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LL Cool J Once Explained Why He Still Makes Music Decades Into His Career: ‘I Didn’t Get Into Hip-Hop for Money’

“I think that as time went along, we became a very elitist culture, [that was] all about money, money, money, money, money,” LL Cool J said. 

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Hip-hop is a beautiful genre and culture with so much rich expression. However, sometimes, it feels like artists can exploit it for their gain. There’s a distance in the music they create that makes it seem like all they want is to recoup some money. The bigger that hip-hop became, the easier it became for people who didn’t care about the culture to take from it. But this isn’t the case for LL Cool J, who started rapping demos when he was a teenager. He’s always been ingrained in the culture since its birth in 80s New York.

However, with time, the Queens rapper eventually pivoted to other avenues. From clothing to a lucrative acting career, he eventually slowed down from rapping. But that doesn’t mean he stopped completely. LL Cool J released a stellar album in 2024, THE FORCE, after an 11 year hiatus. Before that, it was a 5 year gap in releases between 2008 and 2013.

But why does he continue making music if he doesn’t have to do so? In a 2008 interview with DJ Booth, the “Hey Lover” rapper stressed that he never got into hip-hop for the fame and riches. While all of that is nice, it was always out of love first.

LL Cool J Says Hip-Hop Was Never About the Money for Him

“I think people kind of got that confused. I think that as time went along, we became a very elitist culture [that was] all about money, money, money, money, money. The reality is that I got into this to make great music and to be heard, and for my voice to be heard by the people—that’s all I really wanted,” LL Cool J told the publication.

Admittedly, his relationship to money and music changed once he owned his masters. The gap between how much he makes and the label makes isn’t nearly as wide as a result. All he needed Def Jam for back then and today is for distribution purposes. Still, he maintains that the business side doesn’t determine whether or not he wants to create something.

“Because I own it, I have a different pay grade. I don’t think people are aware of that, but, that being said, it’s not really about the money. I’m not making hip-hop just for money; I’m doing hip-hop because I think it’s cool, and I want to be the best,” LL Cool J concluded.

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