Adam Yauch Park, Brooklyn Heights. It’s only right…
The Beastie Boys On Chapelle Show (never aired).
Some Words On Why The Beastie Boys Matter So Much To Me:
This was inspired by an article that came out on my folks site Largeup.com today about the Beastie Boys’ connection to reggae music. I left this comment on their article today:
The Beasties truly represented my musical path more than any other group ever. I came of age (11-13) going to see to hardcore bands like Bad Brains and Murphy’s Law, who obviously both had big reggae/ska influences. At the same time, I was being introduced to “The Harder They Come” soundtrack (which includes the “Stop That Train” sample), Eek A Mouse, Steel Pulse, Yellowman and the like. I remember, my boy had all these reggae artist names scrawled on his book bag, and it just had a HUGE effect on me. I went and found all those artists.
After being raised on classic rock, yacht rock and 80s music, hardcore and punk were the next logical step. Then, all the hardcore kids in Boston (where I grew up) took off their Doc Martens, and put on sneakers, started listening to/going to more reggae, ska and hip-hop shows, and called themselves “sneaker boys”. Precisely at this time, I moved to NYC. I never went to another hardcore show again. I got completely obsessed with listening to Red Alert, Stretch Armstrong, Kid Capri and Silver Dee on the radio, and just got consumed by hip-hop. Later on, I went back and caught back up on all these previous phases, which was great therapy.
The Beasties represent the true nature of hip-hop and dj culture to me. The people that started hip-hop (and dj culture), just loved music. ALL KINDS. But the Beasties also had a musical progression that mirrored mine, which transcends any of that for me. The connection between reggae, punk, hardcore and hip-hop is something that I think many people who call themselves “hip-hop fans” just don’t even understand.
Sunny Bak is a fashion photographer that, by chance, found herself shooting for the Beasties during the “License To Ill” era. The story (as told to Jay-Z’s Life And Times Blog) is that the Beasties used to hang around Sunny’s photo studio with all these models she was shooting, and that’s how she met them. Sunny used to just throw the boys into her photos because she needed someone to test the light out on. Haha. Later on, when they got a deal, they called her up, and asked if they could use the photos, and hire her.
Last Thursday (the day before MCA passed), I attended an opening for Sunny’s show with Cey Adams of rarely seen photos from the Beasties in the early 80s. It’s actually still up at 675 Hudson St/Ivy Brown Gallery. We ended up meeting Sunny through a mutual friend over there, and were pretty amazed at her down-to-earth nature.
I just dug this video up above, that sees Sunny being interviewed about the photos she contributed to the “Kings Of Rock” show at Rush Arts Gallery last month. She’s got some great stories to tell, and this video doesn’t even have 300 hits, so I’m sure they’re stories you haven’t heard.
Beastie Boys 1985 “Beastie Groove” LIVE from Madonna’s “Like A Virgin” Tour.
Haven’t thrown anything up here about Adam Yauch yet, but I knew I needed to, so here goes. I probably have more Beastie memories that any other band ever. One in particular is right here:
I moved to NYC in 1990. I was 15. In the fall of 1991, I went to a Beastie Boys show (by myself) at a club in NYC called “The Building”. This was just before “Check Your Head” came out. When I got there, I was just expecting The Beasties and DJ Hurricane. I was completely floored when they came out wielding instruments, and proceeded to play some of their old hardcore/punk songs, along with some of the songs that would be on “Check Your Head”, with bass, drums and guitar. My 16 year old mind went splodey. I had no idea what was going on, and I was alone, so I had no one to share it with. I grew up on hardcore, going to see Bad Brains and Murphy’s Law since I was 12 or so, so I was familiar with the sounds, but I was not expecting them to manifest at this point in time. Thanks Beasties! Thanks M.C.A. R.I.P. ADAM YAUCH.
Ad Rock was recently a guest on Top Chef - This is Ad-Rock’s Finger Lickin’ Good PB and J segment. Messy stuff.
(Source: zimbio.com)
The Beastie Boys traipse around Tokyo in 1992.
(Source: youtube.com)
Forty Deuce Radio show is an oasis. Me, Ad-Rock, Sam Sever, Large Professor, Purple Tape Pedigree (Geng Grizzly), Kool Keith and many others have all been guests on the Forty Deuce Radio show on East Village Radio.
Big thanks to Purple Tape Pedigree for assembling a great List Of Forty Deuce Guest Sets.
You can find my set of old breaks/samples on there, as well as ones from Sam Sever and OG Chino.
Also, see the video above, where Ad Rock tells Geebee and Keene (The Hosts Of Forty Deuce) how Geebee gave him his first Baseball Mit ever. They go WAY back.
