Authentic (LL Cool J album)

Authentic
Studio album by LL Cool J
Released	April 30, 2013
Recorded	2011-2013 Henson Recording Studios Hollywood, California Westlake Recording Studios West Hollywood, California Downtown Music Studios Fenix Studios House Of Hits Recording Studios New York City, New York
Genre	Hip hop
Length	47:52
Label	S-BRO Music Group, 429 Records[1]
Producer	LL Cool J (exec.) Sound Z, Trackmasters, Tricky Stewart, Eddie Van Halen, Jaylien, Marley Marl
LL Cool J chronology
All World 2 (2009) Authentic (2013)
Singles from Authentic
"Whaddup" Released: February 11, 2013 "We Came To Party" Released: March 18, 2013 "Live for You" Released: April 16, 2013

Authentic is the thirteenth studio album by American hip hop recording artist LL Cool J. The album was released on April 30, 2013, by S-BRO Music Group, 429 Records. It is his first album since 2008's Exit 13 and his first to not be released on Def Jam. The album features guest appearances from Fitz and The Tantrums, Eddie Van Halen, Snoop Dogg, Fatman Scoop, Seal, Charlie Wilson, Melody Thornton, Earth, Wind & Fire, Bootsy Collins, Travis Barker, Chuck D, Tom Morello, Z-Trip, Mickey Shiloh, Monica and Brad Paisley.

Background

By June 2012, LL Cool J had begun work on his 13th studio album. He stated, "I'm going to be doing a little bit of the album on the [My Connect Studio], make sure that it is official."^[2] On January 20, 2013, he announced on his Twitter account that the album had been pushed back from its original February 12, 2013, release date, saying: "The release date for #AuthenticHipHop has been changed. I want to put more work in.. It's coming."^[3] On February 8, 2013, it was announced the album title would be changed from Authentic Hip-Hop to Authentic with a new release date of May 7, 2013, and a new cover.^[4] On February 14, 2013, the album's release date was pushed up to April 30, 2013.^[5] On March 14, 2013, Eddie Van Halen posted a photo of himself with LL Cool J in front of a mix board. The photo was captioned with "Authentic 4.30.13", suggesting that Eddie would be involved in some way with the album release.^[6]

Singles

The first single "Whaddup" was debuted during the live 2013 Grammy Awards telecast, which features Chuck D, Travis Barker, Tom Morello and Z-Trip.^[7] On March 18, 2013, the second single "We Came to Party" was released featuring Snoop Dogg and Fatman Scoop.^[8] On April 16, the third single "Live for You" featuring Country music singer Brad Paisley was released.^[9]

Critical response

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	46/100[10]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[11]
The Boston Globe	(7/10)[12]
HipHopDX	[13]
Los Angeles Times	[14]
New York Daily News	[15]
Now	[16]
Rolling Stone	[17]
Slant Magazine	[18]
USA Today	[19]
The Washington Post	[20]

Authentic received generally mixed reviews from music critics upon release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 46, based on 9 reviews.^[10] David Jeffries of Allmusic gave the album two and a half stars out of five, saying "The album doubles down on some of its best ideas, and Eddie, Snoop, Travis, and Uncle Charlie all return for lesser numbers. LL sounds rusty and a bit under-rehearsed as he belts out his iffy punch lines and motivational anthems, but he pours his heart into the pop numbers and sounds at home during the nostalgic throwbacks."^[11] Gerrick Kennedy of the Los Angeles Times gave the album one star out of four, saying "Somewhere between Grammy hosting duties, starring on a hit CBS cop drama and thwarting home burglars, LL Cool J has completely lost touch with what launched him into superstardom: rapping. That startling disconnection is what bogs down his 13th album, Authentic.^[14]

Ted Scheinman of Slant Magazine gave the album three out of five stars, saying "Three decades as a wildly successful rapper/hip-hopreneur is hard to argue with. LL still has unquenchable ambitions. The next generation probably isn't listening, let alone screaming. But older listeners will find a wistful pleasure in hearing what may be the most heartfelt effort of LL's career."^[18] Cristina Jaleru of The Washington Post gave the album two and a half stars out of five, saying "There's nothing wrong with pandering when one tries to hang on to artistic relevance, especially when producing a balanced, intriguing album. Who knows, maybe that's the future of music and Cool James is still a pioneer."^[20] Steve Jones of USA Today gave the album two stars out of four, saying "He has an eclectic bunch of guests and while he's obviously not aiming at the teen market, there seems to be a conscious effort to expand the fan base. The result is a mixed bag of party anthems and the rap ballads he pioneered years ago."^[19] Julia LeConte of Now gave the album one star out of five, saying "Authentic is ridiculous right down to the heavy-breathing interludes, which worked for Usher circa 2003. LL says he's "hot like 'Pac when he first popped out of prison." I think he's delusional. As far as comedy albums go, however, Authentic is the year's best."^[16]

Jay Balfour of HipHopDX gave the album two and a half stars out of five, saying "Unfortunately, Authentic suffers the same fate as LL's other late-career missteps: too many features and a superficial brand of R&B bog down another release from one of rap's earliest superstars."^[13] Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone gave the album three out of five stars saying, "On Authentic, LL's first LP not released by Def Jam, the guest list is a testament to open-mindedness and crossover ambitions. The beats are unfussy and direct; the choruses are built for radio. LL has never been a dazzling rhymer or a technical virtuoso; he remains a personality first, who injects all his songs – party anthems, boasts, come-ons – with friendliness and fun."^[17] Ken Capobianco of The Boston Globe gave the album a seven out of ten, saying "Love songs dominate the disc and the best are the testament to loyalty "Not Leaving You Tonight" (a delicious hook from Fitz and the Tantrums) and an "I Need Love" update, "Give Me Love" (with Seal). When he misfires ("We Came to Party," the cluttered "Whaddup"), the music and strut feel forced. Amid many old-school R&B guests, Eddie Van Halen appears to set two tracks on fire. Certainly, metal hip-hop is more compromise than authentic, but much of this disc sounds genuine."^[12]

Commercial performance

In its first week of release the album debuted at number 23 on the Billboard 200 and sold 14,000 copies in the United States.^[21] In its second week the album sold 5,500 more copies.^[22] In its third week the album sold 3,400 more copies.^[23] In its fourth week the album sold 2,700 more copies bringing its total sales to 26,000.^[24]

Track listing

• (co) co-producer

Sample credits

• "Closer" contains samples of Guy's "I Like".
• "Whaddup" contains samples of Public Enemy's "Welcome to the Terrordome".
• "Take It" contains samples of The Jones Girls' "When I'm Gone".

Personnel

Charts

References