It’s Time we start talking about the Beastie Boys

There are very few artists that exist in as many subcultures as the Beastie Boys. Their history is long and fascinating, and it makes them major players in the development of hip-hop, hardcore punk, alternative rock, and everything in between. With a catalog of music so dense and rich in spirit and style, how is it that their influence isn’t discussed more often by modern artists and music listeners? Digging up records from the past has never been more of a cool thing to do thanks to hipsters and TikTok; additionally, other similar artists from the 1990’s, such as Rage Against the Machine or A Tribe Called Quest, have managed to uphold their legacy in the landscape of modern music. So how have the Beastie Boys seemingly slipped through the cracks? Well, I have a couple of theories. But before I get into that, I’m gonna try and make you care about the Beastie Boys. Because chances are that even if you are familiar with the Beastie Boys, you might have the wrong idea about them based on a couple of things.

I’d be willing to bet that this is the version of the Beastie Boys that you have seen most of in the media.

These photo were probably taken between 1986 and 1988 while the group was promoting their first album Licensed to Ill. These were the dudes responsible for some of the hits you’re probably familiar with, songs like “Fight for Your Right (To Party),” “Brass Monkey,” and “No Sleep ‘Till Brooklyn.” While this era of the band is important to their story as well as to the development of the rap music as a whole, these songs being the band’s most well-known songs can easily leave a misleading impression upon new listeners. Crude songs about parties and women performed by three dudes that collectively look like every creepy ass dickhead you’ve ever met at a college frat party. Not only is it of bad taste (check out the song “Girls” if you really wanna hear what I’m talking about) but it’s also a little corny. No offense to any fans of this era, but ain’t really the shit I listen to. No no no 🙅.

Licensed to Ill - 1986

Now let me show you MY Beastie Boys. 

Lookin’ pretty different huh? They managed to ditch the dickhead look in exchange for a thrift-heavy style of their own, a look that went on to have an enormous effect on skateboarding culture in the 1990’s. But being fashion icons shouldn’t be enough for musicians to get the attention of an entire market of kids and young adults. So we’re the skaters fans of Licensed to I’ll? Nope, they’re fans of everything else. 

It’s important to mention that the Beastie Boys, comprised of Adam “Ad-Rock” Horowitz, Michael “Mike D” Diamond, and the late Adam “MCA” Yauch, began their journey as a hardcore punk band in the early 1980’s. It was only after a satirical rap song they released received significant attention and praise that they began focusing their attention towards hip-hop, the immediate result of that being Licensed to Ill. So while the group is largely remembered for their contributions to hip-hop, they’ve always had punk in their DNA. In the late 80’s it may have seemed like there was no punk left in the Beastie Boys tank; however, the 90’s saw the group not only continue to grow as rappers but also return to their instruments to create a fusion of hip-hop and punk that would completely reinvent the group once again. This would put the Beasties in quite an opportune position among skateboarding crowds who were transitioning from listening to punk to listening to hip-hop. Who better to get into than a band that does both really well and is generally super fucking cool?

It’s likely that the other song you know by them that I haven’t mentioned already is “Sabotage.” Listening to “Sabotage” side by side with “Fight For Your Right (To Party)” you wouldn’t even think it’s the same group if it weren’t for Ad-Rock’s distinct vocal style. This song is much more indicative of the qualities of the Beastie Boys that I love so dearly. If this difference in sound is something you can recognize and appreciate, then you’re gonna shit when you hear the rest of their music. 

Their second album Paul’s Boutique was released in 1989. While this album is light on the punk influence and still sees the group as young and immature, it thrives in all the ways that Licensed to Ill does not. Their rhyming and delivery was improved and the production courtesy of the Dust Brothers was like nothing that had ever been done at the time. Built almost entirely on samples of funk, soul, and rock and roll music among other styles, it revolutionized hip-hop production forever and laid the foundation of what the Beastie Boys would go on to explore for years to come. Though the reception for this album was bad when it first came out, it is now considered by many to be their magnum opus. Some of my favorite songs to check out on Paul’s Boutique are “Shake Your Rump,” “Hey Ladies,” “High Plains Drifter,” and “The Sound of Science.”

Paul's Boutique - 1989

They released their third album Check Your Head in 1992. This one is probably my favorite. This is the album where they first return to their instruments and bring back the punk, however the sound of this album is not as simple as I may have described it earlier. While there are hip-hop songs and there are punk songs, some songs tow the line of both and some songs contain elements on neither. Songs like “Namaste” and “Something’s Got To Give” see the band trading in their punk instrumentation for a meditative and psychedelic funk sound similar to the records that they sample on other tracks. This creates for an amazingly cohesive listen between tracks produced by DJ’s and tracks where the B-Boys provided the instrumentation themselves. With so many different styles active on the album, I feel like there’s never a dull moment. But if I had to pick favorites, I’d recommend all the singles — “Pass the Mic,” “So Whatcha Want,” and “Gratitude” — along with lesser known hits “Jimmy James,” “Time for Livin’,” and “Finger Lickin’ Good.”

Check Your Head - 1992

You could basically re-read the last paragraph but apply it to the group’s fourth album Ill Communication. This album and Check Your Head were both made the same way, by themselves and their friends in their own home studio they built. The result is that the two albums sound very similar, to the point where I kind of consider them a duo in my mind. But hey, if it ain’t broke then don’t fuck it up. This album is the shit. My favorites on this one outside of “Sabotage” include “Sure Shot,” “Get it Together” featuring Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest (!!!!!!), “Futterman’s Rule,” “Tough Guy,” and “Root Down.” 

Ill Communication - 1994

Songs to check out from their next album Hello Nasty include hit single “Intergalactic,” “Three MC’s and One DJ,” “The Move,” and “I Don’t Know.” I don’t mean to skip over this album, it’s really awesome too. It continues the trend of the Beastie Boys growing and exploring more sonically. But I think I’ve done a good job painting the picture of their career trajectory, so in the interest of keeping your attention (if you’ve made it this far I’m so sorry for all the tangents about their discography) I’d like to return the the question at hand: why don’t people talk about the B-Boys no more?

Hello Nasty - 1998

Well I think the fact that the band became so well known for their early hits that aren’t reflective of the music they would go on to make means that there are three very different crowds of people who know about the Beasties. 1) Casual listeners who are fans of the major hits, 2) people who have heard them in passing and consider them has-beens of the ‘80s, or 3) fans that have listened beyond the major hits. If I had to guess, considering how huge the hits were/are, there’s a major percentage of people who sit in the first 2 crowds. This means that the major hits may forever live longer and louder than the stuff that really solidified their influence on culture. That could perpetuate the wrong impression upon new listeners and generations. Also, it’s been 13 years since the last Beastie Boys album and the tragic death of MCA who suffered from cancer in his lymph node. Surviving members Ad-Rock and Mike D haven’t really started any new projects or released any music since, so the Beastie Boys camp really has been quiet since 2011 aside for a memoir book that was adapted into a documentary film directed by Spike Jonze (on Apple TV+, really worth a watch if you wanna learn more about them). So I guess it makes sense we don’t hear about them much. But I don’t know man, I think it’s crazy that younger generations of music nerds that are obsessed with music history are seemingly overlooking one of the most influential groups of the 1990’s and the entire genre of hip-hop. I guess the only thing I can say is responsible is misrepresentation of the group in the media. But the world may never really know. Fuckers.

Well I hope if anything you walk away from this interested in the Beastie Boys. They are so effortlessly cool, probably the coolest people to ever release music to the public. Their work is so full of passion, personality, and bravado and their influence, whether discussed frequently or not, is existent literally everywhere you look, whether you’re looking at rock music, hip-hop, or even the way we dress for fuck’s sake. Go listen to them.