About
In 1986, the Beastie Boys' first album, Licensed to Ill, went off like a bomb amid the international record-buying public. The New York trio's brash hollering and sophomoric humor, along with producer Rick Rubin's brilliant idea to blast heavy metal riffs underneath, took Run-DMC's "King of Rock" to its logical conclusion, turning the music world on its ear in the process. On their second album, Paul's Boutique, MCA, Ad-Rock and Mike D. loosed a torrent of sly jokes and deep pop culture references that, along with unheard-of production by the Dust Brothers that interlocked over 100 samples, resulted in a critical 180 for the band. This shot-calling in the rap world continued over the next two albums (Check Your Head and Ill Communication) before tapering off as the trio devoted time to developing bands on their Grand Royal label and fighting for various political causes. The fifth album, Hello Nasty, won a pair of Grammys in 1998, and 2004's To the 5 Boroughs received critical praise, if not the commercial mega sales of their previous records. In 2009, they released Tadlock's Glasses.
- Mike McGuirk
- Portions of Album Content Provided by All Music Guide © 2008 All Media Guide, LLC.