LL COOL J has recruited Rick Ross and Fat Joe for a new Q-Tip-produced single titled “Saturday Night Special.”
On the old school cut, which dropped on Friday (June 14), swinging drums and woozy synths offer the perfect backdrop for the MCs to exchange bars.
The track finds LL breaking down all the different hustlers in rap, beginning with “the greedy killer.”
He raps: “So many different hustlers you meet in the game/ Shit is cold, don’t put your trust in ’em, let me explain/ The greedy killer, he wanna fuck hoes and get the money/ But he quick to feel disrespected.”
Speaking about the song, LL said: “‘Saturday Night Special’ is just the beginning. There’s a lot more where this came from, and I’m hype for y’all to hear this new record. We’re doing this for the fans and for Hip Hop culture.”
“Saturday Night Special” is the first single to be released from LL’s 14th studio album The FORCE (Frequencies of Real Creative Energy), set for release this fall following an over a decade long hiatus.
Check out the new song below.
LL began teasing the new project and first single last week.
He took to Instagram and wrote: “Album’s coming in the fall. It’s the real deal, baby. It’s go time. I’ll let you know about the features in a couple of days. Tracklisting for the album is coming.”
LL’s last album was 2013’s Authentic, which served as his 13th studio effort and his first after leaving Def Jam. It debuted at No. 23 on the Billboard 200 with 14,000 units in its first week.
In May, LL COOL J reflected on his decorated career while visiting LeBron James’ The Shop, admitting he made some “bad albums” and can relate to André 3000‘s pivot to playing the flute.
“I make bad albums, but I also have some smack, some crazy shit too,” he acknowledged. “But I made bad shit, or shit that people didn’t respond to because that was where I was at.”
Lena Waithe, who was also a guest, then interjected and said: “But at the time you thought it was good!”
LL bluntly replied: “Not always. I’m a little bit of a weirdo, B. Sometimes I make records in a vacuum just because it’s for me and then sometimes I make albums for the culture.
“I’m very different in that regard, so you can’t really gauge my albums like that ’cause I don’t make all my records for the culture.”
