Tag Archives: Def Jam Recordings

1986, 2020, Colored Vinyl , , , , 1 Comment

Ill Distribution

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Encyclopedias have been written about Licensed to Ill, so I won’t bother you with what you already know, suffice to say that while this Walmart exclusive certainly looks pretty, the sound quality leaves something to be desired, or in this case demanded. If you stuck Q-Tips in either ear and turned the volume up to 11, it may sound passable for a modern day reissue, so be sure to keep your original or numbered 2000 release handy (shit, that was 22 years ago already). The decision to own Ill on smokey-clear vinyl was obviously a no-brainer, and although this release is more a display piece than a quality go-to jammer, I’d still recommend picking one up.

If hard-pressed, I’d still have to say the highlight to this blockbuster debut is Girls, in all its misogynistic glory. It’s crazy to imagine that just three short years after Ill‘s release, the world was introduced to quite possibly the best album ever produced in Paul’s.

1985, Inserts , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Nelson George on L.L. Cool J

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The inner sleeve to L.L. Cool J’s debut album, Radio is a pitch-perfect analysis of this (then) young man’s budding talents. Presented below, in its well-respected hilarity is the entirety of Nelson George’s take on the young L.L. Cool J. Enjoy.
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A Minimalist Homeboy Who Knows His Beats
You can call it rap, hip hop or street, but it really is a way of hearing music – and partying hard – that expresses the experiences and attitudes of a great many inner city kids. L.L. Cool J is one of the best young talkologists around, because he speaks directly to and about his generation over large beats that recall Run-D.M.C., Trouble Fun, James Brown, and funky little bits of AC/DC and Yes. Born and raised in Queens, New York and first recorded by Rick Rubin’s and Russel Simmons’ then independent Def Jam label, L.L. Cool J made his name with “I Need A Beat.” The groove is metallic and relentless, L.L’s rhymes literate and tough (“There is no category/for this story/it will rock in any territory”), and his delivery full of youthful excitement.
Those same qualities run throughout L.L. Cool J’s debut album. “I Can’t Live Without My Radio” is a b-boy’s explanation of their love affair with portable cassette players, while “El Shabazz” is an a cappella rap as streetcorner-funny as a Richard Pryor monologue. “Rock the Bells” is a smoking hip hop-go go- rock ‘n’ roll jam, and “You’ll Rock” is almost as hot. But L.L. isn’t just hardrock. His sensitive side comes through on the rap ballads, “I Want You” and “I Can Give You More,” both of which really capture the tug of adolescent love. “I Want You” is particularly poignant as L.L. talks about his crush on an older woman who “used to be my baby sitter.” On the funny side L.L. snaps on a big boaster played all too convincingly by his manager ‘Rush” Simmons during “That’s A Lie.” This teenage music is built around beats, but not just any old beats. It is all about a beat with style, with personality, and L.L. Cool J has plenty of both.
Nelson George
author: “Fresh: Hop Hop Don’t Stop”
(Random House)

 

Misc , , , , , , , , , 3 Comments

Did You Know?

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DJ001Did you know that Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz of Beastie Boys fame wrote L.L. Cool J’s first single, I Need A Beat? Did you know that it was released in 1984, a full two years before the obnoxiously dominating full-length debut Licensed to Ill? Did you know that L.L. Cool was only 16 when he recorded this single?

Def JamDid you know that I Need A Beat was the debut record for the now prolific Def Jam Recordings, and is the owner of the coveted DJ001 catalog moniker? Did you know that this single, as well as L.L. Cool J’s 1985 full-length debut, Radio was produced by Rick Rubin? Did you know that Def Jam headquarters began and was run out of Rick Rubin’s NYU dorm room?

Well, now you do.