April 6th, 2011
There’s a new Beastie Boys single out, and all of sudden, I’ve realized that I owe these guys a big, fat apology. I’ve never said anything bad about them, much less in any public forum, and I’ve never denied that Licensed to Ill was the first tape I saved up for and bought with my own money. One day I was slicing up some steak for a sandwich—must have been around third grade—and it made me uncomfortable to hear about asses while doing so. The first time I saw the video for “Fight For Your Right”, I felt intense pity for the dorks whose apartment it was. It upset me way more than Friday the 13th, Part 2, my first slasher flick, around the same time. Predictably, I also found Check Your Head unbearably hype, and in time acknowledged Paul’s Boutique as neglected brilliance. There was one track on their Reuben Wilson-inspired instrumental live album that I liked as much as any Roots groove (ah, 1996).However, whenever I talk about the Beasties, I’m quick to add that almost immediately, I made sure that I got Raising Hell as a Chanukah present, and that while I stayed loyal to the Beasties, I was also discovering the rest of the rap universe. I can’t be the only person who shares in this story, but while some stepping stones are disposable; others probably deserve a modicum of credit—even if, ultimately, that depends more on what’s made of them than what they themselves actually make. Going from the Beastie Boys to other rap, easy. But since I’m pretty sure hip-hop is what got me invested in critical thinking about race; made my interest in jazz almost adorably tinged with racial angst, like this was 1957; and more likely, has led me to approach sports the way I do. So congratulations, Beastie Boys. You changed my life, even if it’s been over a decade since I listened to anything—new or old—that you’ve recorded. When I saw your ABA-inspired shirt in a thrift store recently, my wife convinced me that it was not a good look. Still, I made sure to mention it in The Undisputed Guide as a key moment in ABA revivalism. That about sums it up, I think.

There’s a new Beastie Boys single out, and all of sudden, I’ve realized that I owe these guys a big, fat apology. I’ve never said anything bad about them, much less in any public forum, and I’ve never denied that Licensed to Ill was the first tape I saved up for and bought with my own money. One day I was slicing up some steak for a sandwich—must have been around third grade—and it made me uncomfortable to hear about asses while doing so. The first time I saw the video for “Fight For Your Right”, I felt intense pity for the dorks whose apartment it was. It upset me way more than Friday the 13th, Part 2, my first slasher flick, around the same time. Predictably, I also found Check Your Head unbearably hype, and in time acknowledged Paul’s Boutique as neglected brilliance. There was one track on their Reuben Wilson-inspired instrumental live album that I liked as much as any Roots groove (ah, 1996).

However, whenever I talk about the Beasties, I’m quick to add that almost immediately, I made sure that I got Raising Hell as a Chanukah present, and that while I stayed loyal to the Beasties, I was also discovering the rest of the rap universe. I can’t be the only person who shares in this story, but while some stepping stones are disposable; others probably deserve a modicum of credit—even if, ultimately, that depends more on what’s made of them than what they themselves actually make. Going from the Beastie Boys to other rap, easy. But since I’m pretty sure hip-hop is what got me invested in critical thinking about race; made my interest in jazz almost adorably tinged with racial angst, like this was 1957; and more likely, has led me to approach sports the way I do. So congratulations, Beastie Boys. You changed my life, even if it’s been over a decade since I listened to anything—new or old—that you’ve recorded. When I saw your ABA-inspired shirt in a thrift store recently, my wife convinced me that it was not a good look. Still, I made sure to mention it in The Undisputed Guide as a key moment in ABA revivalism. That about sums it up, I think.

6 notes
beastie boys hip-hop music race personal history