Licensed To Ill

Ok, so I knew Beastie Boys from tracks like Sabotage and Intergalactic, so this was a good trip back into their older stuff for me.

I really enjoyed listening to this, it sounded a bit dated given the hip-hop/rap sounds that our out there these days, but it was also has a pure quality to it. I’m not sure how much guitars had been used in hip-hop before this, but it’s got a nice fusion feel from the rock guitars and the hip-hop beats and scratching. It is, as I feel real hip-hop should be, very minimalist in terms of instruments and tunes, everything is carried by the vocals and the rhythm. And it also has that old school feel with different MCs finishing off each others lines and speaking (is that the right term, should it be rapping, or in the case of the Beastie Boys, shouting) the vocal together.

This is definitely an album for when you’re having a bad day at the office. Pure shouty Hip-Hop, from start to finish.