Christian ‘King’ Combs recently gave fans a sneak peek of his remake of LL Cool J’s “Luv U Better.” Taking to Instagram, the rapper shared a snippet of the song along with a visual featuring his girlfriend, Raven Tracy. The video, with a Y2K vibe and a nostalgic 90s camcorder filter, shows scenes of a claw vending machine, beautiful women taking shots, and Combs dancing with Tracy. It also includes a lively party scene and a promotion for Raven’s apparel brand, ‘Body,’ with its logo prominently displayed on a wall.
The new track, which features Cash Cobain, incorporates the hook from LL Cool J’s 2002 hit but with an explicit twist: “I’m gone love you better” is changed to “I’m gone f**k you better.” Combs also borrows lines from Fabolous’ verse on the 2009 “Throw It In The Bag” remix featuring Drake, making slight adjustments. For example, he raps, “If my lady like to eat, Imma buy her restaurants, and she such a boss b** she can hire who she want. She can help me blow this za — she the fire to my blunt,” swapping Fabolous’ “green” for “za” to reference weed.
The teaser, rich with 90s-inspired elements, shows Combs and Tracy at a vibrant party. Combs opted for a more explicit version of the track, changing the original lyrics to “I’m gone f*ck you better.” He also tweaked Fabolous’ lines to fit his style.
Despite the buzz, Combs faced backlash on social media for the remake. Critics accused him of lacking originality and argued that the iconic track should have been left untouched. One Instagram user commented, “All he does is sample songs horribly,” while another added, “If I was already rich, I wouldn’t even try to rap and embarrass myself like this.” Many urged Combs to create his own music rather than rely on samples. As one Instagram user put it, “Imagine every single song you come out with is literally a sample. He’s so unoriginal, and that’s exactly why he’ll never be taken seriously.”