Category: Beastie Boys

BEASTIE BOYS INSPIRE CHARACTER SLOWEN-LO’S NAME IN NEW MOVIE ‘STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI’

The Beastie Boys inspired the name of a character in the new Star Wars: The Last Jedi movie with one of their hit records from 1986. Entertainment Weekly says that a tall alien character named Slowen-Lo featured in the film is named after the Beastie Boys’ “Slow and Low” track off of the collective’s debut album, Licensed to Ill. Slowen-Lo is voiced by actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the new movie, which released to theatres on December 15th.

This isn’t the first time that the Star Wars franchise has made a reference to the iconic rap group. The Force Awakens also featured a Beastie Boys easter egg with another alien character and resistance pilot, Ello Asty, who was inspired by their Hello Nasty album title.

JJ Abrams, the director of the new Star Wars films, has not been shy about his love for the Beastie Boys and hip-hop culture. This is yet another way for the late MCA’s legacy to live on following his tragic passing in 2012.

KRS-One Accidentally Pays Tribute to Living Beastie Boy on Song About Dead Rappers

Here’s proof that hip-hop’s biggest stars could also benefit from using a fact checker every once in a while — the legendary rapper KRS-One accidentally paid tribute to the wrong Beastie Boy on a new song dedicated to dead rappers.

As XXL reports, KRS-One just released a new album called The World Is Mind, and the release includes a track called “Hip Hop Speaks from Heaven,” dedicated to fallen rappers.

Unfortunately, in the writing process KRS-One shouted out the wrong Adam from the legendary hip-hop trio. Adam “MCA” Yauch passed away in 2012, while Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz is still very much alive.

While many have surely mistaken their nicknames in the past, KRS-One made his flub in song. On “Hip Hop Speaks from Heaven,” he says, “Like a late fog in the mist / I see King Ad-Rock and rest in peace Nate Dogg / Their names and their natures will last, like Chris Lighty and my man Bill Blass / When it comes to hip-hop, here’s the lesson / Start praising your own people, hip-hop speaks from heaven.”

Ten Awesome Adam Yauch Rhymes: Beastie Boy MCA’s Best Lyrics

Each of the Beastie Boys brandished a style of rapping that set him apart from the pack. But for many fans, it was the distinctive growl of MCA that consistently rose above the beats. From the trio’s rough and rowdy early tracks to their refined and respected final cuts, Adam Yauch delivered his rhymes with a depth, grit and lyrical precision that was renowned and respected in rap and rock circles alike.

Throughout his life, Yauch evolved from a street-wise Brooklyn brawler into a peace-practicing Buddhist activist, and his enlightenment was reflected in the lyrics he committed to wax over the years. Check out 10 of MCA’s most famous verses and pay homage to one of hip-hop’s most cherished voices.

 

No Sleep Til Brooklyn (1986)

“Born and bred in Brooklyn the U.S.A./ They call me Adam Yauch but I’m M.C.A./ Like a lemon to a lime a lime to a lemon/ I sip the def ale with all the fly women”

 

Paul Revere (1986)

“Now my name is M.C.A. I’ve got a license to kill/ I think you know what time it is it’s time to get ill/ Now what do we have here an outlaw and his beer/ I run this land, you understand I make myself clear.”

 

Shake Your Rump (1989)

“A puppet on a string I’m paid to sing or rhyme/ Or do my thing I’m in a lava lamp inside my brain hotel/ I might be freakin’ or peakin’ but I rock well”

 

Pass The Mic (1992)

“If you can feel what I’m feeling then it’s a musical masterpiece/ If you can hear what I’m dealing with then that’s cool at least/ What’s running through my mind comes through in my walk/ True feelings are shown from the way that I talk”

 

So What’cha Want (1992)

“Well I’m as cool as a cucumber in a bowl of hot sauce/ You’ve got the rhyme and reason but no cause/ Well if you’re hot to trot you think you’re slicker than grease/ I’ve got news for you crews you’ll be sucking like a leech”

 

Sure Shot (1994)

“I want to say a little something that’s long overdue/ The disrespect to women has got to be through/ To all the mothers and sisters and the wives and friends/ I want to offer my love and respect to the end”

 

Root Down (1994)

“Bob Marley was a prophet for the freedom fight/ ‘If dancin’ prays to the Lord then I shall feel alright’/ I’m feeling good to play a little music/ Tears running down my face ’cause I love to do it’

 

Intergalactic (1998)

“Well I got to keep it going keep it going full steam/ Too sweet to be sour too nice to be mean/ On the tough guy style I’m not too keen/ To try to change the world I will plot and scheme”

 

An Open Letter To NYC (2004)

“Dear New York I hope you’re doing well / I know a lot’s happen and you’ve been through hell / So, we give thanks for providing a home / Through your gates at Ellis Island we passed in droves”

 

Make Some Noise (2011)

“Pass me the scalpel, I’ll make an incision/ I’ll cut off the part of your brain that does the bitching/ Put it in formaldehyde and put it on the shelf/ And you can show it to your friends and say that’s my old self”

Star Wars’ Awesome Tribute To The Beastie Boys

Star Wars: The Force Awakens hasn’t even hit theaters yet and it’s already experienced more dissection and examination than most films could ever hope for. We can’t exactly say that we’re surprised, as few movies have ever developed as much hype as the upcoming continuation to the Star Wars saga. While J.J. Abrams has successfully maintained a great deal of secrecy around the film, he has confirmed one Easter egg in The Force Awakens, and it is a direct reference to the Beastie Boys.

A new report from Yahoo! Movies indicates that the character of Ello Asty from The Force Awakens is in fact a reference to the 1989 Beastie Boys album “Hello Nasty.” Check out Abrams’ full quote on the matter below and see for yourself:

“It is for me. But I’d be lying if I said I came up with that name. It was suggested to me from the creature department. And I loved it for that reason, because it referenced the album, and also because it spells out Lost. And so both of those felt like, they were funny reasons to approve that name. Some names came from the creature department; some came from us, from me, from other people I’m working with. But it was one of the things that just felt like something funny that people might smile at.”

In the film Ello Asty is a reptilian looking X-Wing fighter pilot who fights for the Rebellion against the TIE fighters of the First Order. Think Wedge Antilles only with way more connections to late 1990’s hip-hop. It’s an awesome reference as a well as a reminder that as science-fiction adventure, Star Wars: The Force Awakens will not take itself overly seriously, which likely is a lesson that was learned from the overly dramatic prequel trilogy.

Ad-Rock confirms Beastie Boys “are done,” but still have lots of unreleased music “in the vault”

Come this weekend, Beastie Boys fans will be able to see one Adam Horovitz, aka Ad-Rock, on the big screen. The MC has a starring role in Noah Baumbach’s latest project, the LCD Soundsystem-scored film While We’re Young, appearing alongside Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts. To celebrate the movie’s release, Ad-Rock sat down with GQ for an insightful new interview.

Among the most interesting tidbits discussed, Ad-Rock confirmed what many had already surmised after Adam “MCA” Yauch tragically passed away in 2012 tragic passing: the Beastie Boys are officially no more. “We’re done,” he said. “Adam Yauch started the band. It’s not like a thing where we could continue without him.”

MCA’s absence is not only felt within the confines of the hip-hop group; Ad-Rock noted how he still misses him on a personal level, saying, “…Adam was one of my best friends; I saw him more than I saw my whole family,” adding, “You know, me, Adam, and Mike were together every day, recording, touring, as friends. And so: huge hole.”

MCA’s passing has also led him to contemplate death — or rather, how one can never be properly ready to face it: “You can never prepare yourself for this. I feel like, maybe when you’re an old person, you can. I don’t know how that comes off, but I feel like, when you’re old, you know it’s happening. You know what I mean? Your brother or your sister’s gonna go. Your best friends are probably already gone. All of this — you’re wrapping it up, so it all makes sense. But when you’re, you know, fortysomething, you never really — you don’t expect it to actually happen.”

Despite the end of the Beastie Boys, Ad-Rock revealed that there is a bunch of previously unreleased material “in the vault” that he hopes to someday unearth. He said most of it is instrumental “like, hours and hours of, like, really bad jamming. Which is awful to think about, but some of it’s really funny,” and “then there’s a lot of stuff of us talking in the middle of it, which is priceless. We were just really stoned, talking about, like, where we should get food, or Cirque du Soleil or some shit.”

Elsewhere in the interview, he talks about his life with wife and punk rock veteran Kathleen Hanna, who has been battling Lyme disease; his future in the film industry; and his forthcoming memoir written with Mike D. Check out a few choice excerpts below and/or read the full interview here.

Ad-Rock is trying to adjust to a Beastie Boys-less life:

“It’s a huge deal. And so, you know, it’s probably just taken me time to sit and think and try to figure out what I do next or who I am now or, you know, all of that stuff. Because since high school, I was in this band. And you know, it’s one thing when you’re in a band in high school, but then to have it last for so long — that’s who I am and what I did forever. And so now I’m just trying to figure it out.”

As sad as MCA’s absence has been, Ad-Rock is moved by how the late MC has been remembered:

“Well, you know, all of that stuff made me really happy, that people cared about Adam so much. And there was graffiti all over the world, and it meant a lot. He meant a lot to a lot of people. That’s really nice. That’s rare that that happens: that one of your best friends dies and, internationally, people are freaking out.”

He and Mike D are continuing to work on a memoir, but admits it’s still a ways off:

“My big idea was to have our friends tell the story. And just, you know, we would sort of interject. My best friends have been my best friends since I was a little kid, so they’ve seen everything. And then we started reading it back, and it was really bad. So I was just like,’Me and Mike need to write it, because, you know—no offense to Morrissey’s friends, but you’d rather read what Morrissey is saying than what Morrissey’s friends are saying.’”

The book will reportedly draw on the “weird shit” that has happened to him ever since he became a celebrity, such as:

“I first went to L.A. in ’88 to be in a movie, and I met this guy, Donovan, who turned out to be one of my best friends, lifelong friends. And one of the first nights I got there, he was like,’Oh, there’s this crazy Hollywood party; I want you to come.’ So a bunch of us went to this crazy Hollywood party, and all these — like, the most random celebrities. It was the best way you could be introduced into, like, a Hollywood party. And you know, we’re drinkin’ — it’s this huge house up in the hills somewhere — and everybody’s there, and I’m gettin’ drunk, and it’s like, next thing I know, I turn, I’m on the dance floor, and George Michael’s just standing next to me. I’m like,’This is awesome.’ And then Axl Rose came — like, stepped to me at the party and told me to stop ripping off Led Zeppelin. I’m like,’How am I even — how is this even happening?’ You know, this thing happens to all of us, I would assume: Like, there’s a moment in your life — and I would assume it happens for a lot of different reasons in a lot of different ways, like how you dress and your state of mind or whatever — but there’s this fun time in your life that you’re at, and you kind of always picture yourself that age. So like, I’m 48, but I still kind of think that I’m 22.”

29 Years Later, Beastie Boys’ ‘Licensed to Ill’ Sells 10 Million Copies

Beastie Boys’ legendary debut album Licensed to Ill has reached diamond status, nearly 30 years after its release. The RIAA’s database notes that as of March 4th, the LP has earned the certification, bestowed upon albums that sell 10 million copies.

Def Jam released Licensed to Ill on November 15th, 1986. Produced by the label’s co-founder Rick Rubin, the hip-hop trio’s debut is stocked with some of the group’s biggest and most memorable hits, including “Fight For Your Right,” “No Sleep Till Brooklyn” and “Paul Revere.” It was certified platinum in February 1987.

Ill became one of the first successful hip-hop albums, and the Beastie Boys found continued success through the early millennium, selling over 40 million copies of their LPs. the group released their final release, Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, in 2011.

Following the death of Adam “MCA” Yauch in 2012, surviving members Michael “Mike D” Diamond and Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz made clear that they would not continue with the group. Ad-Rock recently spoke with Rolling Stone about life following the loss of Yauch and disbandment of his group. “It’s a big challenge. It’s like, ‘What do you do with your life when your former life is no more?’ I have to figure it out. I don’t know if I ever will.”

Horovitz also revealed to RS that he and Diamond have no plans to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Licensed to Ill. “Twenty-five should’ve been a bigger deal, but I didn’t even notice,” he noted. “Thirty is a bland anniversary. Maybe the 50th.”

The surviving members have been working on a memoir, originally slated to be released in 2015. “There’s not way it’s going to happen [before 2017],” he admitted. “I might get sued by saying this, but I’m just being realistic.”

Life After Beastie Boys: Ad-Rock Looks Forward, and Back

Aside from the speckled grey hair and beard, Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz doesn’t look that different from the impish dude that Beastie Boys fans remember. But while the 48-year-old rapper is still following creative pursuits, he’s mostly kept a low profile since the 2012 death of Adam “MCA” Yauch.

With the Beastie Boys on what could well be a permanent hiatus, Horovitz has filled the void in numerous ways: He is set to appear in Noah Baumbach’s upcoming comedy-drama While We’re Young as Ben Stiller’s Brooklyn-dad buddy, has played bass in comedian-singer Bridget Everett’s band and has been scoring movies like the romance Truth About Lies and No No: A Dockumentary about baseball player Dock Ellis.

Today, Horovitz is sitting in New York’s Num Pang, a local sandwich shop that recently partnered with the rapper on a sandwich (pastrami served with his favorite sides: Wise chips and Virgil’s cream soda), with all proceeds going to charity. True to Horovitz’s punk-rock roots, recent endeavors like this and While We’re Young are more a function of organic relationships — he linked with the Num Pang owners after a chance meeting at a dog park — than career strategizing.

“I’ve known Noah for 20 years and he’s just in our family circle,” Horovitz tells Rolling Stone. “I play in a band with our friend Bridget [Everett] and I invited him to come one night last year. Afterwards, we were having drinks and he was like, ‘You wanna be in a movie?’ I said, ‘Y’know, one of your movies. Do I have to audition?’ And he said, ‘No, I’m asking you if you want a part in one of my movies.’ ‘Of course.'”

The film deals, in part, with youth subculture and the ability (or inability) to let go of your past, a subject Horovitz can relate to as he sees the New York he grew up in turn from bodegas to luxury condos. “My friend Ada Calhoun is finishing a book about St. Marks Place and basically every generation since Peter Stuyvesant days have been like, ‘When I was at St. Marks Place, that’s when it was cool,'” says Horovitz. “So the ‘kids today’ thing has been going on for centuries. It’s a silly argument. It’s always been the same.

“But it is sad that there’s a fucking Duane Reade or CVS or fucking bank every other block. I don’t know who has all this money to do all this banking. It’s bizarre. That’s why I like a place like [Num Pang]. And then they’re going to have 200 of these places and we’re going to hate them and say, ‘I wish Starbucks would come back.'” He laughs.

Nostalgia’s been on Ad-Rock’s mind since at least 2013, when the two surviving Beastie Boys announced that they would be writing a memoir set for release later this year. Ad-Rock laughs when asked if 2015 is still a feasible release date for the as-yet-untitled book. “No!” he says. “It’s nowhere near that. There’s no way it’s going to happen [before 2017]. I might get sued by saying this, but I’m just being realistic.”

Horovitz and Diamond have started writing the book separately. “I write a bunch of stuff and I send it to Mike, and Mike writes a bunch of stuff and he sends it to me. We just comment and have arguments on what we wrote,” Horovitz says. “It’s more difficult to remember than it is emotionally. It’s fun. I’m remembering the fun things; not the depressing things. It’s going to be a weird book. [Publisher Spiegel & Grau] are giving us the freedom and leeway to do whatever we want.”

Looking back has its limits, however, as Ad-Rock scoffs at the idea of a 30th anniversary commemoration next year for the group’s debut album Licensed to Ill. “Twenty-five should’ve been a bigger deal, but I didn’t even notice,” admits the rapper. “Thirty is a bland anniversary. Maybe the 50th.”

Beastie Boys have sold more than 40 million albums worldwide. But being in one of the most successful hip-hop groups of all time doesn’t make leaving a job after nearly 30 years any easier. Horovitz would like to score more films, but admits that “I hope that they’ll be paying jobs in the future. That would be nice.” Currently, he says, “it’s more friends that say, ‘Can you do this?’

“It’s a big challenge,” adds Horovitz in a tone more resigned than sad. “It’s like, ‘What do you do with your life when your former life is no more?’ I have to figure it out. I don’t know if I ever will. It’s been fun to just play bass in a band and play live, but be in the background. I’m used to having other people [plan stuff] for me. I don’t plan anything, so at some point, maybe I have to start doing that.”

Beastie Boys take Monster Energy Drink to court

The legal battle between Beastie Boys and Monster Energy Drink will finally come to a head this week. On Tuesday, Adam ‘Ad-Rock’ Horovitz is set to appear at Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse in New York City, where he’ll represent the hip-hop group in their copyright infringement case against Monster.

Beastie Boys originally filed a lawsuit in August 2012, alleging that Monster “willfully, maliciously, and oppressively” used portions of the group’s songs in a promos video for an event called Ruckus in the Rockies. The advertisements also suggested that Beastie Boys were personally involved in the event.

The suit sought a permanent injunction, as well as statutory damages of $150,000 for each infringement of the group’s works. Horovitz is set to take the stand at 1:00pm ET Tuesday, and the trial is open to the public.

In his will, Beastie Boys’ Adam ‘MCA’ Yauch banned usage of his music in advertisements. His bandmates have abided by those wishes; in addition to their suit against Monster, the group took legal action against Feminist toy company GoldieBlox after they used a parody of their song “Girls” in a commercial.

Beastie Boys Accuse Maker of ‘Girls’ Viral Video of Copyright Infringement

This week, a toy company called GoldieBlox ignited a chatterstorm with a video of three girls playing with a Rube Goldberg-type contraption and singing alternative lyrics to the Beastie Boys song “Girls.” Since the video went up on Monday, it has been viewed more than seven million times and fueled discussion about how to get young girls interested in pursuing scientific careers.

But apparently not everyone is thrilled with the viral video.

According to a lawsuit filed on Thursday by GoldieBlox, “the Beastie Boys have now threatened GoldieBlox with copyright infringement. Lawyers for the Beastie Boys claim that the GoldieBlox Girls Parody Video is a copyright infringement, is not a fair use and that GoldieBlox’s unauthorized use of the Beastie Boys intellectual property is a ‘big problem’ that has a ‘very significant impact.'”

Goldieblox is now going to a California federal court to get declaratory relief that the video is not a copyright infringement. Read the complaint.

The plaintiff is a startup company focused on selling sophisticated toys for girls. The video makes the point that not all young females want pink ones and dream of being princesses.

One of the reasons why the video has captured the cultural imagination is its choice of music from the Beastie Boys, who it must be noted are still defending a copyright lawsuit alleging illegal sampling on the album “Paul’s Boutique.”

In the original song, the Beasties sang: “Girls — to do the dishes/ Girls — to clean up my room/ Girls — to do the laundry/ Girls — and in the bathroom/ Girls, that’s all I really want is girls.”

The video replaces those lyrics with: “Girls — to build the spaceship/ Girls — to code the new app/ Girls — to grow up knowing/ That they can engineer that/ Girls. That’s all we really need is girls.”

Is that “fair use”? To answer the question, a judge will be looking at the four factors of fair use: the purpose and character of the use, the nature of the copyrighted work, the amount and substantiality of the portion taken and the effect of the use upon the potential market.

The first of these factors figures to raise a provocative discussion. On one hand, the video is commercial speech. It might have a larger message, but it was also intended to sell toys. (In fact, Goldieblox is said to be a finalist for an Intuit competition to make a Super Bowl commercial.) If using copyrighted works without license was as easy as making a social point, surely a lot of corporations would try to get away with that. Certainly some politicians have tried without success.

Then again, there’s no doubt that this particular advertisement has earned some cultural cache, and thanks to the degrading lyrics of the original song, there was always opportunity to do something novel commenting on the predecessor.

According to the lawsuit, “GoldieBlox created its parody video with specific goals to make fun of the Beastie Boys song, and to further the company’s goal to break down gender stereotypes and to encourage young girls to engage in activities that challenge their intellect, particularly in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math. The GoldieBlox Girls Parody Video has gone viral on the Internet and has been recognized by the press and the public as a parody and criticism of the original song.”

NYC park named after late Beastie Boy Adam Yauch

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City playground where the late Beastie Boy Adam Yauch learned to ride a bike as a child has been renamed in his honor.

City officials on Friday rechristened Brooklyn’s Palmetto Playground as Adam Yauch Park. Yauch’s parents and fellow Beastie Boy Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz attended the renaming ceremony.

The rapper known as “MCA” died last May at the age of 47 after a nearly three-year battle with cancer. The gravelly-voiced Yauch helped make the Beastie Boys one of the seminal groups in hip-hop.

The playground includes full and half basketball courts, a community garden, a greenhouse, a small fitness area, an open play space, drinking fountains, and a dog run.