Their first successful album was annoying. Three white boys transmorphing from a fairly daft punk band into a hip-hop act and making a ton of money in the process. What did they put out? By my estimation, quite a dumb, cartoonish version of hip hop in the form of ‘Licensed to ill’ (1986). And in doing so, they created a huge, empty party anthem. ‘Fight for your Right to Party’. Even at age 16 or 17, I felt pretty sure this all amounted to an extremely vacuous pile of bullshit. Fatboy buffooning with sampled guitar rifts so as not to alienate the mainstream white rock audiences. (At this time, record execs were always on the lookout for a crossover song/album/act). Anyway ‘Licensed to Ill’ was a huge album. Then the Beastie Boys followed this up with some other stuff which didn't register on my radar because I was busy trying to avoid them.
A few years roll past and then I listened to this album. ‘Ill Communication’. (1994). And I liked it. It goes without saying that, being a hip-hop album, the lyrical mass of this album is dense. You have three MC’s trading and fitting lyrics together in rapid-fire delivery. Also, you can hear the purposeful design of the album. Rap tracks interspersed with instrumental tracks to provide a bit of relief from the lyrical assault, instrumental reprieves which added to the overall texture of the album. These pieces of music sound like they were lifted from a Blue Note album or maybe from a Curtis Mayfield film soundtrack (see 'SuperFly'). The Beastie Boys mixed in layers of real instruments into their sampling, beats and reverb-filtered voices as well, lending the whole thing a richness and warmth that a lot of rap albums don't have. There are also a few punk songs filling in the cracks. Maybe a good example of the BB's efforts to form a bridge between punk and hip-hop is the song 'Sabotage' which has elements of both. Generally speaking, for me, the album feels like a series of recorded phone conversations from a busted public phone through which a three-headed, motor-mouthed, post-punk creature stakes out it's place in the hip-hop world. With hip hop, you can convey a lot of information and imagery very quickly. Obviously, it has poetic imagery and hyperbolic language. One thing noticeable right off the bat (in Sure Shot for example) you can hear a departure from the usual hip-hop tropes-things like referring to 'bitches' and 'money'. Like I say, in the years following 'Licensed to Ill' these guys grew up a bit and began rapping about some slightly more important things other than drinking 40s and partying. And I think its a good thing that they didn’t completely mimic what other rap artists sounded like or talked about. There is always a bit of a problem with authenticity when white artists and audiences cross over and embrace rap music. As Anthony Kiedis from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers said about listening to Public Enemy, 'my little white ass is tickled pink when I listen to the music that makes me think'. So basically what he is pointing out is the guilty dilemma which arises when embracing a rap band like Public Enemy. On one hand, you may think, wow! This music is awesome because it is intelligent and visceral! It has something to say. But on the other hand, you might also think, yes but it speaks from a place I can’t really ever imagine because...wait a minute...I am part of the privileged system these guys are railing against. I am the blue-eyed devil! 'The Man!' (or at least the son....Grandson in your case.....of 'The Man').
Anyway, despite this, I think it's pretty clear that the Beastie Boys have carved out their own niche in this genre. You still have the MC self-promotion and the swagger but there are other interesting bits and pieces thrown into the mix. Respect for women, DIY motivation to create something new and fresh, Tibetan monk music and even environmental concerns. At the end of the day, well as far as I am concerned, it's all about the words and of course the referencing because in one regard hip hop is entirely transparent about it's process of cannibalisation. It wears it's own influences on its sleeve, repurposing fragments from the culture to make something new. Something which is funky and immediate. You can hear appropriated sounds filtering through this album as it keeps pace with the city, moving rapidly through the subways and lives of the characters who inhabitant it. Scratching, sampling and verbalising referencing movies, NBA stars, porn actors, other musicians, Buddhism, cop shows from the 1970’s. Drilling down into and through all these layers, you can easily access the things that influenced and inspired these guys.
Anyway, enjoy. And why not check out Public Enemy's It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back (1988).
A few years roll past and then I listened to this album. ‘Ill Communication’. (1994). And I liked it. It goes without saying that, being a hip-hop album, the lyrical mass of this album is dense. You have three MC’s trading and fitting lyrics together in rapid-fire delivery. Also, you can hear the purposeful design of the album. Rap tracks interspersed with instrumental tracks to provide a bit of relief from the lyrical assault, instrumental reprieves which added to the overall texture of the album. These pieces of music sound like they were lifted from a Blue Note album or maybe from a Curtis Mayfield film soundtrack (see 'SuperFly'). The Beastie Boys mixed in layers of real instruments into their sampling, beats and reverb-filtered voices as well, lending the whole thing a richness and warmth that a lot of rap albums don't have. There are also a few punk songs filling in the cracks. Maybe a good example of the BB's efforts to form a bridge between punk and hip-hop is the song 'Sabotage' which has elements of both. Generally speaking, for me, the album feels like a series of recorded phone conversations from a busted public phone through which a three-headed, motor-mouthed, post-punk creature stakes out it's place in the hip-hop world. With hip hop, you can convey a lot of information and imagery very quickly. Obviously, it has poetic imagery and hyperbolic language. One thing noticeable right off the bat (in Sure Shot for example) you can hear a departure from the usual hip-hop tropes-things like referring to 'bitches' and 'money'. Like I say, in the years following 'Licensed to Ill' these guys grew up a bit and began rapping about some slightly more important things other than drinking 40s and partying. And I think its a good thing that they didn’t completely mimic what other rap artists sounded like or talked about. There is always a bit of a problem with authenticity when white artists and audiences cross over and embrace rap music. As Anthony Kiedis from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers said about listening to Public Enemy, 'my little white ass is tickled pink when I listen to the music that makes me think'. So basically what he is pointing out is the guilty dilemma which arises when embracing a rap band like Public Enemy. On one hand, you may think, wow! This music is awesome because it is intelligent and visceral! It has something to say. But on the other hand, you might also think, yes but it speaks from a place I can’t really ever imagine because...wait a minute...I am part of the privileged system these guys are railing against. I am the blue-eyed devil! 'The Man!' (or at least the son....Grandson in your case.....of 'The Man').
Anyway, despite this, I think it's pretty clear that the Beastie Boys have carved out their own niche in this genre. You still have the MC self-promotion and the swagger but there are other interesting bits and pieces thrown into the mix. Respect for women, DIY motivation to create something new and fresh, Tibetan monk music and even environmental concerns. At the end of the day, well as far as I am concerned, it's all about the words and of course the referencing because in one regard hip hop is entirely transparent about it's process of cannibalisation. It wears it's own influences on its sleeve, repurposing fragments from the culture to make something new. Something which is funky and immediate. You can hear appropriated sounds filtering through this album as it keeps pace with the city, moving rapidly through the subways and lives of the characters who inhabitant it. Scratching, sampling and verbalising referencing movies, NBA stars, porn actors, other musicians, Buddhism, cop shows from the 1970’s. Drilling down into and through all these layers, you can easily access the things that influenced and inspired these guys.
Anyway, enjoy. And why not check out Public Enemy's It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back (1988).
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