In a genre that is rampant with misogynistic jeers, both in and outside the music, Ill Communication is a refreshing example of the opposite and a departure from their frat boy beginnings. About a decade later, it was my first exposure to the Boys, and I was hooked. It nonchalantly fused fast, merciless garage off the back of jazzy flute loops that drove lyrical flows rife with infamous name-drops and feminist undertones. It’s regarded as one of their most musically diverse records, drawing from hip-hop, jazz, funk, punk rock and even world music. Released May 1994, Ill Communication was the The Beastie Boys fourth studio album and their second to reach No.1 on the Billboard charts. Although, it wasn’t until I walked into a CD store, when CD stores were still a thing, and I picked up a copy of Ill Communication that my adoration for hip-hop, and three Jewish NYC punks, truly awoke. It was the beginning of my penchant with discovering new music on a regular basis. I was beginning to take charge of the music I was listening to, what I liked, and what I would rather set my teeth on fire to than endure on some commercial radio show.Īt that time, I had already developed an obsession with bands like AC/DC, Jet, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Sex Pistols, and The Clash. I was in my senior year in high school and coming into my own consciousness as a young’n.

Beastie boys shambala