LL Cool J‘s latest single “Murdergram Deaux” is a special record, not simply because of the fact that he trades rapid-fire rhymes with Eminem or that Q-Tip is responsible for the quirky production.
In an interview with veteran journalist Shaheem Reid ahead of the release of his new album The FORCE, the Queens, New York legend explained why the song holds a unique distinction that may not be immediately obvious to most listeners.
“I can’t remember when the producer and both MCs were all in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame at the time they recorded a song,” he pointed out. “Us three, all Hall of Famers on that one song, I think is dope.”
He added: “I just think that’s a cool, fun fact. I think history will shine well on that.”
LL Cool J was the first of three to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2021, with Eminem joining him on stage for a performance of “Rock the Bells.”
Slim Shady joined him in the esteemed club the following year and named LL as one of his Hip Hop heroes in his acceptance speech.
Q-Tip is set to be inducted later this year as part of A Tribe Called Quest, alongside the likes of Mary J. Blige, Kool & The Gang and Cher.
LL Cool J also spoke about “Murdergram Deaux” in a separate interview with Vulture published earlier this week and explained how the heavyweight collaboration came about.
“Q-Tip played the beat. I actually watched him create a lot of it. It was absolutely amazing to me,” he said. “Because of the choppiness in the tempo, I felt like Eminem would be perfect for it.
“We ended up going to L.A. to Dr. Dre’s studio. We recorded together. I would go in and write my verse and record mine in the booth. He would go in and write his verse, record in the booth. We would never watch each other record, except for the very ending when we kind of went back and forth a little.”
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LL went on to praise his and Em’s collaborative chemistry, saying: “It just came out crazy to me […] I think that song is that moment when you see there is a difference between people really into the craft of MCing and people who are rapping because they can.
“Like when, in the original ‘Murdergram’ in 1990, I said, ‘The big showdown, the display of skill,’ right? I think this took that idea of the display of skill to another level. The way Em is tripling up at the end and the way we go back and forth, and … it just feels right to me. We sound like a rap group.”
Eminem is just one of many rap legends set to appear on The FORCE, with the album also boasting appearances from Nas, Snoop Dogg, Fat Joe, Busta Rhymes and Rick Ross, as well as top-to-bottom production from Q-Tip.
It drops this Friday (September 6) and serves as LL Cool J’s first album in over a decade.
