'' is an
East Coast Rap album by
Hip Hop artist
LL Cool J , released in 1985 (see
1985 In Music ). LL Cool J had dropped out of high school to record the album (after the 12" "I Need A Beat" became a moderate success the year before), and he was seventeen years old when it was released. Widely considered one of the first hip-hop LPs that are a cohesive whole, the album was surprisingly popular for a hip-hop album in the mid-1980s.
Rick Rubin 's sparse
Production was also influential; its stripped-down beats and gritty sound inspired
The Bomb Squad (best known for producing
Public Enemy ) and several other future hip-hop producers. "I Want You" and "I Can Give You More" are often considered the first hip hop
Ballad s.
''Radio'' peaked at #6 and #46 on
Billboard 's Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums and Billboard 200 albums charts. It ranks at #69 on
Rolling Stone Magazine 's "100 Best LPs of the 80s". In
1998 , the album was selected as one of
The Source Magazine's 100 Best Rap Albums .
The song "I Can't Live Without My Radio" appeared on the
Soundtrack to ''
Krush Groove ''.
Trivia: "Rock the Bells" was supposed to be the
Music Video for the first album, but LL Cool J overslept the first day of shooting the video. Afterwards, Rick Rubin said that there will be no music video of "Rock the Bells".
