LL Cool J Radio on LP

1985's Radio is the groundbreaking debut from rap legend LL Cool J and the flagship full-length release on Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons' Def Jam Recordings. Recorded when he was just 17 years old, Radio revolutionized rap with Rubin's bare-bones yet aggressive production peppered with DJ scratches and the occasional sample and rhymes arranged more like pop songs with verses, choruses and bridges. 

With B-boy anthems like opener "I Can't Live Without My Radio," muscular standouts like "Rock The Bells" and unprecedented rap ballads "I Want You" and "I Can Give You More," Radio represented a seismic shift in hip hop history, a landmark record that altered the genre and its possibilities, ushering in its golden age in the process. 

"Radio remains an artistic and commercial triumph 28 years after its initial release. While Rubin’s minimalist production approach might feel foreign to modern listeners, the stripped down beats were state-of-the-art beat-making upon the album’s release, and LL’s hyper-aggressive rhyming style made him an instant star in hip-hop. Meanwhile, the album would connect with listeners going on to be certified platinum by 1989 and launching not only LL Cool J’s long-running career but helping bolster the status of Def Jam to the forefront of hip-hop. Radio remains one of the most essential hip-hop albums of all-time." - B.J. Steiner, XXL

1.  I Can't Live Without My Radio

2.  You Can't Dance

3.  Dear Yvette

4.  I Can Give You More

5.  Dangerous

6.  El Shabazz

7.  Rock the Bells

8.  I Need a Beat

9.  That's a Lie

10. You'll Rock

11. I Want You