Licensed To Ill

Great album. I was like “YEAH! fuck school!” I am 44 years old. Who was I saying that to? My kids??

Surprisingly good and enjoyable. Loved it and cannot give it less than 4 stars.

The vocals get annoying after a while and some of the lyrics are questionable at best. Still, the seeds for what was to come are there and the B-side goes hard. Rating: 6/10

I love the Beastie Boys. Paul’s Boutique is one of my fav albums and took my by complete surprise when it came out because I’ve always found this one to be super annoying. I can see the innovation here but it still grates. I’m glad they grew up

Inspired by acts like Run DMC and Ice-T, the Beastie Boys emerged from the New York hardcore punk scene to bring a new style of rock and metal sampling to the hip-hop scene. Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin at Def Jam immediately snatched them up put them on tour opening for Run DMC (also signed to Def Jam), which gave them instant legitimacy in the world of hip-hop. It also started a life-long collaborative mentorship and friendship between the two bands, with Run DMC sharing songs with the Beastie Boys and the Beastie Boys inspiring Run DMC to sample more rock music (which led to the famous Aerosmith Walk This Way collab). With production work from the now legendary Rubin and the aforementioned mentorship from their heroes, Licensed to Ill is a robust, rowdy, and confident debut that combines streetwise swagger and a DIY approach to hip-hop. It's equal parts impressive and endearing because you can tell the boys from the boroughs are having a good time, something that rarely comes across through the speakers. Aside from a couple songs I could take or leave, it's one of my favorite records in the Beastie Boys discography.

no me gusto. lo unico bueno es q ahora se de donde salio la musiquita de la propaganda, la de tara tara tara ta ta tara ta ta 4/10

I couldn't hate this more than I do

What rufus said

I don’t know what I expected but it wasn’t this. Really not an enjoyable album.

This album changed rap. Definitely not what I would normally listen to and it's not my favourite, but I still immediately knew some of the songs and enjoyed such an amazing album.

Brooklyyynnnnn (and I also mostly mean Manhattan) in the mother fucking house!!

Real cool

It was interesting getting Paul's Boutique two albums before. This isn't as enjoyable/more gimmicky than the PB, and frankly, I don't align with it as much. Still a fun album.

Strangely I listened to Paul's Boutique 17,168 times but hardly ever listened to this one. It sounds similar but not as good for some reason I can't quite put my finger on. Nostalgia?

I think this album is hard carried by Brass Monkey and No Sleep Till Brooklyn.

Not my style but okay

i do like the beastie boys but i also feel like if you were to remove the backing track it would sound like several drunk men on a street corner at 3am

Gotta love the singles. The rest... Meh

i am also snatchin gold chains and nickin pieces of eight

I don't know, if I'd been between 14 and 25 when the album came out, I might have liked it. I recognize "pieces" of other artists' work, and those are usually good. Oh shit, I just realized I was that age. Anyway, I've never listened to the album all the way through and I'm not going to again. As for the familiar songs, I haven't heard them on the radio in ages. Are they outdated? I'm not sure whether to give it one or two stars; I've definitely heard much worse. The whole thing is typical adolescent boy stuff, which can be good, but it doesn't have to be.

1/5 never been a fan of them

Yeah alright. I can get into this. High blood pressure music if I've ever heard any. What the hell are we talking about. This is kinda 14 year old music I can't lie. I like the New York accents. It's quite fun. I'm actually rocking with this quite a bit. Big fan of whatever's going on. Oh wait let em cook. Why are we tropical all of a sudden. Ok nevermind what are we doing. When it's good it's real good when it's bad it's literally a buncha kindergarteners banging pots and pans. I'm fighting Mr. Boys I'm fighting. Well it's the most popular song for a reason. God these guys are so aura less. Wait hold on they're cooking. Def not the best song or even one I would listen to but this is kinda crazy. Wait what justice for the piano player. Kinda lost me in the middle there but they're bringing me back. That spells ill?? I thought they were saying it's time to get three. Interesting. I do like this. Favourite: Paul Revere Least favourite: Girls

Fucking fun, full throttle, high octane thrill ride, zero calories. It's the aural equivalent of some dumb 80s/90s action movie and it's wonderful.

Like their music and I'm a fan of this album in particular

3.75

4.5

It's been so many years since I've listened to this boys.. I thought it might have aged poorly, but all I am is transported back to my youth and totally chuffed that I remember as many lyrics that I do. 5 beasties / 5 boys

Riktig klassiskt DEBUTALBUM! Ser mig själv strosa runt på Manhattan med en jävla attityd.

Hemskt dåligt. Jobbiga röster och dåliga texter.

Vilken jävla pangdebut! Det är skoj och ibland behöver det inte va mer komplicerat än så

nej fyfan

Tänker att det lär ha varit ett jäkligt bra partyalbum 85. En extra poäng för You gotta fight for your right to paaaaaaaartay

If you’re gonna make yourself listen to The Beastie Boys, might as well go with this one. It’s got all the songs you know.

Paul's Boutique is the Beastie Boys album everyone should hear, and if they like it they should hear Licensed to Ill.

A bit juvenile at points, but still good

Party-rock anthems that were originally made in jest to the party rock scene of the mid-80's. The entire album was made to get people up and moving, which it did quite well. Lyrically and sonically, the beginning of mainstream sampling techniques and young hedonistic rhymes take center stage. Great listen to discover earlier hip-hop gems and samples.

No sleep til Brooklyn. What we needed and still need

The Mr. Meeseeks vibe is again strong with this one.

not their best.. paul revere is the shit still tho

Some hits, some misses. Hard to listen to the whole album back to back but can't deny the bangers. 2 stars but leaning 3.

Bis auf die beiden Banger in der Mitte ziemlich durchschnittlich. Meilenweit von der "Ill Communication" entfernt.

Stabil, aber kein Vergleich mit den späteren Alben.

Some classics in here but a few filler songs too

Good energy of the songs throughout. Even though hip hop is not really something I usually listen to or really enjoy, this was great.

God forbid a white boy get some motion

hard pass comedic [derogatory]

When the opening track starts with the drumming of "When the Levee Breaks", it had better be Led Zepellin. Oh no, it's shoutiest wankers in the world shouting "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" over and over again. FFS. The rest of the album is just more shouting, and more samples. The last time a Beastie Boys album came up on here, I think I wrote something rude about Mike D. Still stands.

Sitting down to actually think about this question and ponder its answer, I think I finally have it. Country is the worst music genre, followed closely behind by hip hop. I just can't stand listening to it. This old-school hip hop is just so repetitive; it's just yelling violently into the mic. Yeah, I know it's about the lyrics, the tone, the message, and the emotion, but I just get nothing from it. It's not conveyed through a medium that speaks to me or that I can understand. I can't say good things or bad things about this album in particular because it's the same old thing, just like with past albums of this sort. It's just not for me.

Beastie's debut album was remarkable in several ways. A group of white jewish rappers mix hip-hop with rock and creates absolute party anthems like Fight For Your Right or No Sleep till Brooklyn.

The og white rappers

Nah

Some of the songs still rock. But then some of them grate. And almost all are devoid of decency. As my daughter said, I don't think they like girls very much.

Starter sterkt med god 4er-følelse helt til og med "Slow Ride". "Girls" gjør at jeg kommer helt ut av flyten, synes det funker ekstremt dårlig og trekker nedover mot 3ern. "Fight For Your Right" og "No Sleep til Brooklyn" gjør lite for å løfte nivået, slitsomt rockepreg som det ikke føles som de får helt til. Synes andre halvdel generelt er svakt. Albumet klart best når de holder seg til hiphop. En del kult og en del svakt resulterer i en 3er.

Slitsomt å høre på på en mandags morgen.

Balanserer mellom 2 og 3 her. En del kule partier, og albumet tar seg litt opp etter hvert, men generelt blir dette for bråkete og slitsomt å høre på. Tekstene er ikke så mye å skryte av heller. Får følelsen at det er laget av 14-åringer.

Noen kule ting her og der, men jevnt over ikke min kopp med rap. Jeg kan høre innflytelsen på andre artister jeg liker, men gjør det ikke i seg selv bra. Sterk 2 sikkert

favs: slow ride (you gotta) fight for your right (to party) no sleep till brooklyn rating 1.2/5

Not for me

Was excited to listen to this album for the first time given the songs I already knew and the critical acclaim attached to it. However, I came to the conclusion quite quickly that: once you’ve heard one Beastie Boys song, you’ve kinds of heard them all. The style is very repetitive and the tunes and beat rarely changed. Still an enjoyable listen and couldn’t score it any lower in good faith given the absolute bangers on this record.

I was about 13 when this came out and absolutely loved it. Haven't listened to the whole thing in years, and was fearful that it would make me cringe with how dated it sounds and how juvenile my tastes were. But you know what? It's fucking awesome.

Extremely dated, outside of historical value for the evolution of hip hop or nostalgia value for whom this was a major album of their youth, it's hard to believe anyone else would put this on for entertainment or artistic value 30 years on in 2026. Girls is genuinely one of the worst things I've ever heard in my life, irredeemable rubbish. Purile lyrics that may have been shocking at the time, just sound comical at this remove and most tracks are weak in terms of vocals, hooks etc. Fight for Your Right and No Sleep are good tracks and the only reason to listen to this. They would do other records that have aged far better, this is an influential album in terms of the rock/rap mixing etc. but it's a total relic that isn't that enjoyable to listen to really. 3/10

Wasn’t all that crazy about this when it came out. It really just felt like a comedy/novelty album to me. Over time I;ve learned to appreciate it more.

Such a perfect album cover. And an amazing debut album, it’s chaotic, it’s punk, and it’s the start of the blend between rock and hip hop which is a combination I love. There are a few tracks that are misses but as a whole it’s a great album

First album in this challenge that I give a 5. Absolute blast of an album! 2 of my favorite tracks from Beastie are here, and the rest is a complete banger!

It never gets old.

Finishing my time with Beastie Boys on the list with their delicious debut. Yum yum yum

I think with the songs in this album they tend to be a bit like marmite you either hate or love them. This album is okay like there is some great songs on here: my personal favourite would have to be “no sleep till Brooklyn” but that’s also because I have vivid memories of my brother and me singing along to it in the car. However there is some unlistenable shit on here like “girls” I couldn’t not even make it past the intro it was just an awful beat regardless of lyrics. Overall I like the lyricism and the more ‘satire’ elements of the songs, but I would definitely not listen to the whole album just the specific songs I liked. I’m giving this 3 stars but I wouldn’t push it further.

I had been buying Def Jam 12" since T La Rock (sampled herein),so I was primed for this LP and bought it the day it came out. It was fun at the time but certainly not groundbreaking. Hold It Now, No sleep, and Paul Revere are the only songs that I would like past a year. Eric B, BDP, and Ultramagnetic were just a few of the stone classics that came in 86. Most of my attention was there. This album is important in its time, bringing in the burbs,as it did eventually, but it doesn’t age well and the Beastie Boys did a lot better work down the road. Rick Rubin, Russel Simmons and RUN DMC were my heroes back then, but Rick and Russ turned out to be marketing geniuses, not musical ones. RUN DMC’s Raising Hell was 86s best hip hop album,their peak, but I don’t listen to that anymore either. 4 stars for the memories.

I could never be impartial about the Beastie Boys. With their debut coming during the start of Golden Age of Hip-Hop, they fit right in and proved that white people could actually do a decent job in the genre (sorry Debbie Harry and Joe Strummer). Not shy to be what they weren't, these three NYC clowns threw in wild pop culture refences and silly lines and it somehow all worked and they had the respect of their contemporaries (with I'm sure some contempt as how well the Beastie Boys were accepted by the MTV generation). Rick Rubin's production here is also legendary. Bringing the rock sound that he'd introduced with Run-D.M.C.'s Raising Hell, the sound was built on to perfection. Yes, some of the lyrics are misogynistic and not great (the group themselves quickly distanced themselves from the "characters" they were playing - and in some ways started embodying - during the era) but beyond that, it's still a fun listen.

Reminds me of growing up in NY in the 90s

This album is an absolute classic must listen Hip Hop album. I think I have owned this album in every format possible from vinyl to cassette to CD. This is an album I can agree with needing to be heard. Album is great front to back and has that old skool feel. no argument here that is 10/10 and gets 5 stars.

They invented a new sound with this album, no one has ever replicated it since. But I've always said a little bit goes a long way.

I enjoyed this more than the other Beastie Boys album that is on here. Really feels a classic album

Heard before?:❌️/✔️ Will listen again?:❌️ Liked Fight for your right but that's all

Fight for Your Right and No Sleep Till Brooklyn are classics. The rest is more annoying than I remember it being. 3.5

Some good choruses. Lyrics are amusing in places. The rapping is not a nice sound to me.

Aged bad sounds bad

Appreciate the musical experimentation, but mostly annoying, slightly funny/entertaining

I really hope people realize this album is not supposed to be taken seriously. This is the Beastie Boys. It’s corny, the lyrics are ridiculous and over-the-top, and everything is deliberately excessive. But that’s also kind of the point. Licensed to Ill feels like one big joke about the obsession with excess that was all over the ’80s, and the Beastie Boys just crank it up as far as they possibly can. What surprised me is how entertaining the album stayed from start to finish. I thought I’d eventually get tired of the same style of rapping and those exaggerated vocal inflections, but somehow I never really did. The lyrics are funny, the samples are great, and I love all the record scratching throughout. There’s just something so classic about that sound. Yeah, the album is hokey as hell, and parts of it definitely sound dated now, but that almost adds to the charm. It knows exactly how ridiculous it is, and I had a lot more fun with it than I expected. Definitely a four out of five.

Thought I wouldn’t enjoy but I actually did in the end

Good to do the housework to. Very motivational.

3.5 stars. They are kinda fun but a bit samey.

Kinda all samey, and very shouty

44 minutes of white boys rapping. I can’t think of much worse. This is ass

This first Beastie album shows hints of what would come later, but has too much cringe to be as enjoyable as their later work. 2 1/2 stars

You either love this album or you hate it. It really takes me back to those early tape trading days of Junior High in the 80s. Listened to it so much back in the day. Loved it then, still love it today. Currently listening on Plum Colored remastered Vinyl.

Great album

I did not enjoy this. It sounds like wannabe punk rockers imo

Fantastic debut album. Two of their biggest singles on here, and every other song works really well around them too. Great listen today.

A stone cold masterpiece. As electric now as it was when it came out. Nobody does it like the Beastie Boys. Hilarious, hooky, and of course cool.

This really founds just like the Beastie Boys on Futurama. It's well produced and there's good sampling. The song structures are cheesy but it these tracks are classic.

I haven't listened to this the whole way through in a long time and it's funny hearing the sampled rock tracks that you forget are in it. The production is great, and the beat creation must've been a good laugh as well. It's crazy to imagine using these huge samples on a debut album, but I guess that's part of the charm. I wouldn't call this "prime" Beastie Boys, it's almost proto Beastie Boys, before they really figured themselves out. They really stick to the one or two lines each method in each track, there are barely any verses other than in Paul Revere naturally, that are just one of them going at it. Some of the lyrics are dated and a few are downright gross, but the majority of it is just a bunch of new york guys talking shit, and it's good in that way. The Beastie Boys have never been the best rappers but they have a distinct and entertaining style and you can hear it from the beginning right here. This is is a fun album, though it does trail off towards the end. I'm glad they evolved from this but it's still a good debut. Nearly half of it are hit singles in their own right and the other tracks are almost there, just missing a great sample or hook.

3/10 This album is from the perspective of privileged wannabe-gangsta white teenaged boys from the suburbs who occasionally do pot and haven't done their homework in over a week because man their teacher is SUCH a bitch. In the 80s. Oh, and they REALLY like to say their made-up gangsta nicknames again and again and again because it sounds soooo badass. (Because "Mike D" is SUCH a hardcore nickname.) In other words, I think this album is trash. The only saving grace is Fight for Your Right, but it doesn't make up for the absolute shit that is the rest of the album. And to the two Adams in the band, from a fellow Adam: you should be ashamed of yourselves for besmirching our name.

Idk man

I still have my original album I stole from my big sister in 1986. When you open it up, the plane is a joint. I didn't know that's what it was back then when I was nine years old, and I didn't fully understand any of the lyrics, (what's a porno mag, anyway?), but I latched onto this masterpiece because it was fresh and fun, and the Beasties have remained in my top ten for 40 years. Cheers to all of the inappropriate albums I got to experience in elementary school that shaped my life thanks to big sis. Between Licensed To Ill and 2 Live Crew's Nasty as They Wanna Be, I was set for a party scene by 12 years old.

Never really a fan to be honest.

This one takes a little bit to really get going, but once it does it’s non-stop balls-to-the-wall action. Everything from "Girls" onward is effing great.

Like a 2.75 There are moments where it’s amazing but god can you yells it’s a bunch of white guys rapping

What a nostalgia ride. But it’s actually really freakin’ good!! This album is packed with potential hits (Rhymin and Stealin, The New Style and She’s Crafty) before you get to the gold-plated double whammy of Fight For Your Right and No Sleep Till Brooklyn. Even after that you’ve got Slow and Low and Brass Monkey, which should be annoying but just works for some reason. This is honestly genius, and I actually can’t believe how well it holds up 40 years later. It's loud, it's crass, it's stupid and funny, and I love it.

a full listen through is a must.