LL Cool J’s “Passion” Is Palpable In New Music Video: Watch

LL Cool J’s new single “Passion” certainly lives up to his title, as he spits on what he loves about rap music and how much he cares about its artistry. It’s a very motivating and nostalgic track, an element that its new music video emphasizes by seeing LL in his current form and as a small child. There’s a particular emphasis on him writing rhymes in his notebook in presumably his childhood room, and it makes for a dynamic and engaging visual treatment as you can see the bars literally orbit around him and pop up in cartoon speech bubbles.

Furthermore, this is the latest single for LL Cool J’s upcoming album, and his first in over a decade, The FORCE (Frequencies Of Real Creative Energy). The project will feature Nas, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, and more massive guests across the 14-track, largely Q-Tip-produced tracklist, and it’s shaping up to be one of 2024’s biggest legacy releases. “[I was] going back to the drawing board and learning how to rap again,” he told the Associated Press about the LP. “The LeBrons, the Stephs, the Jordans and the Kobes, they all go back to the drawing board, they always try to make themselves better. I wasn’t trying to do trendy, and I wasn’t trying to recapture anything I did before.”

LL Cool J’s “Passion” Music Video: Watch

Also, this “Passion” music video lands among LL Cool J’s reflections on his relationship with another icon of the game. During a conversation with Charlamagne Tha God, he spoke on how some people are under the impression that he has beef with Jay-Z. While the two MCs aren’t the best of friends, they’ve shown each other plenty of love over the years despite what some anecdotes, rumors, and lyrical interpretations might have you believe. After all, they’re two New York legends.

Meanwhile, LL Cool J is just as prone to talk about the current state of hip-hop. “Drake, that ‘Not Like Us’ s**t, that s**t’s torture for a motherf***er,” he said of the K.Dot and Drizzy rap beef during this Charlamagne convo. “Ah, s**t, little kids singing to it. You know that s**t’s bananas. You’ll be fine, bro. Don’t even trip. You just don’t take it personal… You can’t be overly sensitive. I get it. I been there, I know it. It can be upsetting… But you gotta control that.”

About The Author

Gabriel Bras Nevares is a music and pop culture news writer for HotNewHipHop. He started in 2022 as a weekend writer and, since joining the team full-time, has developed a strong knowledge in hip-hop news and releases. Whether it’s regular coverage or occasional interviews and album reviews, he continues to search for the most relevant news for his audience and find the best new releases in the genre. What excites him the most is finding pop culture stories of interest, as well as a deeper passion for the art form of hip-hop and its contemporary output.

Specifically, Gabriel enjoys the fringes of rap music: the experimental, boundary-pushing, and raw alternatives to the mainstream sound. As a proud native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, he also stays up-to-date with the archipelago’s local scene and its biggest musical exponents in reggaetón, salsa, indie, and beyond.

Before working at HotNewHipHop, Gabriel produced multiple short documentaries, artist interviews, venue spotlights, and audio podcasts on a variety of genres and musical figures. Hardcore punk and Go-go music defined much of his coverage during his time at the George Washington University in D.C.

His favorite hip-hop artists working today are Tyler, The Creator, Boldy James, JPEGMAFIA, and Earl Sweatshirt.