page_title: Radio (LL Cool J album)
section_title: Release and reception
hierarchical_section_title: Radio (LL Cool J album) / Release and reception
caption_attribution_description: English: Compact disc of the LL Cool J album Radio. This is the 1995 U.S. reissue of the album that was released on Def Jam Recordings. The album was originally released in 1985 on Def Jam Recordings.
context_page_description: Radio is the debut album by American rapper LL Cool J. It was released on November 18, 1985, by Def Jam Recordings and Columbia Records. It was also Def Jam's first full-length album release.
  The album was recorded at Chung King House of Metal in New York City with producer Rick Rubin, who provided a sparse, minimal production style. The album also features a sound punctuated by DJ scratching, often brief samples, and emphasis of the downbeat. LL Cool J's aggressive b-boy lyrics explored themes of inner city culture, teenage promiscuity, and braggadocio raps.
  A significant sales success for a hip hop record at the time, Radio became a Billboard chart hit and sold over 500,000 copies within its first five months of release. By 1989, it had been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales surpassing one million copies in the United States. Initial reception of the album was generally positive, with praise given to LL Cool J's lyricism and Rubin's production. It has since been recognized by critics as LL Cool J's best album.
context_section_description: Released November 18, 1985, on Def Jam Recordings in the United States, Radio earned a significant amount of commercial success and sales for a hip hop record at the time. It sold over 500,000 copies in its first five months, eventually selling over 1 million copies by 1988, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. Radio peaked at number 6 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and at number 46 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. It entered the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart on December 28, 1985, and remained there for forty-seven weeks, while also entering the Pop Albums chart on January 11, 1986. Radio remained on the chart for thirty-eight weeks. By 1989, the album had earned platinum status from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), after earning a gold certification in the United States on April 14, 1986, with sales exceeding one million copies.
  Radio received positive reviews from both "street and dance music" aficionados and mainstream music critics, including Robert Christgau from The Village Voice, who described it in a January 1986 article as "the most engaging and original rap album of the year". LL Cool J's aggressive rapping and Rick Rubin's stripped-down production were praised by critics who also agreed that LL's lyrics set a new standard for MC's at the time. The songs' lyrics were favored by critics who described LL's songwriting as clever and fun. Connie Johnson of the Los Angeles Times said that he is an integral artist of hip hop's "second generation" because of his "razor-sharp wit". Rolling Stone magazine's Debby Bull was impressed by his songwriting and how its originality lies in the ballads, even though "it's the sassier, dance-worthy songs that make this record such an irresistible party." The critical success of the album would later result in its comparison to other LL Cool J albums, which were not as critically successful as Radio. In his review for the Trouser Press, Ira Robbins called the album a "primary classic of hip-hop's original commercial surge" and went on to write:
  From the monster boombox on the cover to grooves like 'I Can't Live Without My Radio' and 'You Can't Dance', LL touches all the right cultural totems, delivering his sharp-tongued lines with adolescent urgency and a deliciously snotty attitude. The rhythm tracks are stripped-down and aggressive; raps on familiar subjects sidestep clichés and are clever enough to warrant repeated listening.
  Since its initial reception, Radio has been viewed by fans and critics as LL Cool J's greatest work, as well as one of hip hop's best albums. In retrospect, some critics and music writers have given more praise to producer Rick Rubin's contributions to Radio, as well as note the importance of his production on the album. Yahoo! Music's Frank Meyer said that the album was "one of the earliest records, along with Run-DMC, to combine the vocal approach of rap with the musical arrangements and riffing of rock 'n' roll. 'I Can't Live Without My Radio' is a hip-hop classic and this album set the standard for East Coast rap for a long time."
  Radio was later ranked at number 2 on ego trip magazine's "Hip Hop's 25 Greatest Albums (1980–98)", number 69 on Rolling Stone's "100 Best LPs of the 80s", and number 71 on Blender's "100 Greatest American Albums of All Time" list. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked the album number 478 on its list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time; it was ranked number 470 in a revised list in 2012. The album was also included in Rolling Stone magazine's 1997 issue of "The Essential 200 Rock Records". In 1998, Radio was selected as one of The Source magazine's "100 Best Rap Albums".
caption: The CD version of the album's 1995 reissue.
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