Robert Voets/CBS Artists have their own ways of getting hyped up before a big show. So how does LL Cool J prepare for a big concert?
"So me and my band, and when I say band, I mean my dancers, everybody," he told E! at the iHeartRadio Ultimate Pool Party in Miami last month, "we get together and we do this crazy chant. It's called "Turn up, turn up!" It's this whole thing, you gotta see it."
The ritual doesn't end there. "We also do this stretching thing and we always say a nice prayer before as well."
What else has the 45-year-old rapper been up to since his controversial collaboration with Brad Paisley on "Accidental Racist"?
"[My new album] comes out September. It's something that I spent a very long time on," he explains. "I've been working on it for a year now, and it was during my recovery process that I made this album, so there's a nice little undertone of my injury, what happened during my injury, all of that good stuff!"
As for what other artists will be featured on the upcoming album, LL is keeping things on the low—at least for now.
"There's a bunch of features on this album which I can't mention," he said, "[but I will] really soon."
And while he's keeping mum on features for now, he did mention one collab he wish he had been able to be a part of.
"[Collaborations are] one of those things that kind of happen on their own, organically." he said, adding, "But if I had a dream, it would probably be someone who's not even here anymore, like [Michael Jackson]."
He did, however, tell us his new favorite summer jam, "You know what, it's a brand new song by Bonnie Mckee called ‘American Girl'—gotta look out for that song."
We'll definitely be on the lookout LL, for that and the upcoming album.
—Reporting by Jennifer Cooper