 LL
Cool J - The DEFinition
by Adam Bernard
How
many albums does James Todd Smith have left in him? Who knows,
but over 20 years after breaking into the game and changing
it forever he's still bringin the heat. Exhibit A: "The
DEFinition."
While
"10" garnered LL a couple of radio hits it was,
overall, a soft album. Realizing this, LL switched up his
game for "The DEFinition," the majority of which
is produced by Timabland. Almost every beat on "The DEFinition"
is a club banger. Personal favorites include the Dame Grease
produced "1 In The Morning," and the Timbaland tracks
"Headsprung" and "Rub My Back." R. Kelly
makes an appearance on "I'm Gonna Get Her." The
song is hot, but the hook is really just a rehash of Ginuwine's
"Hell Yeah!" (also written by R. Kelly) and with
his current situation I don't know if it's a really good look
for Kells to be singing "I'm about to get her" as
a hook. It seems like he's trying to create a soundtrack for
his rape trial. LL's braggadocio is in high gear on this track,
however, really lettin cats have it on verse two.
While
the beats are hot, and LL comes correct the majority of the
time, there are a few slip ups, most notably when he claims
to be a pop idol like Hanson. Hey LL, Hanson haven't been
pop idols in nearly a decade, it might be time to re-tune
your pop culture radar. Other than that slip up, however,
LL brings the kind of heat one would expect from a legend.
There's really no falling off for LL, and "The DEFinition"
is head and shoulders above the saccharine sweet "I Need
Love" rhymes of "10." Don't get wrong, "I
Need Love" is a great track, but having a whole album
of it was overkill. "The DEFinition" is far more
interesting and is a worthy addition to your collection. Two
decades later and LL Cool J is still hard as hell.
|
