Ok to me I LOVE the Beastie Boys. There music is Fun Fun Fun. I don't know alot about rap music so for those rap lovers out there would you mind explaing to me how three upper middle class Jewish boys were accepted by rap fans and other rappers as dope where so many other white rappers are considered fake, phoney and imitating and profiting off of black culture?

OF COURSE THE BEASTIE BOYS WERE ACCEPTED IN THE HIP HOP COMMUNITY...

For anybody who thinks otherwise: know this...

From my own personal history growing up in Los Angeles I will tell you this...

The whole "Licensed to Ill" album used to get played on KDAY 1580 AM (the FIRST 24 hour hip hop station in the world -- if you know your hip hop, you KNOW this station) back in the mid- to late-80s right alongside N.W.A., Eazy E, Low Profile, Eric B & Rakim, BDP, Public Enemy, etc.

"Brass Monkey," "Paul Revere" and "Hold It Now Hit It" were played in house parties in COMPTON, INGLEWOOD and SOUTH CENTRAL LOS ANGELES. And are STILL played on urban radio (and in hip hop setlists) to this day. I experienced this when it happened, so this is all firsthand info, not some textbook s**t.

For anybody to call them "wiggas" or "not down," I have no idea where you're coming from because that SO was NOT THE CASE in the 'hood.

Now, what are y'all talking about?!

ChristopherTracyParade said:

I disagree with this assessment. You totally missed what the Beasties were conveying if you just dismiss them as simply acting like wiggas. In the early years of hip hop you had your *thing* -- the elements which defined your style. The whole panache of Licensed to Ill was this snot-nosed New York whiteboy vibe, it was goofy, irreverent and over-the-top, but yet and still it was 100% THEM... and it BUMPED. Hip hoppers back then got *it*. It was a different climate in the '80s, the Beasties could get away with their style (as much as the Fat Boys could get away with their antics and still yield respect in certain circles). There was a fun element to them circa 1985-88 as well as with hip hop. They weren't on the roster of the Def Jam tour just because -- they had to be true to the craft. That's just how they rhymed in their earlier years.

Sure, they evolved later on with Paul's Boutique and succeeding LPs, but in my short remark I simply suggested that they were genuinely talented emcees who actually studied their craft and that resonated with hip hop audiences.

JANFAN4L said:

Wait...aren't you in your early 20s? You were going to house parties when License to Ill first came out? I know your mama wouldn't approve!

JANFAN4L said:

No, they were clown acts. You can even tell by the way they shot their vidoes. They weren't serious about hip hop until they realized it was a viable way of making money. They WERE trying to be black or else they would not have tried to DRESS like the black styles of that era. But they WERE in fact mocking the ap world. Now, when you mentioned Paul's Boutique, THAT'S right around the time they wanted to be taken seriously which tells you what? They were just clowns clownin'.

OF COURSE THE BEASTIE BOYS WERE ACCEPTED IN THE HIP HOP COMMUNITY...

For anybody who thinks otherwise: know this...

From my own personal history growing up in Los Angeles I will tell you this...

The whole "Licensed to Ill" album used to get played on KDAY 1580 AM (the FIRST 24 hour hip hop station in the world -- if you know your hip hop, you KNOW this station) back in the mid- to late-80s right alongside N.W.A., Eazy E, Low Profile, Ice T, True Mathematics, Eric B & Rakim, BDP, Public Enemy, etc.

"Brass Monkey," "Paul Revere" and "Hold It Now Hit It" were played in house parties, sold in swap meets, blasted in the streets in COMPTON, INGLEWOOD, WATTS and SOUTH CENTRAL LOS ANGELES. And are STILL played on urban radio (and in hip hop setlists) to this day. I experienced this when it happened, so this is all firsthand info, not some textbook s**t. Even in the '90s, The Beat & Power 106 were bumpin' "Sabotage" and "Intergalatic."

For anybody to call them "wiggas" or "not down," I have no idea where you're coming from because that SO was NOT THE CASE in the 'hood.

Now, what are y'all talking about?!

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[Edited 2/20/06 18:36pm]

RipHer2Shreds said:

LMAO!!! I knew somebody was gonna say this. No, I wasn't at no f**king house party when I was in 2nd grade. I was listening to the radio then. I am an intelligent person, I do have a vivid memory. I do talk to people. I'm not pulling this out of my ass.

ChristopherTracyParade said:

So what if they clowned around? Did they need to be conscious in their lyrics or something? That was the Beasties style, that's what they did. No, they weren't trying to be anything but themselves. I don't agree with anybody who says they were trying to act like wiggas because it's just not the case.

From my own personal history growing up in Los Angeles I will tell you this...

And another thing -- unrelated -- what's with the ageism on the Non-Music board on the Org? Knowledge is knowledge. I'm coming at you with REAL ASS INFORMATION. For you to dismiss me because of my age compared to another older (but, maybe, less intelligent) orger is really f**king stupid.

JANFAN4L said:

I never said they had to be conscious, did I? No. I just said they were clowning the rap world not respecting it. They ONLY started respecting it once they realized they could get paid from it. They were a novelty act when they first dropped - White Boys that wanted to be Black that were mocking rap.

JANFAN4L said:

I'm from L.A. and remember KDAY as well and did an internship there right before they went off the air in 92, but you have to remember back then rap was still new = 1982-1988, so they didn't have to worry about "street cred" the way white rappers nowadays have to. Sure, their records were played but that doesn't mean they weren't clowns, that just means people found their records funny and entertaining with a nice beat. Again, if they tried to drop RIGHT NOW with that SAME steelo...they'd be laughed at and shut down before the record even dropped.

ChristopherTracyParade said:

No they weren't clowning the rap world. Where did you grow up? Were they played in your area? I'm sorry, but in L.A. they were a LEGIT HIP HOP ACT and they were played on BLACK/URBAN/HIP HOP radio (YES -- RIPHER2SHREDS & Others -- I did listen to KDAY when I was younger and I do take offense to all that you-were-young-so-how-would-you-know bulls**t). They were on the DEF JAM TOUR with Big Daddy Kane, LL Cool J, I mean c'mon. I don't know where y'all are coming from.

ChristopherTracyParade said:

Rap was new, and? I mean, are you trying to say their impact in hip hop was somehow not worthwile because they wanted to have fun in their earlier years. It would be counterfeit if they were trying to mimick Kool Moe Dee or Eric B & Rakim's style. The Beasties did what THEY DID best. They had a irreverent, over-the-top style. They pulled from their experience and molded it over a hip hop beat. Of course, they joked around, but like I said a few posts up THAT WAS THE ERA, hip hop was FUN back then. It wasn't on this all-materialism/all-thug mode like it is nowadays (and I'm surprised you -- with the level of hip hop knowledge I've seen in your threads over the years -- wouldn't recognize that).

JANFAN4L said:

I grew up in the heart of L.A. and was a regular in Leimert Park and rolled Crenshaw, so don't doubt my authenticity. I also used to freelance write for Rap Pages so I DO know what I'm talking about. But you're missing the point: No one isn't saying people didn't like their music, the point is they were clowning and mocking the rap world and MOST people failed to either pick up on it or they didn't care, the music was good but make no mistake about it, they were clowning the rap and not trying to respect it.

ChristopherTracyParade said:

OK, I see where you're coming from, but the part where I disconnect with you is the assessment that the Beasties were "clowing the rap world" (in other words dissing the community, not contributing, just taking away from the genre -- ultimately expropriating). That's how interpret what you're saying...

Now, if you view an artist like Eminem (who, like it or not, is a hip hop vet) he owes his whole style to The Beasties. They were highly influential to a lot of white emcees (even black ones). When I think of early De La on 3 Feet High, they were acting comedic, but they also came across as intelligent -- the Beaties had a comedic quality, too, and it may not've been apparent that they were intelligent, but we saw that on later albums like the alternative classic Pauls Boutique and Ill Communication. Their catalogue is rich. To say they are clowning the rap world given their overall body of work is really reaching and almost blasphemous. If anything, they are CONTRIBUTING to the game and showing how diverse and multifaceted it is!

Ok. Christopher Tracy, we see eye-to-eye. It's cool. I edited this because it's basically pounding out what was said eariler.



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[Edited 2/20/06 19:25pm]

JANFAN4L said:

Good. Now make sure you're STILL reppin' the WESSSSSYIDE!

JANFAN4L said:

I grew up in the heart of L.A. and was a regular in Leimert Park and rolled Crenshaw, so don't doubt my authenticity. I also used to freelance write for Rap Pages so I DO know what I'm talking about. But you're missing the point: No one isn't saying people didn't like their music, the point is they were clowning and mocking the rap world and MOST people failed to either pick up on it or they didn't care, the music was good but make no mistake about it, they were clowning the rap and not trying to respect it.

brownsugar said:

I had to admit I used to like that song when it came out,

dewalliz said:

oh stop! i did to! he was still fake

CinisterCee said:

Nuff said.

ChristopherTracyParade said:

brownsugar said:

I know I know. But I am going to admit I still do like his so-called rival MC Hammer.