Author Archives: Jennifer White

Don't Call it a Comeback!

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AS GANGSTA RAP WAS STARTING TO TAKE OVER THE NEW YORK SCENE, WHAT WAS LL COOL J TO DO BUT FIGHT BACK? FIND OUT HOW HE PULLED OFF ONE OF THE BIGGEST COMEBACKS IN HOP HOP HISTORY HERE.


LL COOL J WAS FACING SOME SERIOUS BACKLASH AFTER THE RELEASE OF HIS THIRD ALBUM, “WALKING WITH A PANTHER” IN NINETEEN EIGHTY NINE. MANY PEOPLE WITHIN THE HIP HOP COMMUNITY THOUGHT LL HAD LOST THE NARRATIVE, AND WITH HIS SALES DWINDLING, HE NEEDED TO MAKE HIS NEXT MOVE A BIG ONE.

LL VOWED TO GET BACK TO HIS HARDCORE HIP HOP ROOTS, AND SINCE THE IN-HOUSE DEF JAM PRODUCTION SQUAD L.A. POSSE HAD RECENTLY LEFT THE LABEL, HE INSTEAD ENLISTED THE HELP OF DJ MARLEY MARL TO GIVE THE NEW ALBUM A MORE AGGRESSIVE, IN-YOUR-FACE SOUND. MARLEY MARL’S ABILITY TO CHOP AND REWORK SAMPLES WOULD END UP BECOMING A CAREER-DEFINING SOUND FOR THE PRODUCER.

RECORDING SESSIONS FOR THE NEW ALBUM WERE HELD AT LL’S HOME STUDIO, THE “HOUSE OF HITS” IN CHESTNUT RIDGE, AND AT CHUNG KING STUDIOS IN NEW YORK CITY.

FIVE SINGLES WERE RECORDED AND RELEASED WITH THE ALBUM. “AROUND THE WAY GIRL” PEAKED AT NUMBER NINE ON THE BILLBOARD HOT ONE HUNDRED AND BECAME LL’S FIRST TOP TEN SINGLE.

OTHER SINGLES FOR THE ALBUM INCLUDED “TO DA BREAK OF DAWN”, “THE BOOMIN SYSTEM” AND “SIX MINUTES OF PLEASURE”, ALL CHARTING AND GIVING LL SOME RECOGNITION ON THE BILLBOARD, DANCE AND RAP CHARTS.

HOWEVER, IT WAS ANOTHER SINGLE THAT WOULD GIVE LL’S NEW ALBUM ITS NAME. INSPIRED BY HIS GRANDMOTHER TO “KNOCK OUT” HIS NAYSAYERS, “MAMA SAID KNOCK YOU OUT” WAS RECORDED AS A MISSION STATEMENT FOR LL COOL J, SILENCING HIS CRITICS AND ANYONE IN THE RAP GAME WILLING TO RUN THEIR MOUTH. THE SONG HIT NUMBER ONE ON THE BILLBOARD RAP SINGLES CHART, AND PROVED LL’S STAYING POWER IN THE FACE OF GANGSTA RAP.

RELEASED ON SEPTEMBER FOURTEENTH, NINETEEN-NINETY ON DEF JAM, “MAMA SAID KNOCK YOU OUT” REIGNITED INTEREST IN LL COOL J, AND HE PROVED HIMSELF TO BE AS TOUGH AND FUNNY AS ALWAYS. FRANK MEYER OF YAHOO! MUSIC SAID LL HAD SET THE WORLD ON FIRE, AND THE EPONYMOUS SINGLE EARNED LL A GRAMMY FOR BEST SOLO RAP PERFORMANCE, BEATING OUT ICE-T AND MC HAMMER FOR THE AWARD.

“MAMA SAID KNOCK YOU OUT” HAS SINCE BEEN DECLARED LL’S BEST ALBUM, AND HAS BEEN CERTIFIED DOUBLE PLATINUM BY THE RECORDING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA.

RECORDED AS A CLAP BACK AGAINST A CHANGING RAP LANDSCAPE, “MAMA SAID KNOCK YOU OUT” SHOWED THE WORLD THAT LL COOL J WASN'T A RAPPER TO BE IGNORED, AND HE STILL REMAINS A HOUSEHOLD NAME TO THIS DAY.

ITS TIMELESS PRODUCTION, TOUGH AS NAILS LYRICS, AND ITS MESSAGE TO ALWAYS STICK TO YOUR GUNS IN THE FACE OF OPPOSITION ALL SHOW WHY “MAMA SAID KNOCK YOU OUT” BY LL COOL J IS OUR GREATEST ALBUM EVER...THIS WEEK.

KISS: Dead or "Alive!"

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IN THE 70’S, KISS WERE A CULT PHENOMENON WITHOUT TWO CENTS TO RUB TOGETHER. HOWEVER, THE RELEASE OF THEIR FIRST LIVE ALBUM LAUNCHED THE KABUKI-STYLE FOUR-PIECE INTO THE UPPER ECHELON OF HARD ROCK STARDOM. CHECK OUT HOW THEY DID IT HERE.

AFTER THE RELEASE OF THEIR FIRST THREE ALBUMS TO LITTLE FANFARE, KISS WASN’T SURE ABOUT THEIR NEXT BIG MOVE. TENSION BETWEEN THE BAND AND THEIR RECORD LABEL, CASABLANCA, WAS REACHING A FEVER PITCH AS LITTLE TO NO MONEY WAS COMING IN.

THIS TENSION EVEN LEAD TO A LAWSUIT AGAINST LABEL HEAD NEIL BOGART OVER UNPAID ROYALTIES!

AT THE TIME, KISS HAD ESTABLISHED A CULT FOLLOWING FROM THEIR EXPLOSIVE LIVE SHOWS, FULL OF PYROTECHNICS AND FAKE BLOOD SPITTING COURTESY OF BASSIST GENE SIMMONS. BOGART AND THE BAND THOUGHT A LIVE ALBUM WAS THE JUMPSTART CASABLANCA AND KISS NEEDED TO FINALLY FIND SOME SUCCESS.

KISS EMBARKED ON THE “LOOKS THAT KILL TOUR” TO GET MATERIAL FOR THE ALBUM, TAKING ITS NAME FROM THEIR 1975 ALBUM AND INSPIRED BY THE BAND’S NOTORIOUS KABUKI-STYLE FACE PAINT. WITH CASABLANCA RECORDS PRACTICALLY BANKRUPT, THE BAND’S MANAGER, BILL AUCOIN, FUNDED THE $300,000 TOUR OUT OF HIS OWN POCKET......AND THE STAKES WERE HIGH.

THE MATERIAL FOR “ALIVE!” WAS TAKEN FROM 4 SHOWS ON THE TOUR, INCLUDING CLEVELAND, DETROIT, DAVENPORT MISSISSIPPI AND WILDWOOD NEW JERSEY.

WHILE THE “LOOKS THAT KILL” SET BOASTED SOME OF THE WILDEST ANTICS KISS’ LIVE SHOWS COULD OFFER, THE ENERGY DIDN’T TRANSLATE TO TAPE AS WELL AS THE BAND WOULD HAVE LIKED. PRODUCER EDDIE KRAMER STEPPED IN AND OVERDUBBED PORTIONS OF THE RECORD, EVEN MESHING THE SOUNDS OF THE AUDIENCE TO GIVE THE SONGS A FULLER SOUND.

MOST OF THE ALBUM ALSO REQUIRED MAJOR RE-RECORDING, WITH ONLY THE DRUM TRACKS REMAINING INTACT. BASSIST AND FRONTMAN GENE SIMMONS, GUITARISTS ACE FREHLEY AND PAUL STANLEY AND DRUMMER PETER CRISS WORKED AT ELECTRIC LADY STUDIOS IN THEIR HOMETOWN OF NEW YORK CITY.

RELEASED ON SEPTEMBER 10TH, 1975 AND TAKING ITS NAME FROM A LIVE ALBUM BY ENGLISH BAND SLADE, “ALIVE!” WAS GIVEN TO FANS ON THE SAME DAY AS THEIR FIRST SHOW ON THE COINCIDING TOUR. AT THE TIME, “ALIVE!” GARNERED MAJOR PRAISE FROM CRITICS AND FANS, WHO FELT THAT KISS HAD FINALLY REACHED THEIR FULL POTENTIAL AS A BAND. “ALIVE!” PEAKED AT NUMBER 9 ON THE BILLBOARD TOP 200, STAYING ON THE CHART FOR 110 WEEKS!

RERELEASED AS A LIVE SINGLE FOR THE ALBUM’S RELEASE, THE TRACK “ROCK AND ROLL ALL NITE” PEAKED AT NUMBER 12 ON BILLBOARD, AND WOULD GO ON TO BECOME KISS’ SIGNATURE SONG, WITH THE BAND CLOSING OUT EVERY LIVE SHOW WITH THE TRACK UNTIL 2008.

RETROSPECTIVELY, “ALIVE!” HAS BEEN AN ENTRY ON ROLLING STONE’S 500 GREATEST ALBUMS OF ALL TIME, AND RANKED 26 ON GUITAR WORLD’S LIST OF THE 100 BEST GUITAR ALBUMS OF ALL TIME.


FOR ITS CAREER DEFINING PERFORMANCES, HIGH-RISK INCEPTION, AND LONGSTANDING LEGACY AS ONE OF THE BEST HARD ROCK ALBUMS OF ALL TIME, “ALIVE!” BY KISS IS OUR GREATEST ALBUM EVER...THIS WEEK.