still alive, it’d probably seem more like that. The Biggie-Lil Kim, Jay-Z-Foxy. It’d be more like a Pun-Remy. Being that Joe’s not one of the super-lyrical rappers, so it’s like we’re kind of on the same playing field. And they never downplayed me. Like he [Joe] never put it as without him there’s no me. It’s like I always did my own thing to whereas I wouldn’t be overshadowed by him. I never wanted nobody to think, ‘Oh, it’s because of Joe.” Even though it’s still some people that say that. But Joe doesn’t feel like that and neither do I. AllHipHop.com: You made big news with Fight Klub [an underground New York emcee battle] versus Lady Luck, now that you’re moving onto the mainstream, are you retired from Fight Klub? Remy Martin: Now, it’s crazy, you don’t even know, like every week I get at least 10 to 20 calls. ‘Oh yeah, this girl named Kill-A-N*gga from West Bubbleville says she’ll battle you for $500 dollars. She better than you.’ I’m like, Come on. I have a lot more to lose than I had then, but everybody wants to just beat me now. No one even cared before, now everyone wants to battle me. Why does everyone want to fight me? F*ck. Let me blow first. Leave me alone. Listen, I got an album to drop. AllHipHop.com: Right now, it’s a lack of female rappers in the game. Foxy don’t got anything going on, Rah Digga’s album is in limbo. Do you think that helps you or hurts you? Remy Martin: How do I feel about them? Stay wherever they at, don’t drop a song, don’t do nothing, let me be the only one. I’m having so much fun. I hope they never come out. [laughs] That’s f*cked up to say, it’s gonna look bad when they read it. [laughs longer and takes deep breath] Nah, I wish everyone the best of luck. Just don’t drop when I drop. That’s all I got to say. Matter of fact, just don’t drop at all. It’ll even be better. AllHipHop.com: I wanted to address the rumor mill with you. There’s the one about […]

It’s been ten years since the prophet of hip-hop breathed new life into the game with the release of his instant classic Illmatic. Dropping science, dropping emcees and sometimes even dropping the ball, Nas takes it all in stride as he prepares to release a double disk CD to celebrate the past decade of delivering the word to his people. Like a double edged sword the responsibility his skills garnered him of saving hip-hop has been a blessing and a curse, but his love for it all has been the driving force behind his continued pilgrimage to enlighten the masses through rhyme and reason. Often crucified by the media or over zealous emcees trying to capture his crown, Nas finds the truth truly has set him free to be who he is and if that means hip-hops savior so be it, but it’s going to be his way, or no way. AllHipHop.com: What bothers you the most about what people say about you, or what’s the biggest misconception about Nas? Nas: I guess everybody listens to what people say, but now I’m like just a name so people can say whatever they want that doesn’t have anything to do with me. AllHipHop.com: Let’s talk about the woman in your life, what was it about Kelis that caught your attention? Nas: Umm, it’s so many things; I guess it’s just the easiness of it all, everything is just easy. Even when s**t is crazy with me and her, s**t is easy at the same time. I’m an easygoing person and she’s that way too in a lot of ways, she’s a Leo so she’s fiery too but everything is just easy. AllHipHop.com: So is she the one? Nas: Oh yeah, that’s what I said as soon as I saw her. AllHipHop.com: Does it bother you when past friends criticize you? Nas: Nah, it kinda freaks me out because I don’t see myself like other people see me. You can ask my girl and she’ll be like, “Aw that n***a, it ain’t nothing special going on.” So whatever they have to say kinda freaks me out in a funny way because I’m like, “Wow I’m somebody they even thought twice about.” Because I don’t even think that heavy on s**t and I’m just like wow and then I wonder is that because they got love or is what? It’s just really odd to me. I just didn’t know I was worth talking about so I guess I just really feel honored AllHipHop.com: Over the past ten years how would you sum up what your career has meant to you? Nas: It scares the s**t out of me sometimes, when I realize there’s really not somebody whose been around as long that’s progressive, focused, and on this path. There’s people around because they’re alive, not because they’re relevant, and that makes me feel like scared to death because what makes me relevant? Each time I drop an album I know they’re gonna be like, “Oh that sounds old school or that sounds like what is that, or why isn’t he making me bounce?” and I wonder when they’re gonna say, “F**k this guy.” But as long as they’re still down. I’m always surprised that people can still relate to the stuff I’m doing. It just scares me sometimes. AllHipHop.com: So when you go into the booth, do you think, “I need to give the people something to think about,” or something to move to? Nas: I’m always trying to go to the next step because I’m always in the studio saying, “I need to give the people something to think about,” and then that becomes corny because people catch on to that. Then I have a whole slew of MC’s trying to do that or outdo that, and I don’t want to be in a category in that level. I want to be in the category that we’re all trying to reach a higher ground in this s**t ya know? AllHipHop.com: What are some of your challenges of today? Nas: You know, your children are your true reward. It doesn’t matter about material, so just to see my daughter coming out the right way, coming out into a young adult and then my future children that will be my biggest reward. So that’s also my biggest challenge/ Raising the children and making sure they come out on top; bigger, better, and smarter than I could ever be. AllHipHop.com: Now I have to ask about the Snoop situation with him talking about you and Pac in the park, what’s your take on that? Nas: I didn’t understand that, I really didn’t. All I can say is, God Bless him. AllHipHop.com: So who were the producers on the album? Nas: I did a lot of it with Salaam Remy, Chuckie Thompson and LES. AllHipHop.com: AZ was talking to us recently. Are you gonna do an album with him? Nas: Yeah I want to. I know he brought that up to me and I put him on my CD and me and him did a joint on there that’s kinda fiery. But we’re just trying to find the sound of it and then we’ll go. I know it’s something that we talked about doing before. But I been hearing about it lately but I think dude is on fire man AllHipHop.com: So you have one more album with Sony then what are you gonna retire? Nas: I been really trying to do things in moderation. I was thinking about running for President but I really don’t want that obligation or type of commitment to an organization so big and so old and so scary. I would like to contribute some dedication and hard work to the struggle and if that means taking a stand or voicing opinions on political issues. And if that meant taking a title of some kind, then I’d rather do that for a short period of time to help lead the way […]