The Beastie Boys: The Integration of Hip-Hop

Within its thirty-year existence, Hip-Hop has grown from its humble beginnings in the rugged streets of the South Bronx, New York to being one of the foremost disseminators of Pop culture across the world. Black and Latino youth created the phenomena and it slowly proliferated throughout the New York Metropolitan area. However, Hip-Hop was slow to have a major effect outside of the Tri-state area. That would all changed by 1985 when three Jewish-American white kids from New York City would help inject Hip-Hop into the bloodstream of American culture.

Formed in 1981, The Beastie (Boys Entering Anarchistic States Towards Internal Excellence) Boys used a background in Punk Rock music to form their own style of Hip-Hop music. The group switched to performing Hip-Hop under the influence of producer Rick Rubin. At the time, Hip-hop was considered Black inner-city music. With the emergence of The Beastie boys, rap music became more multicultural. White kids from the suburbs suddenly began to take to the music and it showed in the spike in record sales.

With the success of their LP Licensed to Ill, The Beastie Boys became pioneers of the music genre. Licensed to Ill was the first rap album to reach #1 on the Billboard album list. Licensed to Ill also became the best selling rap album of the 1980’s. They helped break down cultural barriers to bring rap music mainstream recognition. Their success helped to open up rap to a wider audience across America and abroad.

Although their next album, Paul’s Boutique, did not measure up to the success of Licensed to Ill, it met much critical acclaim. Paul’s Boutique took the art of sampling to the next level. Produced by the Dust Brothers, the album used over 100 samples and is listed by many as one of the greatest Hip-Hop albums of all time.

The Beastie Boys have had a lasting affect on pop culture. The group, which is one of the longest tenured rap groups in history, are still recording and performing today. They have influenced other rapcore groups such as Limp Bizkit and Korn. The group members, Mike D (Michael Diamond), MCA (Adam Yauch) and King Ad-Rock (Adam Horovitz) also brought a Rock and Roll party atmosphere to Hip-Hop with their music.
Most importantly, The Beastie Boys presence helped make Hip-Hop legitimate in the eyes of young white music consumers and gave Hip-Hop its first exposure to mainstream audiences.