Issue #58-C: Beastie Boys – Licensed to Ill

Released:  November 15th, 1986

Recorded:  1986

Genre:  Hip-Hop, Rap Rock

Record Label:  Def Jam / Columbia

Duration:  44:33

Producers:  Rick Rubin, Beastie Boys

Personnel

Track Listing

Singles

Why Licensed to Ill is One of My Favorites

The Beastie Boys have done some really interesting stuff over their career, and their material has always dazzled both critics and fans.  Debut albums can often introduce a fresh and innovative sound, but rarely are they considered classics; usually it takes a band about 3 albums to fully mature as professional artists.  You could probably say the same thing about the Beastie Boys to an extent, as most critics hail Paul’s Boutique as the group’s crowing achievement.  Their 1992 magnum opus is a little experimental for my tastes, and for all around accessibility and enjoyment I turn to Hello Nasty…at least when it comes to the 90’s.  But when we’re talking favorite record from the Beastie Boys ever, it’s got to be Licensed to Ill.

Like a number of artists in this series, the Beastie Boys was one of those groups that fell within the scope of what us fans of alternative, grunge, and metal “should” like.  I’d heard a few songs at the time, probably “Fight for Your Right” and “No Sleep till Brooklyn,” so when I spotted both of these tracks on Licensed to Ill, I was more than happy to give it a whirl.  As it turned out, I was always familiar with “Girls,” I’d just never known that it was a Beastie Boys song.

This album was one of the first instances of me really enjoying a complete record.  Many albums took me a while to get into, and sometimes it took a few accidental listens before I appreciated the majority of songs on an album, but I was instantly a fan of Licensed to Ill in its entirety almost from the get-go.  This is an incredibly fun bunch of songs, with a lighthearted feel and distinctive sound.  It’s weird to think that this was the end result of a combination of production from Rick Rubin (who would become popular after working with a number of artists in multiple genres), management by Russell Simmons (hip-hop mogul), an album that the boys originally wanted to title Don’t Be a Faggot, and 3 Jewish white boys.  But somewhere along the way all of these unlikely pairings created something memorable, something highly accessible, and something that sounds unique and original even today.

Licensed to Ill isn’t exactly the mixture of rap and rock that we’ve come to understand today.  It’s a more seamless integration of the two genre, primarily because rap wasn’t nearly as rigid and strictly defined in the mid 1980s.  The vocals are certainly of a rhythmic nature that would become synonymous with hip-hop, but not all songs feature such a simplistic delivery.  The boys shout, sing, and often land in some middle ground between rapping and singing (“Rhymin’ & Stealin’,” “She’s Crafty,” “Fight for Your Right”).  A number of songs feature guitars in varying levels of prominence, for instance they take on more of a background element in “Rhymin’ and  Stealin'” and “The New Style,” but they’re right at the forefront in “Fight for Your Right” and “No Sleep till Brooklyn.”  The latter two are as much rock as a rap, maybe even more so.  Most of the time rap rock is scene as adjusting the sounds of rock to fit into rap beats and tempos.  In “Fight for Your Right” in particular, it’s more like the group is playing with different vocal stylings within a traditional rock song.  The mix of both live drums and drum machines is another factor that helps the album straddle both worlds effortlessly.

So much rap of the 80s (and well into the 90s) centered around portions of beats from other songs that were lopped.  Licensed to Ill is one of the earlier examples of the rappers’ talent coming first and then constructing beats around this talent.  Much of the rapping has a sing-songy feel to it, though it’s also extremely catchy and the guys do an excellent job with their rhythm and wordplay.  Having 3 MCs also proved to be an asset; some of the best moments of the album occur when the 3 of them pick up each other’s lines and quickly respond to each other’s lines with precision timing.  “Brass Monkey” comes to mind first where the group’s “banter” persists throughout much of the song, as well as a fantastic moment near the end of “Fight for Your Right” where they each utter a syllable of “bee stee boys!”

Lyrically these guys have an unmatched ability to turn a story into a song.  Not only is the music engaging, but listening to the lyrics is fun because there is actually something to follow rather than bragging, shout outs, and much of what popular rap has now become known for.  “Paul Revere” is the best of all of these narratives, with a stripped down beat that puts the focus completely on the unfolding story.

Rappers will occasionally acknowledge the importance of the Beastie Boys, mainly addressing the success of Licensed to Ill and how it formally introduced rap into the mainstream, but what’s even more impressive is how accepted the album is among the rock crowd.  I still hear “Paul Revere” and “Fight for Your Right” regularly on modern rock and alternative radio station, with the stray “Brass Monkey,” “No Sleep till Brooklyn,” or “Girls” from time to time.  The “rock attitude” is undeniable, and I daresay there’s even a pinch of hardcore punk in there with the group’s forceful but not necessarily aggressive or confrontational delivery.  What’s great is that Licensed to Ill doesn’t even sound all that dated.  The production is a little on the soft side (ironic considering that Rubin would later be involved in the “loudness wars”) but the guitars are crisp, the beats are sharp, and the vocals are as clear as one could ask for.

Licensed to Ill is really what set the precedent for future Beastie Boys records.  They still stuck mainly to rap, but they always remained open to applying different sounds and finding new ways to define exactly what a rap song is.  For this reason they always seemed to remain more popular with “rockers” than with “rappers” (on a consumer level at least), though I think this is exactly what made them so appealing to those who wouldn’t normally listen to rap.  They never had a singular vision for what they did, they just did it.

For me, Licensed to Ill is just too damn infections not to love.  Later albums may have seen a more diverse, experimental, and groundbreaking approach, and while I enjoy most of their work, I always fall back on Ill’s easy going feel.  It’s catchy, it’s funny, and it’s still surprisingly original.

Written by The Cubist

Other albums from the Beastie Boys in this series:

• 1998 – Hello Nasty – Issue #17

Back to The Cubist’s 90’s Albums

Written by The Cubist

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I collect as much video gaming paraphernalia as I can get my hands on, especially when it comes to hardware. With over 40 systems including oldies like the ColecoVision and Intellivision, obscurities like the CD-i and 3DO, and the latest and greatest including the Wii U, PS4, Xbox One, 3DS, and PS Vita, I get easily overwhelmed. Most of the time you can find me firmly nestled sometime between 1985 and 1995 when it comes to my games of choice, but I’m also having a great time seeing what the 8th generation has to offer.

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