#478 LL Cool J - Radio (1985)

In 1985, I bought my first jam box.  In that same year, some kid a year older than I released his first album that would go on to sell a half million copies in less than five months.  Sadly my jam box and his album would never cross paths.  That other kid's name was James Todd Smith--later to be known as LL Cool J (Ladies Love Cool James).  With a gift of $2,000 from his grandparents, he bought two turntables, an amplifier, and a mixer.  Similarly my parents bought me an accordion.  A Squeeze Box, a Jam Box, same thing right?  Let's see where I went wrong.

I Can't Live Without My Radio-  Normally I'd be bored by the sparseness.  It's just rapping, beats, a sample or two, and a dash of scratching.  The lead single of the album has my attention to the end of LL's rapping, but loses me soon after when it's just drum beats.

You Can't Dance-  The new school of hip hop was replacing the old school.  New school was brash, abrasive, and often hardcore.  "They should drop kick you in the neck, and drag you off the floor."
Dear Yvette- Wow, OK yeah I remember this song.  And I'm sure anyone named Yvette never forgot this 4 minute non-stop cut down letter.  It accuses her of sleeping with everyone from The Three Stooges to the entire boys locker room.  "Her reputation got bigger, and so did her gap"  This would indeed sound great on that old jam box of mine.

I Can Give You More-  The second single released from the album, uses piano notes along with drum beats in a rhythmic way.  It's a love-ballad delivered through hip-hop.  If the hook of this song was set any deeper, I'd be compelled to play it again.  LL's rapping is really great on this, almost hypnotic; maybe it's because a girl's affection is on the line.

Dangerous- A song about his DJ Cut Creator.  I'm impressed by LL's lyrics, but not so much by CC's mixing and scratching.  Frankly it's a little sloppy and seems to miss beats.  Yes I know it was all done by hand, but it's been done so much better.

El Shabazz-  A hidden track to end side one of the album.  A Capella and it is "sweet like pie."  I can't tell if it's LL doing the rap with someone else, or himself via recording?  Either way its all charisma and all fun.  It's where the Beastie Boys got their "Three the Hard Way"

Rock the Bells-  was the song that J himself sampled for Mama Said Knock You Out some 7 years later.  He references Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Prince and Michael Jackson, in this self promotional song that uses samples lifted from AC/DC as well as Chic(the Good from Good Times).  I still think Cut Creator's work is sloppy, even for the time.

I Need a Beat-  This is a remix of the original single that was released by LL a year before Radio was released.  There's too much going on in this remix: ring-modulation, syncopation, delay.  To my ear, it's a departure from the album, which isn't produced by Rick Rubin, it's "Reduced".  Give him credit for the minimalistic production style that highlighted LL's charismatic rapping.  Blame Jazzy Jay for the remix cacophony.

That's A Lie-   opens up with the horn part from Owner of a Lonely Heart by Yes.  That's Russell Simmons making all the boasts about wealth and fame.  Ironic that as one of the founders of Def Jam records and now one of the richest people in hip hop,  his net worth of over $340 million today makes many of these Lies seem tame.

You'll Rock-  was the least successful single released from the album.  I'm not a fan of the ill placed samples.  It's got plenty of break for the b-boys and b-girls to dance to, but not a lot of anything else.

I Want You-  Cool J is again using his hip-hop skills to woo a girl.  It's another rap ballad and recognized as one of the first of it's kind.  There's just something that works when you take the hardest rockers (whether it's metal, rap, punk) and channel that energy into a ballad.

While it's probably obvious to both aficionados as well as haters of hip hop and all shades in between, I'll go on record to say rap isn't my genre of choice.  Having said that, I have yet to find a genre that I can't appreciate when it's done well.  LL Cool J is a very gifted rapper, and was influential to the rise of Def Jam records.

Whether that gift was bestowed upon him (by his God or his Grandparents), or whether he earned it living a hard life, on hard streets, and doing hard work; well the answer to that question might give you the key as to why one guy in his 40's is hosting the Grammy's tonight, and the other one is hosting a blog.

Next up #477 Fugees- The Score (1996)

#497 Public Enemy - Yo! Bum Rush the Show (1987)

I'll admit it, this album intimidated me.  Not in 1987 when I was a senior in high school; I don't think I had any idea who Public Enemy was back then.  I mean just now, realizing I probably don't know a single track on this album.  I was just thinking, "what insight could I possibly give" about something I know nothing about.  But in the same moment it hits me, "that's just the point".  An unfettered opinion based on a fresh listen... there might be some value in that.  After all, there's much entertainment to be had by just watching the faces of those viewing two girls and a cup... without subjecting yourself to the source material.  Reading that, it's a terrible analogy, but one that makes me laugh none-the-less.

Having said all that, I confess as the album starts that I recognize Flavor Flav's voice but mostly from his Surreal Life appearances.  And I'm barely diverse enough musically to know Chuck D when I hear him.  But embarrassingly enough,  this is my launching pad.

This first track, You're Gonna Get Yours, has the groove of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but to my ear Chuck's rhymes on this one sound stiff, almost like the Superbowl Shuffle.  Ok, it's '87, I'll give him some slack.

Sophisticated Bitch.  Maybe it's my short attention span, but rap/hip hop bores me when it's the same musical phrase repeated over and over again.  The lyrics or "book" of the song has to be really strong to overcome the monotony for me.  This doesn't have a strong book, but it does have a sweet guitar solo by Vernon Reid, leader of Living Colour.

Miuzi Weighs A Ton.  A couple of well placed "samples" can keep me invested in a song.  The word "sample", implies digitally sampling music and then triggering it from a computer or a keyboard.  While I'm not certain of it, I think it's inaccurate of me to refer to it in this way here.  This was hip hop back when you still used vinyl, when scratching was actually done with needles and not laptops.  And after further googling, I was right, that was Aretha Franklin's Rock Steady mixed in there.

Timebomb while the guitar and drum groove is completely funky, it's just that... it stays there.  I keep waiting for a bridge, for a change in the music, a release for all the air that's filling up the balooon... but alas, it never comes.

Too Much Posse Flavor Flav is the perfect foil for comedic relief, but this track is just him rapping, with a drum machine.  No groove, No samples. Too, too, too much flavor, and not enough food.

Rightstarter (Message To The Black Man)  Maybe they put flavor flav's track right before this one to make it pop, but I'm pretty sure it didn't need it.  This track is powerful, musically, lyrically, no contrast needed.  It moves fast and furious and leaves me with my first clenched and yearning for a just cause to fight for.

Public Enemy No. 1 while the music and sampling to this don't impress me, I realize how powerful Chuck D's rapping is, because he carries this drum machine and bumble-bee drone hybrid.  Flavor Flav keeps reminding me of the archetypical sidekick that can't help but repeat what the bigman just said.

M.P.E.  while I'm not impressed by the song at all, it is a good example of how a rapper could potentially change the world with just a mic and an 808.  In 1982 Roland introduced the affordable TR-808 drum machine, and while I can't imagine how the world changed when the first piano was invented, or the first trumpet; the invention of the drum machine opened up a new medium of expression and perhaps sparked the beginning of hip hop.

Yo! Bum Rush the Show. Where rappers could use drum machines for their rhythm, DJ's could use records for all the rest.  Lead and rhythm guitars are replaced with "Lead Scratch" and "Rhythm Scratch" by Terminator X and Juice Rosato respectively.

Raise the Roof I looked it up, this isn't the song that popularized the arm gesture.  It's not that good.  But it does have some fun DJ work (listen for the piano stepping down in the background mid song)  And yeah, I'm pretty sure that explosion at the end was "mouthed".

Megablast oh please oh please oh please, an allusion to The Escorts One More Chance.   The reverse message in the song... did you want me to do the legwork and tell you what they say?  Well, it's raw so I won't give you all of it word for word, but it's Flavor going off on women who smoke weed while pregnant who then have babies coming out "no bigger than a leaf of fucking lettuce".

Terminator X Speaks With His Hands is a showcase of what a talented DJ could do with two turntables (Flav's got the occasional microphone) but parts of it are kinda sparse.

Can I claim a better understanding of the black street struggle of the 80's... surely not.  But I do have a better appreciation for Chuck D, for the roots of hip hop, and the music that DJ's of that era had in their scratch repertoire.  My impression of Flavor Flav however, hasn't changed much.

Next up #496 Kiss- Destroyer (1976)