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JennYLL Cool J - Exit 13 Album Review
September 24th 2008 00:33
Release date: September 9, 2008
Genre: East Coast hip hop
Length: 72:43
Label: Def Jam
Out of nowhere, LL Cool J hit the shelves with his latest album Exit 13. The last time we saw him on the mic was back in 2006, but now he says he's back as the G.O.A.T (Greatest of All Time) of rap.
The album starts with the song It's Time For War where LL states that he's back and that it's time for war. It has a violent melody with some bells ringing and a choir; the hard-hitting snare will keep your head nodding along.
Old School New School uses an old-school trumpet beat that makes you wanna stand up and clap. So far, so good.
Feel My Heart Beat features 50 Cent on the chorus, and is a “for the ladies” kind of song. LL's flow is pretty slow. First, he used his cruiser voice.
Get Over Here (featuring Nicolette, Jiz, Lyrikal, & Ticky Diamondz) has a South side beat. The first verse was sick, and the flow was pretty fast. It keeps you jumpy.
The second single of the album, Baby, features the Dream. This track is the typical LL love song. I didn't really like the beat. It sounded a bit like a faster, higher version of Akon's “It Don't Matter.”
BABY MUSIC VIDEO
You Better Watch Me sounded a little bit like 50 Cent's “I Get Money” with a dark techno beat. The words “get it” were repeated throughout the chorus. Still, it was a hard rap song.
Cry (featuring Lil' Mo) is another love song, except that it was more serious than Feel My Heart Beat and Baby. This was the song for the girl you love, not the one you meet anywhere.
I've got nothing to say about the eighth track called Baby (Rock Remix). It's the same song as the single except that it sounds more techno.
Rocking With The G.O.A.T. Was the album's warm-up single. It was a great choice because this song hit the streets hard. It's strictly street, OLD GANGSTER TYPE. This Is Ringtone Murder has a similar sound – old-school gangster. The beat makes you crazy with people screaming “GO” in the background. You can listen to this song non-stop.
ROCKING WITH THE G.O.A.T MUSIC VIDEO
Like A Radio is another song for the ladies. The beat felt like it was designed to be an R. Kelly song, but it had a more G sound. Anyways, I thought this album was going to be strictly raw, it looks like I was mistaken.
I Fall In Love has a Middle-Eastern sound on the chorus, thanks to the girl singing. The verses, on other hand, had a more techno sound with girls moaning in the background.
Ur Only A Customer sounded like it was made for the girls, but it wasn't really for the girls. I don't know if it was the beat or something, but it really felt like a ladies' song. I'm really getting tired of those girl songs.
Mr. President features Wyclef Jean on the chorus. I don't know why but there seems to be a fair amount of techno on this album. The drums on this track sounded like the drums on Justin Timberlake's “My Love.” In this song, LL talks to the President, asks him questions and stuff.
The fifteenth track is called American Girl. Again with the girls. This is quite disappointing because the warm-up gave the impression that the album was going to be raw as hell. Anyways, in this song he talks about girls in the U.S.A on a American anthem mix.
Thankfully, Speedin' On The Highway/Exit 13 brings some gangster flow to the listeners. Unfortunately, it sounded a little bit like a wankster song, you know, like all the crap that's coming out these days.t
The song, Come And Party, didn't really do justice to its title. I thought it was going to be a “hell yeah, party!” song but it came off less intense. The beat had an old school clap along with some techno here and there.
We Rollin' is the kind of song you play when you're in your lowrider with your girl, riding around under the song. This was a good song, but afterwards you get really tired of girl songs unless you're an old LL fan who always loved him.
The final track of Exit is called Dear Hip Hop. In my mind, this song was really disappointing because, with this title, you'd think the song would perfectly end the album, but it was far from being the best track of this record.
So, to summarize... This album could be considered good if you're an old-school LL Cool J fan. But, personally, I thought this would be a bigger comeback for LL, more raw. Instead, it was the same old ladies' man, just more classy this time around compared to when he was singing shirtless. There are only four songs worth listening to, so I wouldn't really recommend this album. Buy if you're a fan. Otherwise, it's nothing new, 7/10.
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