LL Cool J And Eminem Collaboration Surfaces Ahead Of Respective Comeback Albums
A song marking LL Cool J and Eminem‘s first ever collaboration has surfaced online, as the two legends prepare to release their respective comeback albums.
On Monday (June 17), the song, seemingly titled “Murdergram,” began making its rounds on social media, with fans reacting to LL and Em’s pairing. However, the snippet was later taken down after it was hit with a copyright strike, an indicator that the track was released without authorization of its creators or owners.
That said, with LL Cool J in the midst of the rollout for his 14th studio album, The F.O.R.C.E., set to drop later this year, and Eminem’s The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce) slated to arrive in summer, it’s believed that the official version “Murdergram” could potentially live on either project, if not both.
LL Cool J performs onstage during the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards at Prudential Center on September 12, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey.
Mike Coppola/Getty Images for MTV
LL Cool J and Eminem’s history dates back to the ’90s, as it’s alleged that the latter helped LL pen the Canibus diss, “The Ripper Strikes Back,” for the Def Jam icon. According to Em, the two first met on the set of his “Just Don’t Give A F**k” music video, with LL quoting one of his lyrics back to him, a moment he remembered vividly during a visit to LL’s Rock The Bells Radio show in 2018.
“I’m like, ‘Yo, he’s in here by himself.’ I was buggin’ the f**k out,” the Detroit native said of being in LL’s presence. “You quoted a lyric back to me. You said, ‘Yo, how can I be white/ I don’t even exist.’ You quoting that lyric back to me, was like, I think I sh*t myself.”
Eminem performs during the Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show at SoFi Stadium on February 13, 2022 in Inglewood, California.
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Crediting the Queens native as a major influence on his own rap aspirations, Shady admits he emulated LL Cool J after witnessing his “I’m Bad” music video for the first time. “He had the whole package — the look, the swag, the chain, everything! You know, you just wanted to be LL Cool J,” he recalled. “He was like the first rockstar of rap. I’m like, ‘Yo, I wanted that.’ That is what actually made me want to rap.”
The leak of “Murdergram” comes days after the release of LL’s new single “Saturday Night Special,” which features Rick Ross and Fat Joe. Late last month, Eminem released “Houdini,” his first drop in anticipation of The Death of Slim Shady.