LL Cool J on 'The FORCE', working with Eminem and the evolution of hip-hop

LL COOL J's fans are embracing his new album, “The Force.”

On Sept. 6, the “Headsprung” rapper stopped by the TODAY Plaza to perform new songs from his album, “Frequencies of Real Creative Energy.”

The rapper was met with applause from fans who waited outside for hours to witness him take the stage in New York — and the Queens rapper did not disappoint.

He started off on a high note by bringing out surprise guest Fat Joe, and together, they rapped the lyrics to their new song, “Saturday Night Special.”

“It’s a song about integrity, about keeping your word, which is put in through a street lens,” LL told the crowd.

LL continued his trip down memory lane and performed a medley of his greatest hits, including “Doin’ It,” “It Gets No Rougher,” “I’m Bad” and “Mama Said Knock You Out.”

“40 years and this Man still on the Top of the game ... let that sink it folks!” one person commented on his performance online.

Another said, “This man has the greatest career ever in hip hop history.”

A third added, "Now that’s a stage performance ... Salute to the G.O.A.T."

Post-performance, LL sat down for an interview with TODAY for our “8 Before 8” video series, where he spoke about his luminous rap career, new album and more.

'The Force' is your first album in 11 years. Can you tell us a little more about “Frequencies of Real Creative Energy” and how that acronym affects your own creative process?

The title is about the mindset that you have to have in order to employ the force in your life, in order to attract the things in your life that you want to have, in order to make your dreams a reality. You have to be vibrating at a certain frequency and depending on what you're trying to accomplish in life, those frequencies can vary.

It's about mood management and it's understanding that when you feel certain things, you must understand that what you're dwelling on, you're attracting in your life, so you have to just be mindful of that as you go on this journey.

Throughout the record, I just talk about different things that have happened. Some are facts, some are fiction, some are fantasy, hybrids, blurred reality, all kinds of stuff. But ultimately, everything is vibrating on an inspired level. It doesn't mean it's negative or positive, but it's definitely truly inspired.

Who has been your favorite artist to work with in the past three decades?

I guess myself because you got to be on the same page with you. That's the first collaboration. It's got to be you and your ego and your mind and where you're at in your mind. But, look, I had a ball working with everybody. Me and Q-Tip had an amazing time working together on this project. He's brilliant as a producer and an artist, but we just had a great time. I had a lot of fun working with Joe. Me and Eminem had the best time working on “Murdergram Deux.” We did that out at Dr. Dre's studio in L.A. and I would go in the booth, write my rhymes, then Em would go in the booth and write his rhymes, and then we would go back and forth. It was amazing, so "Murdergram" has probably been one of the more fun collaborations that I've done because we actually did it in the studio together, and that was a lot of fun.

You coined the phrase “G.O.A.T.” Who are your top three G.O.A.Ts from the ‘90s, ‘00s and now.

When I coined that term, I had no idea it was going to turn into this thing and become a part of popular culture. But, it's funny because I came up with it in 2000 and that's when it just kind of took on a life of its own.

There are G.O.A.T.S who are great at so many things. Some unsung, some heroes. It could be the Michael Jordans and the Steph Currys and the LeBrons and the Michael Phelps and the Simone Biles of the world, or, it could be the teacher that goes the extra mile, or the security guard who risks his life. It all depends, but at the end of the day, it's really about you going after what you truly want and being excellent at it, and not being afraid and having the courage to be vulnerable because to be a winner, you have to be willing to risk being a loser. There's a certain amount of vulnerability that comes with that. If you're willing to risk that, risk your emotions, risk your ego, then you put yourself in a position to be successful. So I say that there are a lot of G.O.A.Ts for different reasons. A lot of people are great at a lot of things.

What would you tell this version of yourself who performed on the TODAY Plaza back in 2004?

I guess he was hot. It was hot outside, he's pouring water. I love it! I love everything about it. This is exactly what it is, exactly what you're looking at. No shirt, water being poured on the chest. Happy. Love it. I love it. I would do that right now, but it's too cold outside.

Question from Khalid: How was it being an artist in the ‘90s? How did you get through those challenges?

When I started, I would do shows in Maine and this would be the first time that hip-hop ever went to Maine. So, it'll be like 20 kids in a gymnasium with a few teachers and a couple of parents, and I'd be explaining to them that these are the turntables and the DJ is going to make the record go back and forth and I'm going to say these rhymes, and if you listen, everything's rhyming. Then, I'm trying to make comparisons to iambic pentameter, limericks and haiku — anything to get their their minds around the idea that we're doing hip-hop.

In the ‘90s, hip-hop started to explode a little bit larger, but it was still a subculture. It felt like I was the biggest fish in a much smaller tank. Then, what had happened is that some of the songs that I made in that time, they transcended that time period and went on to become classics. Then, other hits and other things happened, but those were definitely the formative years for hip-hop because it went from block parties and house parties and projects in the ‘80s to concerts in the ‘80s, but still without much mainstream attention.

Then the media started paying a little bit more attention to hip-hop and certain groups, but not necessarily me so much. It wasn't just me — there was Run-D.M.C. and then later on, N.W.A, Snoop, and all of those different groups. Much later, there was Biggie and Pac.

It was definitely fun to see the music go from just a huge idea in our minds to a huge idea actually manifested in the world. It was a lot of fun and I lost my mind. I found it a couple of times — most of it — but I lost a lot of it, you know what I mean?

Keith Urban is coming to TODAY next week as our next guest on the Plaza. What question do you have for him?

I love Keith! I want to know how he feels walking around with that last name. He's Urban. What I would ask Keith is this: In his genre, he's done some amazing things and he's made some huge strides. How has he maintained his long career because he's been around for a minute, and has been really successful at the highest level for quite a while. How does that feel? And I know Keith, by the way — what up, Keith?

Rapid-Fire Round

What's your go-to sandwich order at a bodega?

Turkey and cheese with some of the peppers! Not the hot ones, just with the little peppers with oil and vinegar. That's regular! That's New York, all day! You got to do that. I just had one of them yesterday.

What was your most formative album growing up?

Probably one of them Richard Pryor joints (laughs). No, but if you're asking which album had the most impact on me, it wasn't an album, it was hip-hop. You got to remember that I became a fan of hip-hop at 8 years old, at the birth of hip-hop, right? So, at the birth of hip-hop when those guys who were teenagers, maybe 15, 16, 17, right? And I was, like, eight, but I was already a fan of them. So, hip-hop had a huge impact on me.

I was listening to hip-hop before it was on vinyl. I was listening to tapes. Even though I'm from Queens, I was in Long Island and there were foster kids next door to me who were from the Bronx, and they were a little older, so they would come to Long Island with all of these tapes from the Bronx. I was getting exposed to hip-hop very, very early. That's why, when I started Def Jam at 16, I had already been rapping for like, eight years at 16, so that's why I was strong enough to start. Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin could start a label around this kid because I was ready.

Who would you like to play you in the movie version of your life?

Well, it depends on what era. But I already been telling everybody that I want Snoop Dogg to play me in my biopic. I've been telling everybody that over and over again. I'm kidding! No, I don't know. I think that it would probably have to be somebody who has the chops, who looks like me, but more importantly, who has the energy. You've got to bring the energy.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com