LL COOL J was no stranger to Hip Hop battles back in the day, and recently recalled his battle with JAY-Z and the rumors around it.
LL is on the promo circuit for his new album and sat down with Charlamagne Tha God for an in-depth conversation that was published on Friday (July 12). After discussing the epic battle between Kendrick Lamar and Drake, the pair got into LL’s own beefs and the rumor he once battled Hov in a parking lot and used a verse from his song “Funkadelic Relic.”
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“Okay let’s talk about what it really is. First of all, I didn’t rap a verse from ‘Funkadelic Relic.’ Okay? That’s the first fucking thing,” he said, laughingly recalling the mid-’90s encounter. “It’s bullshit. It’s not true. What did happen though is I see the guy. He’s in the club flashing money trying to get my attention and I’m looking like, okay. And then this man Sauce came up to me and was rapping. Remember, I’m albums in[to my career] now.
“You know, these are guys that ain’t had that deal. So when I ain’t had a deal, I had a suitcase of rhymes. Now I’m albums in. Sauce said some rhymes. I said a couple of rhymes. Then I said a little bit of a song, ‘Ain’t No Stopping This.’ A little bit. Then Jay came up rapping. I was out of rhymes, b. In no scenario was I fully loaded and ready to rhyme. If I was, I’m not exactly the first rapper that you wanna get into that shit with.
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“So yes, did I run out of rhymes? Was I finished rapping? Abso-fucking-lutely. Was it their peanut gallery? Absolutely. But do you really wanna get into some of that shit with LL? You really want that? You dudes want those problems or it’s just a nice story to have?”
He also confirmed his song “Loungin” was not a diss toward Jay (though he was, he clarified, inspired by some of Hov’s lyrics). He added, “What could I possibly want from him in 1996? What do I want with him?”
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The full conversation happens below around the 50:51 mark.
Just last year, decades after their alleged issues, LL COOL J was accused of talking about JAY-Z when he made some comments about inactive rappers.
“Let me shout it out to all you rappers trying to play mystery man: stop fuckin’ up your legacy,” LL said during a stop on his F.O.R.C.E Tour in August. “Get on this goddamn stage, man.”
It wasn’t long before fans began speculating that the comment was aimed at Jay, who Uncle L has had a complicated relationship with over the years. However, X user @EriqEnigma took to the platform to clear things up days later.
“I was LITERALLY at this show,” they began. “He and Questlove had just finished performing Whodini’s “Freaks Come Out At Night” and was saying he had tried to get Jahlil from the group to come on the tour but he declined.”
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They continued: “THAT’S who his referring to here. ANYTHING for engagement tho right?”
