LL Cool J has spoken out about his Authentic album flop more than 10 years after it was released.
The rapper—whose real name is James Todd Smith—got candid about the album in an interview with British newspaper The Independent, which was published on Saturday.
Authentic dropped in 2013 and, at the time, LL Cool J was playing senior special agent Sam Hanna on NCIS: Los Angeles. He was a staple on the long-running show and appeared in 323 episodes from 2009 to 2023.
"You can't be a part-time artist," the four-time Emmy award nominee told the outlet about trying to balance it all. "I was on set, making creative decisions over the album by phone. It didn't work."
LL Cool J—who shares four children with his wife Simone Smith: Najee, Italia, Samaria and Nina—admitted he didn't think his stint on NCIS: Los Angeles would last.
"I signed on to the show and, quite frankly, thought it'd be over in a couple of years and I'd be back doing my thing," he shared. "But it took off."
Newsweek has reached out to LL Cool J's publicist via email for additional comment.
Authentic was LL Cool J's first album to be independently distributed after spending his entire career with Def Jam Records. Prior to that, his most recent album had been Exit 13, which came out in 2008.
"With Authentic, I wanted to work on a project that showed my genuine love for music and was truly made for the fans," the "Doin' It" rapper said in 2013, as reported by Billboard.
"I'm not trying to compete with 17-year-olds on the radio, but I am talking directly to the folks who came up with me and those who love real music. We may not be teenagers anymore, but we do still like to have fun."
On September 6, LL Cool J dropped his latest album The Force, which is back with Def Jam and coincides with the company's 40th anniversary.
In an interview with E! News earlier this month, the New York native reflected on his time with the label.
"I called that [Def Jam] phone number every day for a week and a half. That demo led to the creation of Def Jam," he said. "Now, 40 years later, here I am putting out this record on Def Jam again."
LL Cool J signed with Def Jam in 1984 as a flagship artist, and his first single, "I Need a Beat," sold more than 100,000 copies. He got his signature stage name meaning, "Ladies Love Cool James," at the age of 16. In 2021, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside fellow rapper Jay-Z.
"I wanna show you can be creative in your 40th year of hip-hop, just like a film director can be creative 40 years in," LL Cool J continued in his Independent interview. "There's no reason why an artist in hip-hop can't continue to be innovative, so long as they stay curious and keep caring and coming up with new ideas."
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