LL Cool J mulls over how elitism has changed the voice of Hip Hop

This year, when LL Cool J dropped off his 14th studio album, The Force, he was on a mission to not only return to his Hip Hop roots but inject real lyricism back into the music landscape. As the first artist signed to the iconic Def Jam Records, he is easily regarded as a Hip Hop GOAT. In 2021, his legacy as an influential arrest landed him in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.