Tuesday, July 04, 2006

LL Cool J to Collab with 50 Cent

LL Cool J has announced that for his next album he will be working with none other than G-Unit head honcho, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson. The album will be a follow up sequel to the album he released earlier this year, Todd Smith, and will allegedly carry the name, Todd Smith, Part 2: Back to Cool and is due in the fall.
LL told Vh1, " It's my last Def Jam record so I wanted to make it something special and something really unique and kinda get back to my roots a little bit, 50 reminds me a lot of the things that I used to do and the places I used to be in my life, and I think we can have a good time together." LL will forever be remembered as the first artists to release a single on the
Def Jam imprint with his 1985 debut, Radio.
"He's talented and I feel like I have something I want to say — I think he can help me get it off my chest", added LL. The two can be heard working together currently with Lloyd Banks on a remix for "Freeze", which for some reason, LL is calling "You Can Bump This". The two are still deciding if and how much 50 himself and G-Unit artists will be featured.
"I don't know if I'm gonna do as many collaborations on this record," said LL, whose most recent release, April's Todd Smith, features a multitude of guest appearances, "I think that me and 50 is enough." We're definitely putting our heads together, we definitely have subject matter in mind and I'm definitely focused on making it as hot as it can be," LL said.
Being his last record from Def Jam, LL has been working hard to reach his fans, but despite guest appearances from Mary J. Blige,
Jennifer Lopez, Jamie Foxx, Teairra Marí, 112, Ginuwine, Freeway, Mary Mary and Juelz Santana, the albums first week numbers at 116,000 copies, was only enough for a #6 on the charts. Which was not LL's finest opening; 2000's G.O.A.T. Featuring James T. Smith: The Greatest of All Time bowed at #1 with 209,000 scans, and 2002's 10 debuted at #2 with sales of 154,000 plus. The most recent of his previous outings, 2004's The DEFinition, opened as Billboard's #4 entrant, selling more than 173,000 copies.
Hoping for a contract renewal or possibly leaving the game forever, LL has certainly had an impressive career since 1985, adding "I'm a blessed guy, I'm lucky," LL said. "I didn't know it would end up like this. It's pretty wild."