The Fascinating Contradictions Of The Beastie Boys

I'm a white middle class guy who finds that one of the best ways to expand my mind is to study art forms alien to my surroundings. This is how I got so seriously into hip-hop and it has opened my head to all kinds of things. You want to sit in your little vacumn sealed world knowing what you like and liking what you know, go ahead, but please please please don't affect superiority because I'll tell you now, your attitude is inferior and that is a fact. Closing your mind off does not lead to richer understanding and more valid opinions. I believe a rare but well deserved "f**k you" has been earned and I declare you officially owned, how you like me now.

 

The moral of this story is not to mess with a thread started by a former battle rapper.

 

Anyway, for people who read without making snap judgements and who might be interested in exploring unfamiliar music, beginning across Check Your Head, Ill Communication and Hello Nasty, the B-Boys did actually start to become progressive, at least by hip-hop standards with the introduction of dub, funk, klezmer, Miles Davis references, traditional Buddhist music, psychedelica, electronica, singer-songwriter, chill-out, jazz etc. Songs like Shambala, Something's Gotta Give, I Don't Know and Song For The Man were hugely shocking coming from a band that made its name with Fight For Your Right. And Futterman's Rule is still one of my favourite funk instrumentals. Gotta check Yauch's bass on that track, pity I can't find it on Youtube. Futterman's Rule, look for that. Their second album Paul's Boutique is also generally agreed to have seriously advanced the art of sampling and is still regarded by some as the manual on how to sample.

 

I was considering doing a full-on blogumentary of The Beastie Boys (don't know if I actually will) because while they are popular and people know who they are, I don't think people fully appreciate their significance or how bizarre and interesting their story is.

 

They were a hardcore punk band who became the biggest hip-hop act in America and subsequently a legitimately important force in funk and fusion. Everyone agrees they're bad lyricists yet they're one of the most critically acclaimed rap acts there is. They're three white Jewish guys who became an important force for Buddhism and arguably got the ball rolling on the whole Tibet issue. They went from the political insensitivity of wanting to call their debut album Don't Be A F a g g o t to becoming big time activists, donating to women's causes and protesting wars. They're still the only group I've ever heard attempt funk klezmer. They've worked with everyone from Lee Scratch Perry to Orlando f**king Bloom. They're in a genre where a lot of people don't play instruments but not only do they play, Adam "MCA" Yauch is one of the most overlooked bassists of all time. (Mike D hardly sucks on the drums either.) They're simultaneously a million selling pop act and a beard stroking muso's choice. They began as fakes and pretenders but have since gone on to represent hip-hop more authentically than a lot of African-American artists.

And they're about the only act in hip-hop history that gets away with looking like this:

 

I could go on but I think the point is made. The plethora of contradictions makes them a fascinating act and if there isn't a good book on them, there should be soon.