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I was really lucky to see Beastie Boys with Rancid and At the Drive-in. Still one of the best shows I've been to. Mid set, Beastie Boys played a bunch of their punk stuff. They were very energetic.

Beastie Boys taught me that being original and creative is cooler than anything else.

My middle school English teacher tried out for a Beastie Boys style rap group in the mid 90s. He was a drummer but they put on a beat and asked him to freestyle over it. The beat just played as he stared blankly for thirty seconds then quietly walked out of the building. He said there's nothing more embarrassing than walking home in rejection with a puma suit and a bucket hat.

The Beastie Boys having possibly the earliest recorded blastbeat is so funny

We miss you, MCA.

Not sure if you're aware, but "Fight For Your Right to Party" was meant to be satire of the whole frat party culture. The Beasties have been on record about how frustrated they were that people just took it straight as a proclamation of the culture rather than reading into the satire it was meant to be.

Kinda crazy to see you come out with this now because I was literally thinking to myself the other day that some people dont realize the level of influence the Beastie Boys had.

“Legendary” is not enough to say how awesome they are

Paul's Boutique holds up so well it's insane. It might be their best album still.

My dad grew up on the Beastie Boys, and I keep Paul's Boutique in my car as part of my rotation and I had to drive him somewhere a few weeks ago, so I put it in and played it and he just laughed because he hadn't heard it in so long, but I could tell memories were floating back

Funny thing that you mentioned Snow. The guy actually came from the streets (well, Canadian streets), ended up in prison for a moment and was raised alongside Jamaican street kids and those kids encouraged him to pursue music career. So he was basically everything he said he was, but sounded so phony that no one believed him anyway.

I don't remember what interview it was, but I do remember the Beastie Boys saying Fight For Your Right was essentially a troll song to make fun of the stereotypical "frat boys" and "entitled spoiled kids". It basically got adopted by exactly those people and is a constant running joke. I love that. That's punk as fuck to me.

They were beyond a doubt the kings of early 90's. We were mostly into punk and "alternative" music. They brought in funk and hip hop to the scene in a big way. Huge influence for sure. Changed everything.

Loved The Beastie Boys as a kid. No VW was safe in our town. Edit - Atari Teenage Riot are still one of my favourite bands. Would love to see a video on them one day.

The great thing about their era was how diverse it actually was. I saw Beastie Boys at Lollapalloza in 1994 (St. Louis), and during that tour they shared the stage w/ Smashing Pumpkins, A Tribe Called Quest, George Clinton, Green Day... pretty epic lineup

The Beasties are Hip-Hop's version of the Ramones or the New York Dolls. Ahead of their time, not always given their dues when they should be, and indirectly influencing tons of other artists as the years go by. Fitting that their origins lie in punk music like the aforementioned. Just goes to show how influential punk is in the grand scheme of things.

Paul’s Boutique and De La Soul’s 3 Feet and Rising are psychedelic/abstract hip hop masterpieces

An important element to Check Your Head and Ill Communication (and some of the stuff later) that you didn't mention is the funk/jazz/groove instrumentals with some dub influences that they performed live on the albums. I think this had a big effect on downtempo music in general and the continued use of vintage soul stuff in hip hop. And it showed just how musically curious and experimental they could be, which definitely paved the way for genre-hoppers like Beck.

I was fortunate enough to have really “cool” parents that didn’t police my music! I completely enjoyed Beastie Boys (Licenses to ILL) at 5 years old!! My older brother turned me on to the cassette and was hooked instantly!! That album was the very first compact disc I ever purchased! Still remember bumping ‘Brass Monkey’ on my 2-18” subs in my ride in high school!

Check your head is a fantastic album. Probably my favorite beastie boys album. It spans the whole spectrum of musical genres.

The Beastie's 'Licensed to Ill' and Run D.M.C's 'Raising Hell' broke rap into the mainstream, and put it on the radar of kids like me who were into skate-punk and hardcore bands at the time. Those two albums took over every ghetto blaster on the block. The Beasties may be white, but if you look at their entire catalogue, they are definitely one of the top artists in the entire genre.

The Beastie Boys were just always there. As someone who was born in 84, their music was always in my life. I know I would never list them as an influence, but it’s impossible to understate just how much their pioneering attitude changed the world around them. Even bands like Offspring, and Blink 182, etc.

When I was in grade 8 back in 1991, I inherited a mix tape from an older kid at school that was labelled "SNFU and Beastie Boys." I remember listening to it and thinking whoever labelled the tape had made a mistake, because I only knew of Beastie Boys from their hits off of License to Ill, and all the songs on this tape were clearly punk/hardcore. Then, a few years later, when they released Some Old Bullshit, I was like 'oh shit that was Beastie Boys!' Not sure how a mixtape of Polly Wog Stew made its way to the small town in Canada where I grew up, but this brings back a lot of fond memories from this era, especially discovering new music with very few resources to do so compared to today.

The Beastie boys are No doubt one of the best groups in music history. I will forever regret never seeing them live. RIP MCA

One of the greatest groups of all time regardless of genre. Truly genius levels of creativity and innovation along with a lot of wit and charisma.

Loved hearing the Gang Starr name drop. To me, that is still some of the best hip rop/rap ever created. Nice references as usual!

I was 17 in ’86 and “License to Ill” was MASSIVE! It absolutely changed the landscape of popular music the same way Nirvana did a few years later. It got suburban white kids into rap when the year before, they were into Iron Maiden and Motley Crue. I cannot understate the absolutely seismic shift that release had on youth culture just here in NorCal back then. For me now, “Paul’s Boutique” and especially “Check your head” and “Ill Communication” are better albums by far which I still return to… And I’m a Metalhead. Great video!

i went through a massive beastie boys faze around 2007-2011 as a teen and didnt know of anyone else who listened. they're a big influence in all my artistic endeavors and i still tight roll my pants to this day.

I never knew how sampling got started. Big respect to those first guys doing it. Making due with the tools you have instead of making excuses is what sets apart pros and hobbyists.

Great video, I showed my 3 and 5 year old boys the intergalactic video around 3 months ago because of the robot and now they are obsessed blasting out loads of their songs on youtube pretty much every day 🤣 This made me go back and listen to their full discography. It’s amazing from start to finish. They definitely don’t get mentioned as much as they should.

you said it perfectly. these guys were always so unapologetically themselves in such a way that just popped. they litteraly never ever ever missed which is almost impossible

Beastie Boys was my gateway to so much music! Both hip hop and punk! I will always appreciate what their music did for me.

I'm glad you appreciate Check Your Head. Pass the Mic is my fave Beastie Boys song of all time. It's still a jam to this day.

Thank you. I've been waiting so long for you to do a video on the Beastie Boys. Their book and live documentary film were amazing like their music. RIP Adam 'MCA' Yauch.

Ill Communication is a start to finish album for me. This album has Sure Shot, Root Down, Heart Attack, and Eugene's Lament all on one fucking album. It's everything, and in a way that makes it New York as fuck, and I will always love them for repping NYC so hard.

You broke down the Beastie Boys fantastically here!!!! Also thanks for shouting out DFL. Their album Proud To Be is one sick and underrated record.

There have been a few moments in my life where I can specifically remember the very first time I heard a band, and Beasty Boys is one of those times. It was 1986, I was 12 years old and had just gotten off of the school bus with some other kids from the neighborhood. The kid that lived in the house in front of where the bus dropped us off immediately ran into his house, opened up his bedroom window and blasted Fight For Your Right as loud as his boom box would go. I was blown away bc I had never heard anything like that before, but I've been a huge fan ever since. I only got to see them live once in 1998 during the Hello Nasty tour with Tribe Called Quest in St. Louis.

Hello Nasty didn’t do anything new musically????? Wtf?! That album is a journey. From 808 bass playing like a double kick drum, to classics like Intergalactic, there’s jazz, and some crazy one off songs that defy genre. It was groundbreaking, and once it caught on, everyone I knew was rapping this album a cappella from start to finish

The friendship with Biz Markie led me to listen to his albums. I am thankful to this band for opening my ears to other things and learn to just enjoy music

Been there since the beginning with stake broad and boom box in hand . Can say they paved the way . I’m still a big fan and always will be . As everyone should be . Got to see them twice in the 90s . Will never forget it . Input up there as one of the high light of my life . I have seen Johnny Cash and June Carter live also ! They still influence me. Beastie Boys for life !!!!

Solid episode, Finn! We needed this one.. long overdue appreciation of the Beastie Boys

Beastie Boys were a huge influence. Check your head and ill communication were both soundtracks to my life as a teenager.

personally The Mix up will always be a personal fav, that record just shows how amazing they really were as musicians. serious grooves.

Once again Finn Mckenty you have managed to make me feel old LOL. I graduated high school 5 months before License to Ill came out. We immediately loved it. I had always had eclectic taste I grew up on R&B rap music was just peeking through I Remember Loving groups like Sugarhill Gang Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five Kurtis Blow and that was before Run-DMC and LL Cool J really came out. At the same time I was straight up into heavy Rock young listen to Def Leppard and Motley Crue and AC DC Aerosmith. So Beastie Boys were just a natural progression to me. It took me at least a year before I really started the light Paul's Boutique because you're right it was very different from License to Ill. By the time check your head came out music to me was in an all-time high. You had the grunge movement you had gangster rap you had tons of underground bands coming to the Forefront Red Hot Chili Peppers one of my favorite bands. You had these incredible rap groups like Cypress Hill. The Beastie Boys fit in perfectly with that time it was such an Eclectic time. I mean you could love R&B you could love Pop you could love heavy metal you could love thrash. I remember when I first heard sabotage it was the year I moved away from my home to another state. I remember having that on cassette as I'm driving to my new home where I've now been for 26 years. Have to say as a fifty-three-year-old I'm incredibly proud of the Beastie Boys and the Legacy they created how they went from frat boy rappers to speaking about peace and love and respecting women and people having equal rights.

To this day, I have so much respect for the beastie boys because tbh I first heard them on guitar hero 3 and fell in love. They introduced me into that music and diversified my musical outlook!

Good to see Check Your Head getting some love. Definitely my favourite from them overall.

Got to see them at Bonnaroo 2009, one of, if not the last show before MCA died. May he Rest In Peace.

I was lucky enough to see Beastie Boys in Dec 2004, when they toured the UK. It was my first year at Uni and I blew 2 week's food budget on tickets, travel and overpriced venue beers. It was totally worth it though. Even all these years later, it was a top 5 gig for me. I'm so happy Finn has covered Beastie Boys. He covered some different ground to the also brilliant Beastie Boys Story on Apple TV. Man, I cried my heart out to that. It's was such a beautiful love letter from the Mike D and Ad Rock to their fallen brother, MCA. For me personally, this is one of Finn's best videos ever. Love it!

Liscenced To Ill is one of my top 5 records of any artist throughout all genres. It completely changed the way I looked at the things that defined the differences between the genres. They brought everyone together, and the record was a masterpiece. Literally every song on the record could have been a single.

Always had love for the Beastie Boys, ever since I was in fourth grade and Intergalactic came out. Good point on their influence being such a widespread thing that people don't even realize it. A lot of musical and cultural movements wouldn't have happened without the Beasties, they really helped unite rap fans, rockers, hipsters, skaters, etc and break down a lot of musical and cultural barriers. Excellent video.

I got tickets for Beasties and RUN DMC summer of 19887 I was 15. Dad was mowing the lawn and had a massive heart attack. Mom called a few hours later from the hospital and she told me Dad said he knew how much that concert meant to me and I better go or he'd be mad!! Dad just turned 84 a couple weeks ago and I'll be 51 next week.

Mix master Mike is an amazing DJ, his solo albums are crazy! Probably my favourite DJ ever

One of my top three bands ever. Beastie Boys had mad respect across the board pretty much. RIP MCA ♥️

I remember when Licensed to Ill came out, I was in high school. It was a complete mind-blow. I got to see them live with Run-DMC, great memories!

Paul's Boutique was The Biggest Album my freshman year of college in '89. You could hear it pumping out of dorm rooms into the quad at Porter College all day, any day and every day. I have several copies of the fold out wrap around vinyl edition.

I listen to ill communication almost every week, love this guys! Excelente video!

They are so unique. They are pioneers. One of my favorite bands . RIP MCA

This is one of the most interesting bands, forever linked to the scene and to our lifes as well. Nice work man!! 🇵🇹

I grew up with the beasties. My all time favorite band and I still play them daily. Check your Head was a huge influence on me in my adolescence. Definitely helped me branch out to more east coast rap, and some hardcore. Great video Finn.

Great video. They helped me as a HS freshman Bay Area thrash metalhead discover hip hop, punk, and NYHC. And my musical palette has been expanding ever since.

Phenomenal video man! Beastie Boys are far too often overlooked and you nailed this one!

These are the copy paste wiki episodes that Finn hates to make so lets make sure we share it around, like and subscribe and even install Mech Arena and claim our free starter pack. We need to let our opinions be known.

Awesome as always Finn. I'm a few years older than you (76) and from a small country town in Victoria, Australia. I thought I was a skater as I had one of those big fat old school skateboards at the age of 9-10. So anyways, my two older sisters had a house-party and I was banished to my room. Clear as day, I remember Rhymin & Stealin pumping through the house before being ejected and a "smash hits" various pop tape replacing it. The next morning, I was stoked to find the original Licensed To Ill tape left behind. I'd never heard anything like it in my life and for some reason I figured it was "Skating Music". It took many a listen before I "got-it", but that was it for me - skating, playing bass, punk, hardcore, metal and rap was my jam from then on. Had my first weed listening to Check Your Head with my mates. First real job in IT with Hello Nasty. So many memories. The only thing I'd add to your excellent video and thoughts is that their first forays into the frat-boy raps were meant as a joke. They then leant into it further after the track(s) got picked up - and I certainly don't blame them. :o)

Excellent job on this video! You gave the Beastie Boys the respect and credit they deserve

Just a couple of months ago I was listening to all their discography and thinking of how influentials they are, and also how almost no one mention them

All 3 Beasties are ethnic minorities, so "white rappers" feels incredibly off (especially as someone who is of the same background as them). They're a great group, though. Was surprised to learn that they were originally a punk band. I dig the punk material too.

Back in the day my mom bought my sister and I tickets to The Beastie Boys (failed) Rhyme and Reason tour. We were so bummed when the tour was canceled. I started listening to The Beastie Boys because my older and cooler sister did. I was a young alternative / metalhead, and seeing them combine so many genres definitely influenced me to broaden my musical horizons. And to not be timid or apologetic for for being into a variety of music and art.

The Beastie's were the quintessential band for me growing up. "She's On It" was the first single I ever heard and was able to catch them on their Hello Nasty Tour and again for Five Burroughs. Good shit.

I just wanted to mention the instrumental Album "The In Sound from Way Out!" from 1996. It pretty much contrasts all the other music they did. It shows a funky/jazzy side and is pretty impressive instrumentaly! And my mother loves it.... that's worth something right?

If you haven't yet, definitely check out the Beastie boys memoir. The audio book is also really well done being read by Mike and adam along with several other people. If you like Finn's video here you'll love the book.

I got to see them with Run DMC in DC in 1987 as a 10 year old. 😂 I'm not even a big hip/hop fan but that was very much an amazing, life changing experience. One of the greatest shows I've ever been to still to this day 🤘

Liscence to I'll was my first album I bought by them in 9th grade and I was obsessed with the Beasties all through high school and even 20 yrs later. I even had the poster for the music video for Sabotage on my wall growing up. They were such huge musical influences for me and were very talented with not only rapping and singing but playing and creating original music on each album and always staying true to themselves.

As a 90s teen, I all wanted is to be a Beastie Boy, they represented what cool was

I still remember arguing with my musician coworker when he said Beastie Boys wasn’t one of the most influential bands in today’s music 🤯

The Beastie Boys are definitely one of my favourite bands and shaped so much of my musical tastes from my adolescence onwards. Long live the Beastie Boys! Rest in power Adam Yauch

"The Beastie Boys They are, they're comin' home" I love the Beastie Boys the diversity of sounds and styles like: Time for Livin, Get it Together, So What 'cha Want, Tuff Guy, Shake Your Rump, Root Down, and so many more! Plus I still love wearing Puma's with an SNFU beanie and they play the beats using acoustic instruments! Great Episode Finn!

There's a six-part series on the history of the Beastie boys on a podcast called NO DOGS IN SPACE. It could be found on Spotify Apple music and everywhere else.

The beasties were more important to the 90s than every 'grunge' band. They were as much, if not more, influential than the the Beatles.

The Beastie Boys are easily one of my favorite bands of all time and one of the best ever in general, imo. Been a huge fan since I was 4-5 years old and I’m almost 30 now.

Beastie Boys are one of my all time favorites, listened to Paul's Boutique and Check Your Head endlessly throughout high school.

Aren't you the long lost fourth member of the Beastie boys Finn lol?

Hey Finn, I would love to know your thoughts on twenty one pilots and specifically how they merge genres so well

Top 5 favorites of all time not only as a band but also as a live show. Tribe Called Quest and the Beastie Boys at old McNichols Arena in Denver 1998 hands down one of the best experiences of my life. Thanks for posting!!

What a nice trip down memory lane. You and I must be the same age, because I remember check your head as fondly as you seem to. That was a hell of a good time

The Beastie Boys are their generation's Beatles. Yeah, I said it.

Why are you yelling at me?

I didn’t know I needed this video in my life but I definitely did. Great video!

I love the Beastie Boys and even had the thrill of meeting them backstage way back in 2004. Thanks for putting together this great history video. I think the reason they don’t get cited as an influence is because of how many times they reinvented themselves. If an artist said they were influenced by them, the next question is, which era? It’s probably easier to cite a band with a more consistent sound as an influence. But of course, the reinvention is what made them great.

I remember taking my brother's Paul's Boutique CD when I was a kid and from there Beastie Boys became the first band I got obsessed with

Thank you for covering my favorite band of all time. RIP MCA

Thanks Finn - great vid. Hello nasty was my intro to BB and I never knew they started out as hardcore! Fascinating content as always!

Beastie Boys have been my favorite band for 12+ years now. They inadvertently turned me to the hardcore/deathcore/metalcore scene simply because some of their riffs were just so damn heavy.

As a Beastie Boys diehard, you did pretty well with this video. Thanks for spreading the message.

This is my favorite video you've done thus far. They've been getting traction and respect on reaction channels lately.

Many thanks. Never realized how Beasties impacted so many different scenes. Maybe the reason no one cites them as an influence is it was always hard to hold them down - their style changes too quickly and most people stick to 1 lane. They reinvented themselves so many times, people just got confused - they were decades ahead of their time on so many fronts.

Thank you for giving love to Paul's Boutique! That is their greatest album. And by the way your explanation of their sampling skills on that album was much needed. I don't know how many arguments I got into trying to explain that the sampling on Paul's Boutique set the stage for all sampling in the future

My first vehicle was a 1978 Dodge van. It was powder blue with a big white stripe on the side. It was 1994 and we would pile up and hit different spots around Jacksonville Florida to skate or head out to Jax Beach to surf. I still think of those days when I hear Paul’s Boutique or Ill comes on. My van was called The Beastie Bus

Beastie Boys are largely overlooked for their influence and contributions. I grew up on these guys. Got to see them with the Buddhist monks and Q-Tip back in the 90s. Much love and happiness over the years because "life ain't nothing but a good groove, a good mix tape to put you in the right mood." 💛

I'm a 52 year old Beastie Boy. They had a major influence on my life till this day.