Re: Artist of the Decade? (My first Beasties rant)
Do you know any black people who listen to the Beasties? Do other rap acts give them shout-outs on record? They are making white music for white people. Nothing wrong with that, but it ain't hip-hop. JP Says Leyla Turkkan, former publicist for the Beasties: All the really hardcore hip-hop heads wouldn't publicly admit it, but quietly, they'd all say to me, "Oh my God, the beats on this record are the most unbelievable thing on earth." From Chuck D to LL Cool J to KRS-One, they were all in awe of Paul's Boutique. Says Russell Simmons: Eric B. told me he could steal 15 albums off the Beastie Boys' second album. JP, you're right about the lack of on-record shout-outs for the Boys--as these quotes attest. And you're probably right about them making music for people who generally aren't black. But, if you go to a Beastie Boys concert, I guarantee you that you're gonna see kids, adults, whites, Asians, Latinos, males, females, and several other groups I ain't representing right now. I guess one of the inherent problems with discussing the Beasties as rap artists is the amount of essentialism that must be chopped away before you can discuss the music they create. But, just because black people don't publicly admit to listening to them (or dismiss them) doesn't necessarily mean that what they're creating isn't hip-hop. Of course, I would say that Check Your Head and Ill Communication are more "influenced" by rap than traditional rap, but it could also be argued that what the Beasties were doing with those albums is redefining what was possible with not only rap, but also rock 'n' roll. I will say this, though. You make the mistake and judge a man by his race you go through life with egg on your face. Lance, amateur Beasties-ologist . . .
Re: Artist of the Decade? (My first Beasties rant)
I love "Paul's Boutique" - in fact I might call it one of the more important albums of the last quarter century, but artist of the decade? No way! Since Paul's Boutique, it's really only been select moments of brilliance in my opinion. In fact, I couldn't find a damn thing to like about the latest album, and only a few things on the last few. Paul's Boutique was the last thing they did where I can still put it on and listen from track 1 till the end, and there aren't many of those records that can do that. "Mighty Joe Moon" does that for me. So does every Pavement record and both Sparklehorse albums do it too (even though "vivadixie" is better). I could go on and on and on
Re: Artist of the Decade? (My first Beasties rant)
The local hip-hop promoter is a buddy of mine. He has lectured me over chronic many times about the difference between rap and hip-hop. As far as I can remember hip-hop is a cultural movement (analogous to rock and roll in the fifties) while rap is simply a form of music. The primary elements of hip-hop seem to be cultural cross-pollination, societal marginalization and opposition to the dominant culture. There's also a lot of talk of racial harmony, anti-consumerism and weed as well as more than a hint of spirituality (surprisingly often Islam) and talk of social change. Of course every one of Dave's homies has his own variant on this and they aren't all so positive. The only constant is the marginalization. I might be going out a a limb, but 3 rich Jewish kids from Manhattan are probably not gonna qualify. Not that anybody I know is wasting their time figuring out who's keeping it real and who's not. It's just that the Beasties spend a lot more time with Sean Lennon and Billy Corgan than they do with the Wu Tang and Dr. Dre. Mike D. isn't guesting on many No Limit productions. And the social change they advocate is fairly innocuous and harmless to the status quo. That's not to say they don't make great records. Paul's Boutique is behind only Abbey Road, Sign O' the Times and Gone on my list of all time faves.
