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LL Cool J |
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Exit 13 |
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Def Jam |
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By DONYA BLAZE
After 23 years in hip-hop, LL Cool J still has a body that makes the ladies swoon. But his music? Well... Exit 13 finds the G.O.A.T hanging onto his hit-making legacy by a thread of his Kangol.
On the opener “It’s Time For War,” he acknowledges the obvious: “When I walk in the room, young boys look at me strange / As if I am a relic from some long forgotten game.” Unfortunately, the rapper is so focused on defending his name that he forgot to make memorable songs. The overstuffed disc plummets from there into the mind-numbingly mediocre (“Come and Party With Me”), the out of place (“Baby Rock Remix”), and the just plain awful (“I Fall In Love”). Furthermore, it’s hard to believe that Def Jam’s A&R -- or any hearing person for that matter -- actually cleared the ridiculous “American Girl” as LL rattles off names of cities, states, and politicians like he’s cramming for a history test. (Seriously, even lines from the national anthem show up.)
