Unlike fellow veteran Snoop Dogg, the venerable LL Cool J hasn't adapted to the demands of the post-2000 rap scene and can't be considered relevant as 2008 winds down with his latest album 'Exit 13'. His delivery is a rasping reminder of his age and enlisting the likes of Wyclef Jean and 50 Cent can't save Oom LL from coming off as the spitting image of MC Hammer.

It's as painful as watching George Foreman step out for the infomercials and into the ring for another comeback. He may have the chiseled abs of a pugilist but his mic skills have deteriorated to a bitch slap rather than the killer blows of old. If he's not labouring on about being the Greatest Of All Time, he's pouring lyrical scorn on the young 'uns and lil' guys in one breath, and trying to emulate their posturing the next.

Instead of the smash-mouth intensity of 'Mama Said Knock You Out' and 'Jingling Baby', we get Mr Smith's '90s obsession with the salacious: "I'm really not sure if her breasts are fake/ Cause with whipped cream on them they taste just like cake". It's about as sexual as letting R Kelly babysit your preteen daughters.

'Ringtone Murder' is probably the best cut on 'Exit 13'. With a sordid synthesizer slithering its way across the insistent drumbeat, LL rolls back the years and ascends the throne once more. Another high point, 'Letter To Hip-hop' sees the rapper in a reflective mood, with some well-taken shots at the hypocrisy of a life in the 'game'.

Fleeting moments however, and not enough to save this album from the mediocrity bin. The purists will cry out "Sacriledge!" but 'Exit 13' may just be the one for the ageing rapper to get off the hip-hop highway and concentrate on his acting career.

But with the legend inexplicably insisting that he has something to prove, you can bet he'll be back, and further erode his legacy. Watching 'Deep Blue Sea' was more entertaining.