LL COOL J Comeback Song Gets Mixed Reactions From Hip-Hop Legends

LL COOL J returned with his new single “Saturday Night Special” featuring Fat Joe and Rick Ross on Friday (June 14). The Q-Tip-produced gave fans a taste of what to expect from the iconic rapper’s upcoming album, which is due out later this year.

“Saturday Night Special” received its fair share of praise following its release. DJ Premier was one of the notable names endorsing the track.

“Man this new LL Cool J, Rick Ross, Fat Joe joint Produced By Q-Tip is so dope!!!” DJ Premier wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter). “Dope Beats and Dope Rhymes. Hip Hop always cuts thru the corny.”

Every Hip-Hop legend wasn’t digging the track though. Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five member Rahiem criticized the song in a Facebook post.

“I’m not feeling the new LL Cool J song with Fat Joe & Rick Ross,” he wrote. “To me it’s mediocre at best…I do like the track though. This topic isn’t something LL is known for and in my humble opinion, it sounds like he’s trying too hard to be accepted by the streets and that’s definitely not his lane!”

Rahiem was thrown off by the single’s subject matter and verbiage.

“Then there’s the boss player, he got a shrewd intellect/He thinking big picture, he patient with disrespect/He always keep his word, but there’s pressure when he collect/He keep the blicky close, he smart when he invest/Stay away from his hoes, that’ll keep you out the mess/He act like you treat him cold, but that is just a test/Keep your jokes to a minimum when wifey is around/Remember he’s the man, and f### how it sounds/Give you the shirt off his back/Cross him, that’s that,” LL COOL J rapped on the second verse.

LL COOL J hasn’t announced a release date for his first album since 2013’s Authentic. AllHipHop was told the album would be the iconic rapper’s best to date, a bold claim since his discography includes Radio and Mama Said Knock Out.