LL Cool J says he almost drowned on the set of 'Deep Blue Sea' after a crew member 'bailed' on him during a stunt

• LL Cool J recalled the time he almost drowned on the set of "Deep Blue Sea."
• He said the incident happened after being abandoned by a crew member during a stunt.

LL Cool J has recalled the time he almost drowned on the set of the movie "Deep Blue Sea."

The "Luv U Better" rapper, whose real name is James Todd Smith, played cook Sherman "Preacher" Dudley in the 1999 science fiction movie, which centers around genetically engineered sharks rampaging an underwater research facility.

During an appearance on "Hot Ones" Thursday, LL said the incident occurred when he was abandoned by a crew member while shooting a stunt involving an animatronic shark.

"I was in the middle of a take and [they called] 'Lunch!' and the guy holding the little [shark] joystick goes," he said. "They just bailed on me."

LL said he was then left thrashing around alone in the water like it was a "real" shark attack.

"They said 'Oh!' and gave me this little breathing apparatus, like something you blow out and then breathe in," he continued. "I blow out, I breathe in, all water! Took it to another level. But I ended up struggling and getting out, I climbed out, and there was one dude sitting there with a cigarette, like, 'I saw what happened.' So, it was cool."

Earlier this week, LL caused an uproar among his fans after he said on Twitter that he was canceling the release of his hotly-anticipated new album produced by Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest.

"I'm just not feeling this album is worthy of release," he wrote in a series of since-deleted tweets on Wednesday, according to Variety. "Not dropping it."

In a video posted to Instagram later that day, however, the rapper said that he was joking.

"Everybody's been asking me about the new record and my decision," he said. "I was considering not putting the record out because ... IT'S TOO FUCKING GOOD!

"Q-Tip, you a genius baby, this is my favorite album I ever made. I can't wait for you to hear this. Date, track listing coming soon."