Born To Love

Ten albums in a hip hop career, that’s what artists’s dreams are all about. And one of hip hop’s legends, James Todd Smith also or better known as LL Cool J, just accomplished that dream. His tenth album, thoughtfully titled “10”, has just come out, and it represents the ladylover’s name to the fullest: An album for, to, and with the ladies.

There are not many words necessary to describe this album. If you’ve heard or better seen the video to the first single off this album, “Luv U Better”, you know everything, there’s nothing left: Mainly produced by the Neptunes, “10” is an album for the ladies, for the dancefloor, not really conscious as far as the lyrics go, and the Trackmasters and the other producers somehow give the record new directions, but since they also just move asses, it’s nothing that different actually. It’s a diet product: light, easy to eat, no recovery time needed. Dru Hill, Kandice Love and Amerie as featured artists tend to show you, dear reader, once again the main direction: the ladies sing hooks, sing choruses, they just SING, get it? The track with P. Diddy, well, that one is cool, and as you might have expected, it’s the same thing as the others, except for the fact that Diddy does not sing, but that he and LL just talk about their credit cards’s potencies and that ladies get everything, from Manolo Blahniks (sic!) to the Gucci fashion. Nothing new there, it’s money for the girls, else it’s just girls directly (without leaving the money aspect of the whole game aside of course).

So, if this was LL’s last album, it would be a little poor being the legend’s last record. LL does a great job, but his name alone, meaning ladies loving cool James and him loving them ladies back (even though he’s so extremely married), just does not satisfy my taste of a great album. The positive aspect about all that: The Trackmasters really move asses, and the Neptunes, too, produced great joints on that record. But it just contains more singles than your average club and more joints to do your girl than your best piece actually allows you. Get my problem? LL, give us a little more of the street thing, a little more of your older and more conscious stuff, ‘cause, well, as you know, nowadays, each and every dude raps about the ladies. We know the topic, and we want something more. You could do it, you know that.

***1/2 out of SIX SHOTS.