LL Cool J went incognito to "reacquainted with the world" for his new album.
LL Cool J went incognito in New York City
The hip hop legend - who is performing at tonight (11.09.24) MTV Video Music Awards - released new album 'The FORCE' last week, and he did everything he could to slip out unnoticed to really experience New York again after becoming "disconnected" thanks to his success.
He told the 'Smallzy's Surgery' podcast: "What I wanted to do is just do a record that really dived into what is going on in the world today. The one thing I learned is, you can't connect with people if you can't relate to people.
"I did everything, here in New York, travelling around on the subway during the pandemic with a mask on anonymously, going places where no on would think I would go all by myself in the middle of the night, and just getting reacquainted with the world.
"Even hosting these [award] shows, people jumping in and out of Ubers, you forget about danger, you forget about what's going on in the real world.
"It's easy to get disconnected, it's easy to forget where you came from."
While the record "deals with all kinds of issues", the 56-year-old rapper wanted to make sure it wasn't "preachy" or just him on a "soap box".
He also wanted to make sure the all-star list of collaborations - including Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Busta Rhymes, Nas and more - were all done for a reason.
He explained: "The thing is, they're not there just because of who they are, they're there because it made sense sonically... They're in there in a way that makes sense for the song, and the song called for that artist. So I didn't just randomly pick whoever."
LL Cool J admitted in the past he has been "guilty" of using collaborations and guest spots in an "uninspired way.
He said: "I've kinda been guilty of doing some work that isn't always as inspired as it should be. You may have relationships and you bring people in, but you don't always use them to the best or maximise the opportunity to work with these great artists.
"I've done that, I've made that mistake in the past, so I definitely didn't wanna do that on this album. If I wanted to bring people in, it has to make sense for the song."