I don't know of many bands whose transformation over the years is as dramatic as that of the Beastie Boys. Starting as a punk band and then evolving into what could be fairly accurately described as "frat rap," and then eventually becoming incredibly ambitious and accomplished musicians, they were pivotal in not only bringing a wider audience to hip-hop, but also breaking open the door for more experimental styles of beatmaking (the influence of Paul's Boutique on hip-hop alone is nearly incalculable; the fact that they were able to follow it up with albums like Check Your Head and Ill Communication is an achievement).

But right now we're focusing on that frat rap era, in the immediate wake of the Licensed to Ill album, controversial from so many different angles it's hard to count. Before the world realized the entire thing was basically a huge act, mocking everyone and everything (especially the machismo-type bros who bought the album en masse in 1986), it was lambasted by parents (the inflatable penises on stage during the tour probably didn't help) and by those within the hip-hop community who viewed them as insincere culture vultures who were profiting off of something that didn't belong to them (their aforementioned devotion to the craft of rapping and willingness to experiment with the limits of the genre demonstrated that they were, very much, part of the hip-hop community).

This video is perhaps peak early Beasties, as Joan Rivers tries to rap her head around what exactly these young men are all about. At the time of the interview, it seems what they were all about was a few 40s of Olde English.

It's great.

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