LL Cool J has had beef with Def Jam (his home label since 1984) for a little over a year now. He remains unsatisfied with the way they are handling his business. The G.O.A.T. has not been silent about the issue. In fact he’s had a lot to say in interviews as well as on songs (i.e. “Queens” which was leaked to the internet). His new album, entitled “Exit 13”, is executive produced by 50 Cent, however LL has expressed concern in regards to the label’s promotion plans. He said: “I address a lot of issues I have with the record company, but I kept it business. It feels good to speak my voice,” said LL recently in New York. “People are listening. These guys fail to realize that when you talk about Def Jam, you’re talking about my legacy. Everything that ever happened at Def Jam is my legacy. Without me being a 16-year-old with my rhyme book, Def Jam [wouldn’t] exist. Everything that’s ever been a success up there is a product of me, and I’ve given birth to it. I didn’t personally attack anyone [on ‘Queens’], but at the same time I have the right to speak on something I helped build. When [Def Jam co-founder] Russell [Simmons] feels something, he speaks on it as Russell Simmons; LL speaks on it through his music.”
While they may seem a bit far fetched, LL’s claims are not exaggerated. “I Need a Beat” was one of Def Jam’s first releases. Furthermore, his 1985 Radio LP was its first full-length album. Bottom line, LL was the label’s first major success. He’s also survived more than two decades as one of the label’s franchise artists. The G.O.A.T. has been down with the label since the beginning, when its main office was Rick Rubin’s dorm room at New York University – it’s safe to say that he’s attached. “This is a time when everything’s real,” he said. “You go on blogs and everything, people know when people are lying. Things are not all rosy up there [at Def Jam]. Too many [artists] have suffered: Method Man, Redman, the Roots, Fabolous, Ludacris! The list goes on. Nobody is getting promoted the way they should be promoted. I’m one man. I can’t battle a whole record label. So we not gonna try to turn this into what it’s not. To try and battle a record label is foolish. It’s bad enough they are calling around to radio stations telling them not to play my records.”
During the listening session for American Gangster on Friday, current Def Jam president Jay-Z denied the accusations, “I would never block anybody’s blessings,” he said. “That type of sh—comes back to you. ... I believe in karma.” He also denied the rumors that he and Cool J may soon be battling it out on wax. “He’s a legend,” said Hov. “I’m not doing that.” “He’s upset, not me,” said Jay on Wednesday. “If he wanna work it out, I’m more than willing to do that.” At times, it seemed as though LL was ready to take it past words and step into a ring with Hov. He was especially bothered after hearing 50 Cent’s “I Get Money” remix on which Jay claims that he’s the “G.O.A.T.” (Greatest of all Time) which, ironically, was the title of LL’s 2000 album. In a YouTube interview, LL said to Jay: “I don’t even know why you did that to yourself. When you doing that verse, you should have been doing your job, B. See?”
However, in an interview with MTV, LL softened his tone: “I don’t need to go all-out,” he said. “At this point I think the focus should be to make great music, trying to keep it positive, trying to have some sort of relationship where we can work together. Hopefully [Def Jam] can do well and look great, I can do well and look great. We can part company as civilized businessmen and give the world something great. I’m working on some new music. I wanna have some fun.”
50 Cent had this to say on the issue: “[LL’s] got his own issue [with Def Jam], to be honest with you,” said. “He feels that they’re not prioritizing him. He’s been there from the start. I talked to him and I talked to Jay. I’m the liaison between them for that project to keep that functioning. And I’m gonna bring the material necessary for us to have a great project. ... Jay’s priority is business. He’s a businessman. If it makes good business sense, he’s doing it.”
There is no release date set for “Exit 13” which is also the last album on LL’s Def Jam contract, However, sources say it should drop sometime in early 2008. Also, LL has leaked another record entitled “New York Gangstas.” “This is my last record on Def Jam, so it’s important that the record is not just another record,” he said. “It has to represent my legacy, be incredibly hot. All of the energy I put into building that company, it’s gonna be a great reminder to people that I really did start that company with Russell [Simmons] and Rick Rubin and Heidi Smith, the secretary. I’m a get busy on it. I’m a deliver [what] I’m supposed to deliver and I’m not gonna ignore my male fans this time. I’m gonna embrace everybody. It’s gonna be real. I’m a be blunt, brutally honest, be frank, speak with clarity, and they gonna feel me.” “It’s hip-hop, true hip-hop,” he said. “It’s about the bars and beats, it’s fly. I’m not trying to look down on anybody. I’m not gonna try to hurt people and tell them how rich I am or what I’m driving. It’s a little of that, but that’s not my focus. It’s never been my focus to make the ‘hood feel bad. This record is for the ‘hood — specifically for the ‘hood. It’s for Queens, it’s for people who are real hip-hop fans. It’s the real thing. I’ve been throwing records away, trashing some records; I’ve had some records that I thought were garbage, records I thought were hot. I’m mixing it up.”
“The hip-hop community, especially in New York, is paying attention to L and paying attention to what’s coming out my mouth,” he concluded. “So now I need to give them what they want and a little of what I think they need. The combination will be great.”
COMMENTS
WHO GIVES A FUCK ABOUT L FOR CRYIN OUT LOUD!!!!!!!!!!! FIRST BITCHES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11
WHO GIVES A SHIT IF UR FIRST, ONLY A INTERNET GANGSTA WOULD DO DAT BULLSHIT
GO AHEAD AND TAK SHIT BOUT ME CUZ U KNOW I'M RIGHT
dam im actually 1st 4 a change....kinda wonderin wat its gne b like honestly an man dude 2 dam grown an established 2 have a beef wit hov ova sum label shyt ll cool j been n da game 2 long 2 b on sumbody else label wen he should have his own
well... number 1 you aren't first. second, jay annnnnnnd LL have both already came out and said there isnt any beef anymore.
na, you aint 1st but this article was way too fuckin long. even tho L thinks he is a legend, truthfully not many hip-hop fans give a fuck about what he does. i thought L broke a hip and retired
MAN MY COMPUTER FUKD UP WEN I WAS TRYNA SEND DA DAM COMMENT! LOL
SORRY BITCH NIGGA(NO LAUGHS)
wow wat a fukin lame
well, LL, good to know that you're still relevant. Oh wait, my bad, nobody gives a fuck about you. Jay is out of your class. Go back to beefin with Wyclef or Canibus
zzzzzzzzzzzzz i just woke up from a nap after reading this...no one cares....
And both of yall niggas is gay for that first shit.
Oh and Stick to ya guns MOP and DJ Premier, damn I been banging that shit all day
u gay 4 givin a fuk bout it dangerLAsoul???? sound like a homo-thug 2 me
I'm gay, and you the one calling yaself birdman? Right...
obviously i get more pussy than u thank u 4 realizin it
obviously i get more pussy than u thank u 4 realizin it
This guy LL needs to fall back. He is not as adept as Jay to change his style up for the current hip hop scene.
man him an jay battlin is lame man WHY? cus everybody puttin dey problems on jay an man dey old as hell lol naw really dis aint a good look on both dey part doe cus ll gotta point jay doin 16's wen he a fukin president of a label an got control ova so many careers its a silly situation dats gettin blown up 4 record sales 2 me
Its Probably One Person In The Universe That Has This "GOAT" In Their Top 5 And Thats His Mom LOL!!!!
hell naw! lol
thats one more person than i assumed..
L.L...SHUT UP U GOT MONEY..UR A LEGEND...U HAD SUCCE$$..WHAT MORE DO U WANT...UR ONE OF THE OLDEST RAPPERS AN STILL RAPPIN..SHUT THE FUCC UP WITH THIS CONFLICT SHIT...U LUCKY PEOPLE STILL BOTHERING TO TAKE TIME TO WRITE BOUT U..JUZ DROP UR FUCKING ALBUM AN MOVE THE FUCC ON...CONFLICT DONT SALE..U SHOULD BE CASHING UR 401K CHECK IN A FEW..NIGGA..RETIRE...UR RUNNING OUTTA LYRICS...PEACE
he needs to stick to lickin his lips and takin gunshot wounds to the chest in movies so it gives him an excuse to take his shirt off on camera... feel me? thats where hes gunna get his scrill. he's long overdue on the mic.
lol...niggaz need to do their research, LL is the man..come on the dude dropped his first shyt in the mid 80's and has been gold and platinum ever since..Jay is cool but he jacked so many peoples shyt he's like the Frankenstein of hip hop so many different parts but no realness to who he really is.. plus L is a seasoned battle mc jay never one any battles..think about it Mobb Deep?..all he did was put prodigys pic on the summer jam screen, said a lil something on takeover, nas burried him,he aint even get at cam and jim jones correct.. they need to keep it hip hop put LL and Jay on the stage and have them go rhym for rhym and jay cant jack anything from other rappers like he always does...1
real talk
What your point? LL hasn't put out a good album in years.He's been catering to the female market with sub-par albums filled with sub-par lyrics for nearly a decade and now that they stop buying his crap he's bitching about marketing and promotion.If LL had been working on his skills and not on his looks and those terrible movies he might be relevant today.You might want to do some research yourself, try looking up Reasonable Doubt(Jay-Z first album).LL hasn't made an album in the same league as that and you can't put that silly swagger jacking tag on that album.Futhermore, that entire swagger jacking crap is nonsense.Jay has hours of musical material, but you small minded kids think that a few minutes of supposed stolen material can negate that.Also, The Takeover was far better then any diss LL has ever made.Canibus got in LL ass, but because LL was more famous then Canibus every dickriders said LL won.Anyone who knows lyricism can easily tell you Canibus handed it to LL.
"he aint even get at cam and jim jones correct"
WHat does that mean? That the stupidest sentence I read today.How do you get at someone coorect? Jay drops "Dig A Hole" and "Brooklyn High" on Camron and Jimmy, both hitting them hard.What did you want him to do, dedicate and album to them.
You need to get someone smarter to make arguments for you, you obviously don't possess the intelligent to do so yourself.
List of a few Artists who have taken lyrics from Jay-Z
Ludacris
Lil Wayne (Multiple times)
Young Jeezy (Multiple times)
Fabolous (Multiple times)
Lil Flip
Juelz Santana
Jim Jones
Termanology
And that's not even half of them.
my add on the list of people who bit from jay
kanye west
beane sigel (shockinly,mutiple times)
trina
remy martin (mutiple times)
common
ahsanti
eve
cassidy
hell rell
cam'ron
50 cent
i can also go on & on i can name the lines on his list and mines if u want,i hope some one ask me too it'll be my pleasure...
LL Cool J still is a legend from the earlier stages of Hip Hop.
hes a legend but fuck it, he is one of defjams first releases and sold a lot of records but thats all he did for the label, he aint bring no new artists on or anything, now hes just being a little bitch, if i ever see ll on the street ima straight smack him in his face
o ya and jayz IS the best rapper alive, dont get that twisted
NAS IS THE BEST RAPPER ALIVE DAWG, but i guess thats opinionated.
LL brought niggaz on the scene with remixes the songs 4,3,2,1 & I Shot Ya remix!
Gotta respekt the O.Gs of this Hip Hop shit
LL Aint Been Important For 10 Yrs.....LOL
LL needs to be mad at him self for spending all his time in the gym instead of spending his time writing rhymes trying to make
good music. I mean damn, yes you were the first artist on def jam and you have sold alot of records, but in your 13 album career
at def jam Jay-z (who came to the company in 97)was responsible for half of defjams revenue by the time he calimed to call it
quits in 04. Thats why he is the president of defjam. Its not like he put in his application and got hired. And maybe is on par
with bush for the worst president ever but the fact remains,LL your just not that important to def Jam as you once were.
but look on the bright side there's always Dancing with The Stars.
c man niggas need 2 stop wit da disrespect because LL HAS done a lot 4 hip-hop hell he's your favorite rapper's favorite rapper or they at least look(ed) up 2 him so sayin he aint been important or he aint shyt is like sayin scottie pippen didn need jordan yea LL need 2 take responsibility 4 SOMETHING tho he been in the game this long an neva even had his own label at least a joint deal wit def jam he shouldnt even be in this situation him or method man an all those other cats blamin jay i could understand if it was a new artist but dam yall got time in the game just step ya business mind up g
if u follow rap like i do...
his career was over in 2002
10 was his last classic!!!
Definition was iight but all them Timbaland ass beats dont save an album!
Dissin Jay...he better do it quick cuz Jigga droppin Nov 6...then its USELESS for him to diss then! lol
couldn't put it any better, 02' was LLzzzzzzzz'
SOMEONE PRESS THE SNOOZ BUTTON ON THIS NIGGA...CUZ IM READY TO SLEEP ON IT...ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ...WAKE ME UP...WHEN THE NEXT FAMILY MOVIE COME OUT..AN HE ON IT...L.L..U DONE!!!!!!!!
this shyt gettin old take control of your career stop bitchin redman did everthing his dam self an he said dat in a interview he mite notta had promotion but he got on da grind u cnt expect ppl 2 hold your fukin hand all the time specially when u a vet n da game like LL
jay-z sucks hes a swagger jacker ll is the g.o.a.t jay-z aint shit
wow this is comin 4rm a t.i. dick-rider that has tip harris as his name
man tip straight, but why you hatin on jigga? EVERYBODY in the rap game cash's in on the next man's flow,swagger,delivery, and creativity. why start the hate on jay when you can go waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back.
ATLEAST THEY SHARE A COMPARISON THEY BOTH OLD AND WACK...
PLEASE RETIRE AGAIN
LL is a legend, hands down, nobody can take away what he's done. A first ballot hall of famer (Hip Hop) in my book. Yall don't know hip hop, he's hip hop.
ReDef.
HONESTLY THIS WAS BOUND TO HAPPEN YOU GOT 2 HONEST LEGENDS GOING AFTER THE TITLE OF GOAT. THEY ARE THE ONLY 2 RAPPERS THAT CAN HONESTLY CONTEND FOR THE THAT TITLE... BEING THE LONG AND SUCCESSFUL CAREERS THEY HAVE. UNFORTUNATELY THERE'S A COUPLE OTHER RAPPERS THAT COULD BE MENTIONED IN THAT ARGUMENT BUT THEY ARE DEAD. I WANNA SEE THESE GUYS COMPETE. I FEEL JAY WILL KILL LL BUT YOU GOTTA RESPECT LL'S LONGTIVITY IN THE GAME. I WAS IN 1ST GRADE WHEN I'M BAD CAME OUT FOR GOD'S SAKE AND I'M 26.
Look, I could honestly understand why he feels the way he feels... it's like when u'r the only child for years and then you get a new brother or sister or something.
Lol...damn...
What James Todd Smith has to realize is that his music doesn't appeal to everyone. He said it himself..."he doesn't make shit for males".
Just like "The Roots" and Redman etc etc.
You could spend a billion dollars promoting shit...but if it ain't promoted to he right demographic... IT'S A FUCKING WASTE OF MONEY!
Promoting James Todd Smith's shit to "US"...
Is like promoting HAIR EXTENSIONS to white girls.
Of course you're gonna get a few...but you'll lose way more $$ than you make!
~Be Eazy!
all u niggaz iz dumb ll iz a legend fo any1 2 say he aint 1 of the g.o.a.ts den u dont kno bout hip hop den ur 1 of dese souljah boy fans.meth,red.dmx all dem niggaz been sayin da same thing so it gotta b truth ll shuld get promoted properly mayb not like jay but styll shuld get summ promotion.im glad fif iz takin dat i hope his album iz great so he can dip from hip hop wit summ sik if its flop den all u niggaz dat commented r rite he aint on jay's level but if its a classic den give da man his props cuz he iz 1 of da illest bak in da day until he started dedicatin his hol album 2 gz ez
n ll iz da g.o.a.t jigga iz da shit dont get me wrong but ll iz styll 1 of da illest rappers/entertainers of all time jigga iz betta den him but if it wasnt fo ll jigga wuldnt of got no deal wit def jam but wateva dey both great i hope dey settle dat shit cuz i'd like 2 see dem on a track 2gether dat wuld b sik.
yo ll cool j is not very popular no more i mean dre is a good classic dude so is snoop they have bangin old school records but ll nah ,.
LL is definitely a legend but no matter how many dollars you put promoting his album doesn't guarantee success. Hate to say it but LL cant sell water to a well in this day and time.
I DONT FUCK WITH LL
SO WHAT IF HES A LEGEND? THE NEW RAPPERS WILL SERVE THIS NIKKA HE WACK NOW CASE CLOSE
this coming from the dude who said WU-TANG WAS DEAD!
ya barrels the wackest dude on here
no wonder you replyed you got a wu tang pic ? pffff ahha who the fuck cares bout wu tang? that shyt is mad old man you fucking old nikka probably like 32 get into the 2007 movement wu tang career is over they sound realy old and raggy there are legends and all that but enough is enough get with the other rap groups
mobb deep
d block
gunit
dipset
the clipse
and others that are hot
david listen to yourself you sound like you know absolutley NOTHING about hip-hop let me take you to school real quick:
1. Im 19 years old, i just fuck with REAL hip-hop
2. Every group you just named except for D-Block is DEAD hahahaha dipset, mobb deep??
3. WU will never get old dawg, you on some dumb shit. 8 Diagrams DECEMBER 4TH! cop it
wow your a noob that album is going to flop worser then lloyd banks
they been in the game how long and still aint rich??? they aint getting no C.R.E.A.M
you are a straight clown, you have no reply from me in the future because you have the mind of a 12 year old, you probably one of them cats that go to youtube and click on the cupid shuffle video or soulja boy's crank that to learn the dance steps.
CLOWN, you got to be a hard nigga to fuck with the WU
[reply] DAVID_BARRELS — 15 minutes ago
with out LL then there is no jay
LL won ever battle jay has a lost under his belt
I understand niggas having an opinion on who's GOAT, or how relevant LL is presently, Not very. But stop disrespecting, and hatin on that nigga. ^without LL there is no Jay^
CO--to the--SIGN!!!
yup w/o LL there would be no jay so jay need to be thankful
Without LL your favorite artist may have never come out. Not just Jay. LL paved a way for many to follow. Without Russell and Rick there would be no LL.
ll is the man too yall need to do your research, not boosie and webbie, ll is the man
no disrespect 2 jay, but ll iz a legend... case closed. end of story. they shouldnt be beefin. id rather them get together with some of the other nyc mc's and do something about this ringtone rap shyt thats fuccin up hip hop.
I SIT BACK N LOOK AT SUM OF THESE COMMENTS N I CAN TELL A LOT OF YALL ONT KNO HIP-HOP CAUSE LL IS A LEGEND AND HE IS THE G.O.A.T. MOST OF YALL PROLY WAYNE-HEADS ON HIS DICK CAUSE HES HOT FUCK OUTTA HERE. I BET MOST OF YALL UNDER 18 N JAY AINT THE BEST ALIVE NAS IS ONT GET THAT TWISTED FUCK BOY. I AGREE WIT Drak WIT OUT LL THERE IS NO JAY N LL OWNS HIS OWN MASTERS CAN JAY SAY THE SAME SO HOW DOES LL ONT HAVE MONEY THE NIGGA IS MORE SUCCESSFUL THAN JAY OR ANY OTHER HIP-HOP ARTIST IN HISTORY BESIDES PAC OR B.I.G. STOP HATIN ON LL CAUSE THEY CALL HIM UNCLE-L FOR A REASON N CHECK HIS TRACK RECORD HE BEAT EVERYBODY HE BATTLED CAN JAY SAY THE SAME NO CAUSE NAS ALMOST ENDED HIS CARER WIT ETHER. BEFORE ANYBODY COMMENTS FIRST DO UR RESEARCH N LEARN BOUT WUT U COMMENTIN ON CAUSE I SWEAR SUM OF YALL ONT KNO SHIT BOUT HIP-HOP.
Typing in caps make you look stupid.Also, if there wasn't an LL there would be a Jay-Z.Where are you stupid crack babies coming up with that nonsense that without LL there wouldn't be a Jay.How would Jay-Z career be derail if LL was never in the game? The answer is it wouldn't, LL didn't help Jay get signed.LL didn't write Jay's Lyrics.LL didn't produce Jay's songs.I think you idiots will try to push the angle that LL build Def Jam and that would be a lie.Money builds company, and LL wasn't the artist that made Def Jam the money in the early stages of the company,The Beastie Boys were.LL was the first to drop in 85, but his album wasn't some major force that brought millions of dollars into the hands of Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons.That force was The Beastie Boys in 86.Also, do your research dummy, Nas didn't come near ending Jay's career.The Blueprint sold 2 million copies in the U.S. and Blueprint 2 sold 5 million after it.Ether was big in the hoods, but it didn't put a scratch on Jay's mainsteam appeal.Also, how is LL more sucessfull then Jay? You obviously haven't read The Forbes, assuming you can read pass the 6th grade level.
IN NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM IS LL THE G.O.A.T. over big,pac, or nas. for that matter even jay.
Explain to me how if there was no LL theres no Jay. As I remember I think Jay started his OWN record label with someone, and pushed out heat. Defjam realese the product but that had nothing to do with LL. Jay-Z could of Stayed CEO of Roc-A-Fella Records, which is a multi Million Dollar Dynasty Label. How did Jay need LL please explain.
Between Evil Dre and Skills that pretty much sums it up.
It's crazy how people try to dis-credit Jay. Like his fame and fortune is a stroke of luck as if he didn't grind to get where he is. I have heard people say if it wasn't for Big teaching him how to rhyme or if it wasn't for Pac dying Jay would not be who is. The best one is Nas killed Jay and almost ended his career as FRESH-ONE stated. The worst part is some idiots truly believe that shit! Where I'm from ALMOST don't mean shit and never will. You ALMOST graduated high school. You ALMOST made it to the NBA. You ALMOST got some pussy. Shit doesn't add up.
i respect LL a lot .i repect what he's done for the game . and just him as a legend .but truth be told now a dayz lame ass niggas . hop on the whoever got problems with jay train.and this an't the inner fan talking. but truth be told i get tired of all the jay hate bouncing around lately.jay said he respects LL and an't gonna battle him .they can talk it out like men.instead of you young niggas commending him for that grown man shit he did .you still try to decredit him.i"am a huge LL fan butjay opened a lot of doors for dudes today also.maybe even more doors.people a mile away can ll is just on some bull shit.that damn album was promoted right ! what the hell did jay not do right with the album promotion .what he was suppose to go to every body house and threaten them??either way i hope they can work this out cause it's pretty lame anyway .altho it would be real intertaining. but american gangster being at least close to a classic would be way much more intertaining than them beefing {IMO}
i cant get into none of jay z stuff not nadda thing theres like 3-5 tracks i like and thats it
like for real i tried to listen to him i just cant i really dont feel his music so im not hatin its just that simple i cant get into nutthin
jay aint made for every one
maybe so ^ i wish i couldn't get into a rapper like that .i"am a fan of every body and that's a problem .but i grew up listening to jay plus i can feel his pain and i understand where he's comming from i clearly see his out look on life he's a great rapper you know but shit the only rapper i can't stand is mike jones EVERY body else i can deal with
WHO GIVES A FUCK. aint nobody rushin to the store to cop an LL album anymore.
Fuck LL, you're straight up gay if you listen to that corny muthafuckas shit.
Yeah lets all listen to the lyrical hip hop that is the west right now...which is basically just Game?
Sit the fuck down little boy...I know spellin Rider with a Y makes you an internet thug, but dont speak on shit you dont know.
haha. you need to replace lyrical game, with crooked I.