The opening track is titled “It’s LL and Santana”—and while the co-star mentioned in the title is rapper Juelz, not guitarist Carlos, it’s an easy mistake to make. For his unprecedented twelfth album in 21 years, hip-hop’s Cal Ripken Jr. takes the Supernatural approach, with big-name guest stars (Mary J. Blige, Jamie Foxx) on all but one of the 13 cuts. It’s hard to find LL in the crowd, though the single “Control Myself” is a winning, loopy mash-up of an Afrika Bambaataa sample with a hook murmured by Jennifer Lopez. Former nemesis Kool Moe Dee would give LL high marks for sticking to themes—he mixes admirably feminist sentiments with PG-rated loverman rhymes, contrasting chest-thumping boasts with signature shout-outs to the man upstairs (“I heard God ask us/For less fake rappers/And more real pastors”). A Methuselah of the Mic at 38, he proves rap careers don’t have to end in wack beats or gunshots.

Download: “Control Myself” (feat. Jennifer Lopez), “What You Want” (feat. Freeway)