Last week, LL Cool J announced that in conjunction with his Authentic album, he would be hitting the road with three other iconic Golden-Era Hip Hop acts. The Kings Of The Mic Tour will feature LL joined by Def Jam label-mates Public Enemy, fellow rapper-turned-actor Ice Cube, and De La Soul.

“I just got tired of sitting in meetings and listening to people tell me why I gotta have whoever the new young rapper is on my tour because that’s the only way it’s gonna matter. I don’t believe that,” LL told Radio.com recently. “Public Enemy’s ‘My Uzi Weighs A Ton,’ I just want to see that live. Ice Cube has an amazing career, he’s done amazing things. But I didn’t forget about the music that he made as I watching him come up: ‘It Was A Good Day,’ ‘Check Yo Self.’ I just wanted to be able to share the stage with these guys.”

LL Cool J, who grew up not far from Long Island, in Queens, New York, had interesting insights about one of L.I.’s greatest musical contributions. “De La Soul, a group that was always, to me, on the other side of what I did musically, but really cool. They were at another extreme. They were even, to me, lightyears ahead in terms of their point of view and what they saw as relevant and important in music. They helped break new ground for Hip Hop and for our genre because they weren’t afraid to do things that a lot of us wouldn’t touch.”

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The Kings Of The Mic Tour kicks off on May 23 in Tucson, Arizona.

Read Radio.com’s full interview with LL Cool J on Authentic and various collaborations.

RELATED:LL Cool J, Ice Cube, Public Enemy & De La Soul Announce Kings Of The Mic Tour Dates