“Radio” the debut album by 16 year-old LL Cool J and the first full album released by Def Jam Recordings was released on November 18, 1985.  The album cover featured a photo of a boom box (Ghetto Blaster).

I always wondered what kind of Radio Boom Box was used for the cover photo.  After some research I found out is was a JVC RC-M90 which is still to this day considered “The King” of the Boom Box.

JVC released the M90 Boombox in 1981 and it was the largest and most featured-packed model to date.  It had 8” woofers, 3” tweeters, 8 bands of tuning, Super ANRS noise-reduction and a full logic tape control system.  It also had a Phono input in the back so you can hook up your turntable.  The unit weighed about 22 pounds.  You can still find these units on Ebay but they cost a pretty penny, well over $500.00.

I can’t confirm if this was LL’s actual boombox but I did find this picture with LL and the JVC M90.

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