LL Cool J has retired...just kidding

LL Cool J has fooled fans by declaring his retirement from music - hours before announcing a new album.

The US rapper told fans on Twitter that he was leaving the music business in a lengthy rant on Monday which read: "Today I officially retired from music. Thank you for the love."

He added, "I want fans vs haters to start making wagers on my next album... my day 1s (original fans) should bet big. I got this."

Stunned fans were left confused after reading the surprising tweets, which he deleted soon after. However, he went back to the micro-blogging site hours later, and revealed he was just joking about putting aside his music career, writing: "Today I'm officially coming out of retirement."

LL also revealed he's working on new music and even going into the recording studio that night to lay down some new tracks.

He added, "And (sic) starting a new album (tonight)... I'm gonna massacre the rap game"

The hip-hop star continued to joke around with his followers, writing, "Oh because I've been doing this a long time I can't have fun with this twitter game? Lol (laugh out loud)."

LL's last record, Authentic, was released in 2013 and the LP was his 13th studio album. He recruited various celebrity friends to make guest appearances on the record, including Eddie Van Halen, Snoop Dogg, Seal, Earth, Wind & Fire, Travis Barker, Tom Morello, and Brad Paisley, among others.