Licensed to Ill
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| Licensed to Ill | ||
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| Studio album by The Beastie Boys | ||
| Released | November 1986 | |
| Recorded | Spring 1986 | |
| Genre | Hip Hop Old school hip hop |
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| Length | 44:33 | |
| Label | Def Jam/Columbia Records | |
| Producer(s) | Rick Rubin | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| The Beastie Boys chronology | ||
| Rock Hard EP (1984) |
Licensed to Ill (1986) |
Paul's Boutique (1989) |
Licensed to Ill is the debut hip hop album by the Beastie Boys, released in 1986 (see 1986 in music). It was the first rap album to become popular among mainstream audiences, as well as the first major full-length by a white hip hop group.
Licensed to Ill was the first hip hop LP to top Billboard's Pop Albums chart. It also peaked at #2 on the Top Hip Hop/R&B Albums chart. The Source put it on their 100 Best Rap Albums list.[1]. In 2003, the album was ranked number 217 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[2]
Kerry King of Slayer made an appearance on the album playing lead guitar on "No Sleep Till Brooklyn", and appeared in the video, which is a spoof of heavy metal music. The name of the song itself is a spoof on Motörhead's No Sleep 'til Hammersmith album. King's appearance on the track came about because Rick Rubin was producing both bands simultaneously (Slayer's Reign In Blood was originally released on Def Jam).
The full album cover, front to back, features a Boeing 727 — with "Beastie Boys" emblazoned on the tail — crashing head-on into the side of a mountain. The tail of the plane has the Def Jam logo and the legend '3MTA3' which spells 'Eat Me' when viewed in a mirror.
The original title for this album was Don't be a Faggot. Some believe the Beasties may have only meant the general meaning of "Don't be an idiot," while others think there is no way they could not have not known some people would take it for the homosexual meaning, and that this double-meaning was part of the intended humor. At any rate, the term is often considered to be offensive and highly politically incorrect. Adam Horovitz has since apologised for the band's earlier homophobia. [1]
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
- "Rhymin' & Stealin'" (Beastie Boys/Rubin) – 4:08
- Contains samples from "Sweet Leaf" by Black Sabbath, "When the Levee Breaks" by Led Zeppelin, & "I Fought the Law" by The Clash
- "The New Style" (Beastie Boys/Rubin) – 4:36
- Contains samples from "2-3 Break" by The B-Boys
- "She's Crafty" (Beastie Boys/Rubin) – 3:35
- Contains samples from "The Ocean" by Led Zeppelin
- "Posse in Effect" (Beastie Boys/Rubin) – 2:27
- Contains samples from "Change le Beat" by B-Side & Fab Five Freddy
- "Slow Ride" (Beastie Boys/Rubin) – 2:56
- "Girls" (Beastie Boys/Rubin) – 3:14
- "Fight for Your Right" (Beastie Boys/Rubin) – 3:28
- "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" (Beastie Boys/Rubin) – 4:07
- "Paul Revere" (King Ad Rock/McDaniels/Rubin/Simmons) – 3:41
- Contains samples from "I Like Funky Music" by Uncle Louie
- "Hold It Now, Hit It" (Beastie Boys/Rubin) – 3:26
- Contains samples from "The Return of Leroy" by The Jimmy Caster Bunch, "Funky Stuff" by Kool & The Gang, "Take Me to the Mardi Gras" by Bob James & "Christmas Rappin'" by Kurtis Blow
- "Brass Monkey" (Beastie Boys/Rubin) – 2:37
- Contains samples from "Bring it Here" by Wild Sugar
- "Slow and Low" (McDaniels/Rubin/Simmons) – 3:38
- In the booklet included with the Beastie Boys' anthology set The Sounds of Science Adam Yauch (MCA) noted that "Slow and Low" was first recorded by Run-D.M.C. in the sessions for their second album, King of Rock, but was ultimately left off the original release (though the demo version later appeared on the album's 2005 Deluxe Edition re-release). Being one of the Beasties' favorite songs from the sessions, they got Run-D.M.C.'s permission to record a cover version. Yauch states that only two lines were changed for the Beastie Boys' version: "D sees real well 'cause he has four eyes" was replaced with "White Castle fries only come in one size", and a line stating Run-D.M.C.'s name was changed to "We're the Beastie Boys, not Cheech and Chong". The notes for The Sounds of Science expand the writing credits to "Beastie Boys/J. Simmons/D. McDaniels/R. Rubin/D. Hayden".
- "Time to Get Ill" (Beastie Boys/Rubin) – 3:37
- Contains samples from "Boogie on Reggae Women" by Stevie Wonder, "Take the Money and Run" by the Steve Miller Band, "Down on the Corner" by Creedence Clearwater Revival Custard Pie by Led Zeppelin, , & excerpts from the theme music from Green Acres and Mister Ed
[edit] Personnel
- Beastie Boys - Group, Producer
- Joe Blaney - Mixing
- Steven Ett - Engineer
- Kerry King - Guitar
- Rick Rubin - Producer
- Howie Weinberg - Mastering
- Steve Byram - Art Direction
- Sunny Bak - Photography
- World B. Omes - Cover Art
[edit] Music sample
- Rhymin' and Stealin' (sample) (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- Rhymin' and Stealin' is the first track on Licensed To Ill
- Problems listening to the file? See media help.
[edit] Charting positions
Billboard Music Charts (North America) - album
| 1986 | The Billboard 200 | No. 1 |
Billboard (North America) - singles
| 1986 | Hold It, Now Hit It | Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | No. 55 |
| 1986 | It's The New Style | Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | No. 22 |
| 1986 | Hold It, Now Hit It | Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales | No. 41 |
| 1986 | It's The New Style/Paul Revere | Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales | No. 20 |
| 1987 | Fight For Your Right (To Party!) | The Billboard Hot 100 | No. 7 |
| 1987 | Brass Monkey | The Billboard Hot 100 | No. 48 |
| 1987 | Brass Monkey | Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | No. 83 |
| 1987 | Paul Revere | Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | No. 34 |
| 1987 | It's The New Style/Paul Revere | Hot Dance Music/Club Play | No. 41 |
[edit] Trivia
Australian comedian Anthony Frosh did a stand-up routine performed for Australian radio station TripleJ based around the ambiguities of the original album title, Don't be a Faggot. Some excerpts include:
- Did the Beastie Boys just mean this phrase in the most casual sense? Like two guys sitting around watching TV when one says to the other
"Hey, pass the remote control buddy." "No way!" "Common, don't be a faggot just pass it over"
Or did they mean it in the most serious sense? "Kids, what ever you do, please, do not engage in homosexuality."
[edit] References
- ^ The top 100 Best Rap Albums list on Rocklist.net
- ^ The top 500 albums list on Rollingstone.com-the official website of the magazine Rolling Stone
| Beastie Boys |
| Mike D - Adrock - MCA |
| Discography |
| Albums: Licensed to Ill - Paul's Boutique - Check Your Head - Ill Communication - Hello Nasty - To the 5 Boroughs |
| EPs and compilations: Pollywog Stew - Cooky Puss - Rock Hard - Some Old Bullshit - Aglio e Olio - The In Sound from Way Out! - The Sounds of Science - Solid Gold Hits |
| Singles: Brass Monkey - Fight for Your Right - Hey Ladies - Sabotage - Intergalactic - Ch-Check It Out |
| Related articles |
| Old school rap - Capitol Records - Mix Master Mike - Money Mark - Discography - Awesome; I Fuckin' Shot That! |
