LL COOL J Reacts To Hip-Hop Wired’s ‘Rap Battles That Shifted Hip-Hop Culture’ Cover [Exclusive]

LL COOL J is a first-ballot Hip-Hop Hall of Famer and his career is far from over with the impending release of The FORCE album in September of this year. In a recent interview, the GOAT himself reacted to Hip-Hop Wired‘s Rap Battles That Shifted Hip-Hop Culture cover story and also revealed his favorite battles of all time.

LL COOL J, 54, sat down with the Hip-Hop Wired team and gave his thoughts on our recent cover story detailing the historic beefs and back-and-forths that have transformed the very landscape of the culture. The Queens native, clearly a historian of Hip-Hop and four decades in, shared his reaction to the Rap Battles That Shifted Hip-Hop Culture featuring cover art by the legendary André LeRoy “A.L. Dre” Davis while adding his thoughts on Hip-Hop’s greatest battles.

“I think that they’re all different,” LL began. “Battles pre-Internet and post-Internet, the world is gonna know more about them. I enjoyed the Nas and Jay [JAY-Z] battle on one level, but obviously, you didn’t have so much of that social media amplification.”

Continuing his observation, LL added, “The one thing I would say about the Kendrick [Lamar] and Drake battle was that it got the benefit of all of social media. It was layered beyond the music in the music in a different. Similar way to 50 [Cent] and Ja [Rule] except there is a little more social media [now] than even as it was back then.”

LL was then asked about his favorite battles of all time. Naturally, the battle-tested LL COOL J named himself and all the battles that he emerged victorious in. Can’t argue with that.

Check out the exclusive Hip-Hop Wired and LL COOL J clip below. LL’s The FORCE album drops on Sept. 6, 2024.

Additional reporting by Weso. 

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Photo: Getty