The Beastie Boys are truly hip hop/punk rock pioneers. I have been a big fan for a while. They are the first band I'd seen in concert, way back in the day. Since then I've probably seen them 6 more times, including two Tibetian Freedom Concerts. Each and every show just gets better and better and better. Can't wait to get this disc.

 

"There was once a time when hiphop wasnt about financial excess and the lure of thug life. Back in the day, you got bragging rights just for being the first guy on the block to rock the latest Adidas. And beef? It didnt get much deeper than yo'-mamajokes, sucker MCs, borough pride, who dated the flyest around-the-way girl and, as Biz Markie once eloquiently put it, picking boogers..."

- complex magazine 7/04


i've been a beastie fan for a good deal of my life.. being a 30 something asian professional doesnt mean that i listen to classic rock, depeche mode, or lite 106.7. what i listen to, and i'm sure there are a whole lot of us who listen to old school hiphop. epmd, ericb, bid daddy kane, ll, dougie fresh, bdp, gangstarr, pete rock, nice n smooth, slick rick, all the way to some of the newer old school like biggie, nas, jayz (pre-sellout), de la, LONS, etc.. but when you look at the roots of hiphop, run dmc and beastie boys didnt create it, but they sure were a major part of it. were you devastated when you heard the news that jam master jay was murdered? i know i was. the world lost a true pioneer in every sense of the word that day.

all the big money bling bling thug style hiphop can trace their roots to one group, nwa. a pioneer in their own right and while i do believe that dre is extremely gifted, i am saddened to see what rap has become.. there are some great songs with hardcore lyrics and dope beats, but when you listen to the lyrics, how can you not think dayum, what the hell am i listening to. case in point; deep cover by dre and snoop. that is the hardest most bangin cut of all time. the minute you hear the bass roll, you know exactly what song it is and you know every single lyric. but have you ever listened to what you were nodding your head to? DO NOT GET ME WRONG, i am totally for free speach and i give a HUGE F U to censorship and those silly people who want to stop rap entirely, but considering that life mirrors music, couldnt someone write about a good day besides ice cube? was express yourself and she swallowed it lost in all the gangsta rap?

the new stuff on the radio absolutely disgusts me. what the hell is the deal with 'dirty south' and that dude lil john? WWWWWHHHHHHAAAAATTTTTT???????? OOOOOOOOOKKKKKKK! cmon.. wtf is that?? but hey, gimme a few drinks and i can sometimes make sense of it.. or perhaps it's the hot chick gyrating her mid section before me that does it.

whats your favorite beastie cd? mines ill communication.. a not-so traditional hiphop album that once again changed the face of music.

just because youre not black doesnt mean you cant love hiphop. hell, you dont even have to be an american. look outside of the united states, there's hip hop everywhere.. and while some of it may totally suck, there are a few diamonds out there.. case in point, "The Streets". hiphop in the US has gone so far astray (minus talib kweli because hes just goddamned brilliant) that i've been listening to this group. their first lp, "original pirate material" is unbelievably hot. their sophomore attempt, "a grand dont come for free" took a little bit longer to get used to but now its on constant play on my ipod.

hi, my name is brian, and this is the hiphop that i love.

 

Here is a funny interview they did with Kurt Loder from MTV.com:

http://www.mtv.com/bands/b/beastie_boys/ne...feature_040517/

 

bkw ... you completely read my mind. Although I can't say I love hip-hop because it only holds maybe 1% of my listening rotation, and that would be stuff written <1995. I didn't even know who Lil John was til I looked him up after I saw the Chappelle's Show skits. Being late 20s Asian, when all my friends were listening to new wave I rocked Run DMC, the BBoys, Flash, EPMD, etc.

Anyway, back To the 5 Boroughs ... I forgot we live in a time when you don't have to wait for something to come out to get it The beats are hot. Big bass, but a bit darker overalll. I still liken it most to Paul's Boutique because of the baselines, samples and loops. There's ~4 political type tracks, and while they have good beats I don't dig the whole message thing. They've been doing it for a while now and I respect what they're trying to do with it, it's just not my favorite listening material. One track sampling Rapper's Delight is sweet lyrically, as are a couple others.

It's not gonna crack my top 3 Beastie albums eventhough I think it is most similar to my #1, but it's still a welcome addition to my collection which has just about all the albums, even Aglio E Olio.

 

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[QUOTE]Originally posted by cykogirl

 

woah, i just read my post from last night.. i know i was a little buzzed, but dayum!

i sound like a gazelle, adiddas wearing, gold toothed and kangol shod monger! that's really not the case. while i do indeed love hiphop, i listen to other music as well.. thrash, hardcore dark trance, drum n bass, and even norah jones (i was dragged to her concert and i loved it ). i'll even do the safety dance when it comes on the radio, and sing along to any freestyle song by judy torres.

"free your mind and the rest will follow..."

 

Have the first record on vinyl. Still think it is thier best and don't like the rest. At least so far.

 

I did an albulm cover for Grand Royal Records entitled Grandpaw Would when I was living with Ben Lee in Sydney, Australia. It is there that I met the B-Boys, backstage after a huge concert.

As far as main stream artists and influencers, i feel that they are some of the strongest in the biz.

They shot to the top of the charts with Ill Communication. And instead of comfortably sitting on thier laurels they chose to change things up and step away from the basic beats and Zepplin power chords that enabeld them to achieve such success. Paul's Boutique continues to be one of the most influential alblums of our time. The mixes and beats were so fresh and multi layered that most consumers had no idea what to make of it. Truly before thier time. The Hip Hop Genre has never been the same since. Certainly they are white and Hip hop has been a primarily black medium, but they brought innovation to the table that transcended thier color, and influenced rappers of all colors.

Nowadays the B-Boys continue their musical explorations and to call what they do simply hip hop is to deny them the new style that they bring. I have not heard the new albulm, but I guaruntee it is different and will take a little getting used to. Once done, however, it will be hard to imagine the world without it. There is no doubt there are many will emulate thier style, but few can innovate they way they have and can.

What is great about the B-Boys is that they formed thier own label, thus enabling other acts to get a chance to shine. There is so much talent out there that never gets a chance. As long as Clear Channel continues to be the primary supplier, the ignorant masses will listen to jingle hits (essentially 3.5 minute ads for corperate conglomerates) and not true innovative music as it should be. The B-Boys handpicked a few talents from many disciplines and gave them a chance. A few made it.

It is refeshing to get true music that the public accepts. A few talents filter into the hit making machines.

Other hip hop artists to check: Aesop Rock, Atmosphere, & Mr. Dibbs.

 

Again, I have to agree that the Beasties have been incredible innovators throughout the years. Not to get off topic, but I've heard both The Streets and Atmosphere mentioned in this thread. I have to give both of them a I'm not huge into the music scene nowadays, but a good friend of mine sends me cd's every few months. He sent both The Streets, "Original Pirate Material" and Atmosphere's cd (can't remember the title), along with some indie rock stuff, to me back in February. I was astounded by how fresh the sounds were. No overplayed samples, no simple-rhyme-scheme lyrics; sort of like when the Beasties first showed up and their sound was based on existing music, but taken at a different approach. Sorry to get off topic, just wanted to toss that in.

Oh, and Check Your Head is my favorite album.