LL Cool J has spent as much time in front of the camera as he has in the recording studio in the last decade, but first and foremost, he’s known for dropping some killer verses.

Hosting the GRAMMYs has shown his MC preeminence outside the hip-hop world, but now LL’s returning his focus to music. His 13th album, Authentic, finds him working with some of the biggest names in music, across all genres. He previewed some of his collaborators during his GRAMMY performance this year, with Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine, Travis Barker of Blink-182 and Chuck D of Public Enemy joining him onstage for new song ”Whaddup.”

Still, there’s more to come in the special guest department. Guitar god Eddie Van Halen, country superstar Brad Paisley and funk legend Bootsy Collins will also appear on Authentic, out April 30. “It’s not like, ‘Oh the country meets the rapper and it’s a hoedown!’” LL joked of his song with Paisley, titled “Accidental Racist.”

On May 24th, not even a month after the album drops, LL will embark on his Kings Of The Mic Tour alongside Public Enemy, 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,” LL said of the old-school tour. “I don’t believe that.”

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