LL Cool J is urging young single-parent black men to seek out father figures or risk facing a gang life of crime.

The rapper insists reconnecting with his estranged father when his career was taking off helped him avoid the pitfalls of fame and adolescence, and he’s convinced that fatherless teens are more likely to fall into gangs if they don’t have a man in their family life.

LL Cool J tells Sister 2 Sister magazine, "In black culture in general, in African-American culture, the least discussed thing amongst men is the fact that they really wish they had fathers.

"There’s a lot of single black women who did the best that they could and that’s a beautiful thing, but they don’t know how necessary a father is in a kid’s life and how much guys miss that deep down inside.

"That’s why they gravitate towards gangs. That’s why they gravitate toward older guys who may lead them in a negative direction, because they just want to be embraced by a man."