We Still Won't Sleep till' Brooklyn

We lost a music legend recently. MCA, the one-third of the awesome and undisputed 80s hip-hop champ Beastie Boys has lost his life because of cancer earlier this May. He had been suffering apparently for quite some time but remained under the radar because of the higher-profile deaths and because of the explosively fast world of the internet. That and also the fact that the Beastie Boys despite all their accomplishments and all they’ve given to the music world---their achievements and quality remains very far below the radar.

MCA and his buddies Mike D and Ad Rock conquered the late 80s hip hop scene beginning with arguably one of the best albums in history Licensed to Ill. This album wasn’t just a breakthrough for hip-hop as it attracted a heavy pop audience as well as nab the underground rap and even rock audiences. Their clever mix of fun lyrics, heavy hooks, and excellent beats allowed for their breakthrough album to transcend the music industry and sell over 9 million copies—making them the first hip-hop act to have a #1 album and also become the best-selling white hip-hop group in the history of music. Destroying the stereotype of whites not being able to rap for the life in them (even though the first rap song to hit #1 technically is “Rapture” by Blondie), Licensed to Ill is the first major record to successfully and craftily combine rock, rap, hip-hop and punk in a nice soup of musical delight.

But they weren’t done, even if their 15 minutes of pop fame was up. When the 90s kneeled over grunge had overwhelmed the music scene. Nonetheless, the Beastie Boys continued cranking out albums, remaining below the radar again until their incredible song “Sabotage” conquering MTV with its superb music video and heavy-heavy riff. For the rest of their career, the Beastie Boys would remain a staple of the 80s hip-hop while keeping the underground crowd happy—every once in a while peeping its head in the mainstream (Sabotage, Intergalactic anyone?)

To me, Beastie Boys were one of the best in the business because of their inability to conform to the mainstream, instead focusing on creating all sorts of different beats, sounds, and rhythms. Their style remained the same, but the beats behind the lyrics consistently ranged from soft, to dorky, to hardcore. To me they are one of the few acts to create great music in three different decades. They did not sell themselves out to sell more records. They could have changed their style or suited a style that was more friendly to the radio. Instead, the Beastie Boys continued to innovate, and continued to remain faithful to their underground roots. And while this sacrificed their limelight in the Billboard charts, it kept their loyal fanbase quite happy.

Rest in Peace MCA, your contributions to music was quite phenomenal, and to this day remains quite understated.