#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)