The heavily produced, disco like singles with music created by full bands that were the standard since the inception of recorded rap in 1979 were being replaced with only drum machines and scratching DJ's. The "jive talking" radio DJ cadence that was so prevalent in the first generation of MC's was now replaced with a more advanced and energetic delivery, filled with metaphors, double entendres, and multi-syllabic rhyme patterns.

In 1984 Def Jam/Partytime released "It's Yours" by T La Rock. The bass heavy single with its unorthodox rhyme patterns and abstract vocabulary would prove to be a game changer that influenced legions of MC's. "Commentating/illustrating, description giving, adjective expert, analyzin'/surmisin'/musical myth seekin'/ people of the universe this is yours" T La Rock spit, with help from the pen of his younger brother Special K of The Treacherous Three.

This release contained the address to Def Jam Recordings, which was actually the dorm room of the label's founder Rick Rubin. LL COOL J had been sending his demo to all of the popular rap labels of the day including Sugar Hill and Profile, only to receive rejection letters, or no response at all, but his decision to send his tape to 5 University Plaza would change a few lives and alter the course of Hip-Hop as an industry. Ad Rock of The Beastie Boys was tasked with listening to demo tapes, and LL's caught his attention. He forwarded it to Rick and the rest is Hip-Hop history.

There is much conversation about which Def Jam release is first. For sure "It's Yours" was one of the first times that most people witnessed the Def Jam logo, but Rick Rubin's rock band, Hose actually released an EP containing the logo in 1982. Whether Def Jam was an actual label or production company, LL COOL J says, "'I Need A Beat' has a catalog number of DJ001". Enough said.

"It's Yours" was a song about the process of making a rap record. Upon listening one will find that it's a very technical explanation of the process. "Taking a record that's already made with the help of the mix board used in the cross fade". "I Need A Beat" is the very technical explanation of programming a beat. "Tom tom, snare, hat, bass and cymbal, like that of a cat on the mic I'm nimble/ basic patterns, groups and chains, sequence frequency and gain."

I Need A Beat introduced the world to LL COOL J and his energetic delivery, prolific pen, and the beats and rhymes formula that would dictate his next few releases. Rick Rubin always desired to re-create the sound of the early park jams that happened before rap records, and he wasn't a fan of the full band production on rap records prior to 1983. On the credits of "I Need A Beat", it reads "reduced by Rick Rubin". That wasn't a typo, his aim was to reduce the records by leaving out the guitars, horns, kazoos and keyboards contained in early rap recordings.

When asked what his favorite era of his career is, LL doesn't hesitate to reply that he loves them all. He then ponders a moment and says, "my very first song, 'I Need A Beat'. Being a kid and finding T La Rock's 'It's Yours' on Def Jam productions and sending my demo off to Rick, Ad Rock passing that tape off to Rick, and making that first Def Jam 001 on the label, it's the most exhilarating feeling in the world to have a dream and feel it come true.

I'd wish that on everybody, a good dream. I would wish that everyone could experience having a good dream, a great dream and having it come true. It's an amazing feeling, it feels so fucking good, man. I was a little kid doing hand stands in the subway on the way to the studio. Walking on my hands onto the train. Happy!"

Although LL's performance of "I Can't Live Without My Radio" broke him through to the world, it was "I Need A Beat" that set the template for everything that would follow. LL's 1985 full length debut album, Radio contained a remix of "I Need A Beat", and for many that would be their first exposure to the song. The original was a staple in boom boxes and on late night radio mix shows. There is a line on LL's 2000 release, "Ill Bomb": "Ask Russell Simmons who put 'em up in that skyscraper". "I Need A Beat" is the genesis of that truth. Happy 40th.