Licensed to Ill

a work of absolute genius

Sorry to be a party pooper. Other than the two big hits it's pretty annoying. Also here in the UK it is hard not to think of Morris and the Minors.

i think they've been to white castle more times than Harold and Kumar

This one is a classic. It’s sounds like they had an absolute blast recording it. Girls and Fight For Your Right were some of the first songs I had on my iPod Shuffle back in 2008 and they still bang. While the sampling is more simplistic here compared to Paul’s Boutique it still works for what they are trying to do. Lyrics are funny and the wordplay is absolutely on point.

I remember when this came out; nothing had ever sounded like this before. I appreciate the black origins of hip-hop and the samples they used, based on music that inspired them to become musicians themselves. White kids growing up listening to Led Zeppelin and CCR obviously had different musical interests early on, but converged with hip-hop, bringing their own flavor to an emerging genre, while still using similarly-styled lyrics/cadence/flow. This might be the first album on this list I recognize as a true "essential." I hope to hear some of the earliest hip-hop albums on this list too.

Also, name another album with more singles than this one.

“Fight for your Right” ist eine Ansage und ein Megatitel. Der Rest des Album ist mittlerer bis mäßiger Schrei Rap, weshalb sich eine Wiederhören nicht aufdrängt.

Sounds like an SNL skit

2 ⭐️

I do like me a bit of the Beastie Boys. Three Jewish white kids made a place for themselves in a place they had no right to be. Rappers? Rockers? Yup!

First dude out of this book, loud, annoying, super basic instrumentals coupled with super basic lyrics, any other rapper after beastie boys does it better

The album for when you're ready to stop taking everything so seriously.

some of my favorite beastie boys songs are on this album, and i can see why it’s a regarded as a seminal piece of rap history.

that said it does show its age at times, and not always in an endearing manner.

classic

Girls might be one of the most annoying songs ever made and why do they say their names so much? 4 stars

Tavallaan fiilaan tätä energiaa mut toisaalta en. Arvoin kakkosen ja kolmosen välillä, mut oon ehkä paremmille levyille antanu kolmosta joten kakkosella mennään.

Yeah…this rules. Not my favorite music ever, but holy shit, it’s so damn good.

4/5

Took me almost 10 years to understand and enjoy this one, but it's something I listen to a lot. Originally I hated the party-boy vibe, before I realized it wast their schtick at this point. The lyrics and delivery are juvenile and snotty, but that doesn't stop them from being really catchy; arguably it helps. Stripped down beats and samples performed by Rick Rubin are as important (or more?) to this sound as anything else and showcase just how much Richer influenced hip-hop after this. Paul Revere has always been my fasvorite track, but other the "Girls", there are no stinkers on here.

YOU GOTTA FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT TO PARTY!!!

It’s been a long time since I’ve listened to this all the way through. I think I’ve grown and the album has definitely aged. And the group has disavowed much of it, if I remember correctly. What would have been a strong 4-star, bordering on 5, in high school is probably just a 3 now.

I am amazed that this album is from 1986. So many of these songs played a big part in the soundtrack of my high school and college years. It is my first time listening to the full album, but it is a pure classic.

Just phenomenal. I didn't really understand how good until later (too busy grumbling about how it wasn't "real" music unless it was a drums / bass / guitar / vocals - possibly keys at a push - combo)