LL COOL J is making a comeback with his first album in over a decade. The FORCE, set to release on Sept. 6, will mark his 14th studio album and a proper follow-up to 2013’s Authentic.

The rap legend enlisted a star-studded lineup for the upcoming project, including Eminem, Nas, Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross, Fat Joe, Saweetie, and Busta Rhymes. Meanwhile, production is entirely handled by A Tribe Called Quest’s Q-Tip.

“I just felt like the tracks that this producer was giving me were better than the songs that I was writing,” LL told AP News in an interview published on Friday (July 12) before detailing how the late Phife Dawg appeared in his dream. “He told me, ‘Yo, man, that new music you’re working on is great, man.’ But he had a look on his face like a Cheshire cat, like he was lying to me,” LL continued.

When asked about the creative process behind The FORCE, the rapper described much of it as “going back to the drawing board and learning how to rap again.”

“[It was] making sure I was really inspired by the things I was saying. That’s why there isn’t a lot of fluff on this album,” he added.

Ahead of the LP, the rapper shared the second pre-release single, “Passion,” along with its accompanying visuals. Throughout the record, he referenced familiar names like André 3000, Swizz Beatz, Scarface, and Wiz Khalifa. Watch the video below.

It follows “Saturday Night Special,” which features Rick Ross and Fat Joe. Released in June 2024, the black-and-white visuals for the song have accumulated more than 1.5 million views on YouTube to date.

Back in 2013, Authentic put up some pretty impressive numbers, landing in the Top 10 of the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. In addition to records like “We Came To Party” and “Take It,” acts like Snoop Dogg, Monica, Charlie Wilson, and Earth, Wind & Fire contributed to the project.