The Beastie Boys originally formed in 1978 in New York as a four piece punk hardcore band. After a few years and a few band member changes, they became the Beastie Boys featuring Mike D., MCA, and Ad-Rock (Michael Diamond, Adam Yauch, and Adam Horovitz, respectively), and eventually would become arguably the most successful rap artists in history. They have sold over 20 million records in the U.S. alone, won three Grammy Awards, and toured the world extensively. Over the course of their career they have released eight studio albums, four of which have gone to number one on the Billboard 200, and of the other four, the lowest chart position was #15. They've also released 9 EPs and four compilation albums. For some odd reason, they have not had much success with singles, only having one that could truly be called a hit and reaching the top ten. The band is also known for its charitable work, including women's rights, animal rights, and speaking out for Tibet. The Beastie Boys were elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. Sadly, Adam Yauch passed away from cancer that same year, and the Beastie Boys disbanded.
"Fight for Your Right" was released in 1987 from their first big hit, Licensed to Ill. It would become the biggest single of their career, reaching #7 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100. The album eventually would sell over ten million copies...and was the first rap album to hit #1.
Fun Fact: There's a pie fight in the music video for "Fight for Your Right" but most people don't know that because the video was shot on the cheap, the whipped cream on the pies was rancid and everyone couldn't wait for the shoot to end so they could wash the stench off. Yum!
First off, let me state for the record that I'm about, oh, forty years too old for this tune, but what the hell, most of us men are in a permanent state of arrested development so it's probably not that surprising that I like it. The song was originally intended as an anti-frat party song...but apparently young college men didn't get the joke and it became what it was not intended to be. For my money, I love the quirky lyrics, the way the three band members trade off vocals, and the magnificent job the boys did incorporating rock and roll into essentially a rap song (the electric guitar is killer)--all the while not turning what should have been a novelty song into a novelty song. As I've noted before, sometimes music is just plain old fun...and this week's tune is just plain old fun.
Rap Sheet: "Your Mom busted in and said what's that noise?/Aw Mom you're just jealous it's the Beas-tee-Boys!"
Enjoy:
Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee
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