LL Cool J - Exit 13 Review

Posted by Patrick Robinson on 09.29.2008

Exit 13 is LL Cool J's thirteenth and final album on Def Jam Records, is it a fitting testament to his legacy?

When you think LL Cool J, what comes to mind? Is it the sparse beats and b-boy feel of Radio, or the flashy “Headsprung”? Is it the reinvention of “Mama Said Knock You Out” or Todd Smith? Fact of the matter is, LL Cool J has had a roller coaster career if there ever was one. The funny thing is though, is that anytime there were mumblings of ‘selling out’ or forgetting his rap roots, he would immediately turn around and release a ‘harder’ album.

While The DEFinition was bolstered by Timbaland’s production, Todd Smith had no booster. What we got was an album full of R&B influenced collaborations and a 30-something rapper trying to capture the sound of the mainstream of 2006 – a far cry from being one of the pioneers of rap.

So, 2008 brings us the end of a dynasty. LL intends on leaving Def Jam Records, his home now for more than 20 years and has released 13 albums on the label, a feat that will probably never be matched by any rap artist. Is this an album to be remembered, or is it time for LL to bow out quietly?



Tracks

1. It’s Time For War
2. Old School New School
3. Feel My Heart Beat Ft. 50 Cent
4. Get Over Here Ft. Nicolette, Jiz, Lyrikal, & Ticky Diamondz
5. Baby Ft. The-Dream
6. You Better Watch Me
7. Cry Ft. Lil Mo
8. Baby [Rock Remix] Ft. Richie Sambora
9. Rocking With The G.O.A.T.
10. This Is Ring Tone M… Ft. Grandmaster Caz
11. Like A Radio Ft. Ryan Leslie
12. I Fall In Love Ft. Élan Of The DEY
13. Ur Only A Customer
14. Mr. President Ft. Wyclef Jean
15. American Girl Ft. Mark Figeroa
16. Speedin’ On Da Highway / Exit 13 Ft. Funkmaster Flex
17. Come And Party With Me Ft. Fat Joe & Sheek Louch
18. We Rollin’
19. Dear Hip-Hop

Right from the start, we’re treated with “It’s Time For War”, a track that highlights everything that LL SHOULD be doing in this stage of his career, addressing his critics and the contemporary rappers who believe he’s a forgotten relic of a previous age. While it’s not a declaration of war on modern day rappers as the title may have you believe, it IS a statement of what LL Cool J is, and what he’s done for hip-hop.

Indeed, the better tracks on Exit 13 are those that capture an old-school vibe, or deal with LL taking a more aggressive attitude to his standing in the hip-hop community today. “You Better Watch Me” uses a similar drum pattern to “I Get Money” by 50 Cent, and the loud delivery is very reminisce of LL’s Radio days. Likewise, “Rocking With The G.O.A.T.” and “This Is Ring Tone M…” capture that loud, cocky LL from yesteryear. The latter track in particular shows that LL can still bring a lyrical gem when he wants to:

”I use the word ‘off’ seven times in a rhyme
You dumb enough to think I got a limited mind”

There are two other notable songs. “Mr. President” is an outstanding track and isn’t the typical “The President is doing a terrible job!” etc. that you often hear in music today. Rather LL asks to sit down with the President and have a conversation. He stresses that he loves America and respects the man (”Don’t get me wrong I respect the flag, but it hurts to see a kid in a body bag”), but he wants to know what his thoughts are on current issues. I think it’s quite interesting that he doesn’t specifically name George Bush but directs the song at the position of President itself. The album’s closer, “Dear Hip-Hop” sees LL speaking out about the state of hip-hop, and criticizes himself for not trying to save the genre before it became about the money and ”Bitches and ho’s”.

There’s a couple of other bright spots on the album, “American Girl” is an ode to American girls and is a silly song in essence (”The King of England would have left us alone, if he’d seen Jessica Simpson eat an ice cream cone”), but the production has an awesome marching band feel to it and saves the song from being completely forgettable.

“Ur Only A Customer” could have been a really good song too, but it’s less than 2:20 long and you can’t really get into it before the song’s over.

The production is quite a feature on the album, that’s unfortunately brought down by some sub-par lyricism. “Feel My Heart Beat” had a great funk feel, but is spoiled by 50 and LL spitting some extremely average lyrics to women. The Rock Remix to “Baby” could have been a really good song, had it not been a remix to “Baby”, which isn’t exactly the best song LL’s done in itself. “Come And Party With Me” has that loud, late 90s feel to it, but is killed by an irritating hook, and Fat Joe, who also needs to consider retirement.

From there though, things fall into forgettable or outright terrible territory. “Get Over Here” is a horrible synthesized mess with some no-name rappers (and it’s no surprise they’re no name) dragging the track down. “Like A Radio” I thought would be an ode to Radio, but instead, it’s a weak metaphor track using radio’s as the basis. Ryan Leslie’s production is a bit too glossy for rap altogether, stick to R&B or Pop I think.

The 411: I don’t think it’s fair to write-off Exit 13 based on “Baby”, but unfortunately, the bright spots are clouded by the awful lyricism and often mismatched production. Whilst it’s better than Todd Smith, it’s certainly no Mama Said… in terms of reinvention. If you are an old-school LL fan, I’d suggest listening to a couple of the tracks mentioned, but otherwise give this a miss.

Final Score:  6.0   [ Average ]