LL Cool J on the Challenges of Finding the “Right Balance” Between His Acting and Music Careers

LL Cool J is opening up about learning how to balance his acting career with his passion for music.

The Grammy-winning rapper got candid in a recent interview with The Independent about feeling conflicted once his acting career took off in the 1990s.

“The more successful I became in acting, the less I wanted to do it, as it was taking me further away from music,” he admitted. “I later realized I could find the right balance, that I could do all these things I wanted. But it took time.”

While LL Cool J went on to star in dozens of TV shows and movies, including Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, In the House, Any Given Sunday and long-running NCIS: Los Angeles, he also struggled to find time to work on his music, even taking an 11-year musical hiatus following the release of his 2013 Authentic album.

But now the rapper is back with his latest album, The Force, produced by Q-Tip. And though it was a long time in the making, with some challenges along the way, he ultimately created a piece of work that goes deeper and more personal than ever before, where he talks “about new things, not just girls or romance on every track.”

“I wanted to show you could continue to make dope stuff and mature as an artist in hip-hop,” he explained. “Because — to speak really candid — we’re used to artists coming out with mediocre offerings that aren’t as impactful or innovative as their first few records.”

“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. “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.”

Despite being labeled as mainstream, the rapper said he’s ultimately learned “you just gotta be true to who you are” as an artist.

LL Cool J even took inspiration from Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Bob Dylan, “artists that wrote about the things that are important to them. I’m not gonna be a prisoner to some mainstream image of myself — what ages well is making what you mean to create. So I said, ‘You know what? I’m just gonna write me some cool shit.’”

He added, “Imma come from the heart, and let the chips fall where they may.”