Licensed To Ill

- There is an early episode of Futurama where the Beastie Boys guest star and it is revealed that Fry loves them. Fry is also frequently shown to have the depth of a puddle. Just saying that it tracks. - The backings deserve 95% of the credit. Going by just the Boys' vocal sound, this would probably be a 2 star, despite their fun interactions and overlaps. They are still young and raw here, though that never really goes away. - "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" is the standout. - Amazing how much Brass Monkey is mentioned outside of "Brass Monkey." It is like their muse.

I was sceptical about this one. the first track seemed to confirm that but then I soldiered on and wow, this album kept getting better and growing on me. In the last track there's even a Sample of CCR that I recognised, a particular bass riff. This has been a discovery. Not an everyday listen for me so putting it at a healthy 3.42*

In the world of rap it's so refreshing to hear something that's not all profanities, anger, violence and misogyny. Rap is not my thing but I still enjoyed this album despite it starting to sound the same after a while. 3.5/5

A-puoli on SICKKK. Mitä b-puolelle sitten tapahtuu, miksi se on pelkkää filleriä?

Vähän vaikea päästä sisään, mutta myös vaikea olla pääsemättä. Bändillä on idea, ja se toimii - ainakin henkilölle, jonka kotimaassa soittaa Sliipparit ja Eläkeläiset. Loppua kohti materiaali ehkä hiukan hupenee. Silti kuulemisen arvoinen.

Молодые белые люди, которые играли хардкор-панк, решили переобуться и начали ебашить рэп. Звучит как будто сегодня, но это было 40 лет назад и впервые. Хотя нет, но там не считается. Полный дебилизма тексты, мощные биты, а для того времени вообще ебейшие. Гитары, реги и всё такое, еще бит есть в обратную сторону или как это там называется, крч, классно. В конце всё же устаешь, но всё равно ебать какой хороший альбом.

So thats what that gumball song was tryna imitate

It's definitely dated in terms of sound, rhymes and the like, but its a fun record. Hip Hop moved far away from this sound in very little time, but it remains influential, as it should.

Not sure if it was entirely for me. Had a couple fun songs. It all sounded pretty brash and punk which I guess are not for me right now. Would throw it on for a cookout or bbq

Great track flow but very juvenile

Basic beats and lyrics. Seems pretty simple now, but I guess it was almost 40 years ago!

1st track riff sounds like Black Sabbath Sweat Leaf 3rd track Led Zepp The Ocean Samples Pretty fun

So the well-known hits are still fun, but I would never want to listen to a Beastie Boys album front to back ever again, holy shit that accent is annoying.

They got better but white boy rap produces an effective memorable rap album. Kick it!

Silly and funny, like Beavis and Butthead, but in the most jejeune sort of way, no? The big, fat Zeppelin hooks are big, fat and mostly fun, and the cleverness is clever but it hasn't exactly held up, now has it? What teenage boy humor ever does? Plus points for the best name drops (Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves, Abe Vigoda) and for not taking themselves too seriously. Minus points off for being awfully derivative and for the broad-as-possible, utterly unsubtle Rubinesque production.

this album was pretty cool. the beastie boys are one of those bands that i have always been aware of but never actually taken the time to listen to them. they weren’t what i expected for some reason. i enjoyed the tracks for the most part, including the hits - “fight for your right”, “no sleep til brooklyn” etc. i did find it got slightly repetitive towards the last few songs, but other than that, a pretty solid record.

I think this album might be an acquired taste, good thing I like the Beastie Boys

makes you feel like RAHHHHHHH 🦅🕺🏻💥🦅💥📼 George Lopez theme mentioned (Slow Ride). Paul Revere got a similar flow to Fresh Prince lmaooo. Manic? Frenetic perhaps?

Not my favorite Beastie Boys album by a country mile, but gotta respect where it all started. With early Rick Rubin production, for better or worse. The album opens with blown-out Rhymin & Stealin, which is built around a repetitive guitar hook and enormous boom bap. The New Style has a distinctly 80s style production. Features much better flow from the Boys with each taking the helm in turn -- beat flip toward the back half baths the whole thing in 808 thump. Posse In Effect is the first that really feels "polished" to a point where it has stood the test of time. Slow Ride is such a weird beat flip. Girls stands out like a sore thumb. Louder, cleaner and more polished than the rest thus far. Damn its an annoying song. Fight For Your Right > Paul Revere is a solid display of capability. The start being a great piece of satire that a generation rallied behind. No Sleep Til Brooklyn sits in the middle and is quite possibly the strongest track on the album with its Rubin-esq heavy metal hook. Paul Revere is one of my favorites here; love the way the bass plays with the inverted cymbals. Also features some of the better writing here and an interesting origin story. Understand the significance of this album for its time, but this one always feels to me an outlier in their discography. Something like highly successful growing pains that cast a shadow over them that lasted through their next several (imo superior) releases. I'm glad they made this because it paved their way to success, but ultimately I'm not interested in playing it over and over again. 3 / 5.

Pretty much the same as with the other 2 Beastie Boys albums, something about these singers just doesn't work for me. I must say the sampling though from the 2 Led Zeppelin songs and Slow Ride were very cool. Girls may be the dumbest, most fun song which I absolute love everytime it comes up. Fight for Your Right and No Sleep Till Brooklyn are also absolute classic hype songs. Everything else around the album is very meh to me with the Beastie Boys sound getting sour to me very quickly. I completely understand the appeal to them and I am really ok with hearing a song come up every so often, but full albums are tough for me to listen to. That all being said this is still a 3 because it's filled with hits.

An absolute classic, still stands test of time banging beats

Aged a bit worse

Some classics but rest of songs didn't keep up. 3/5

Definitely less grating to listen to than “Paul’s Boutique,” which I didn’t love. I know the first track is called “Rhymin’ & Stealin’” and that it’s probably meant to foreshadow the intense use of samples (from pretty famous songs, too) on this record. But I honestly don’t care if you tell me how much sampling you’re going to do before you do it, when it’s too much it’s too much. And this was too much. I dunno man. I came into this with a pretty positive, albeit largely uninformed, opinion of the Beastie Boys. It’s really only gone down since. I expected to give their stuff four to five stars, but this gets three. It was fine. Standout Tracks: Rhymin’ & Stealin’, Girls, Brass Monkey

всё время поездки в метро, во время которой это слушалось, думала, что альбом очень смешной. и музыка какая-то брякающая-завывающая (особенно в paul revere) и манера вокалиста тоже забавная (хотя, честно говоря, в какой-то момент от неё устала). во время you gotta fight мне стало смешно оттого, что я как будто слушаю highway to hell, но rap. мне очень нравится обложка по необъяснимым причинам, очень пропорциональная….

Cannot beat "ill communication" by a mile

Actually quite enjoyable! At least it is really fun to try to find all the samples from known songs.

Good album.

Why would you end with "it's time to get ill"?? Shouldn't i already be ill?

The rapping is of its time, but it’s obvious why it’s influential and was very popular. So much energy, themes of fun and partying. Talent on display.

I feel I would have loved this record in my teens.

Interesting and vulgar and funny? You've gotta fight For your right To parrrrrrtyyyyyy

I like their rock approach. Their rap is very in-your-face, which can be annoying. I'm feeling generous though.

Nostalgic hit!

Highlights: Fight For Your Right, Slow Ride, No Sleep Til Brooklyn. In a nutshell: TU0 T1 KC3HC-HC As far as hip hop debuts go, it's good. But their best was yet to come. I like their cheeky sample use here (from Viva Las Vegas to Low Rider). Overall: 5/10

I liked it better than I thought I would

Fun party music at first but by the time the big hits off the album came around I was bored with it.

Decent album.

Their later work is better in my opinion

The beats are good, but damn, that flow gets annoying 3

License To Ill is the Beastie Boys' debut album, and considered by many as one of the greatest rap albums of all time. The single "Fight for Your Right" was particularly successful, and contributed to the success of the album. The Beastie Boys loop samples to rap around and with. Like most rap, their work lacks the melodic basis typical of other genres. That said, a few of these tracks - like "Girls" and "She's Crafty," as examples, successfully used melodic samples in a manner that helps to explain the group's widespread appeal.

They got a lot better later on 2.6

Goofy nostalgic fun. Yes it’s culturally significant and all that, I enjoy when their hits come on the radio. But I’d never deliberately put a Beastie album on.

Beastie boys are good but all their songs have similar beats to me

I can appreciate this in a historical context but to me it really just sounds like someone doing what Run DMC does but not as good as they do it. They are doing some really fun things with instrumentation I'll be exceptions are fight for your right to party and no sleep to Brooklyn.

some of my favorite beastie boys songs are on this album, and i can see why it’s a regarded as a seminal piece of rap history. that said it does show its age at times, and not always in an endearing manner.

Thought i would like this more

This frat boy vibe is tough to listen to all these years on. While there are some hints of the Beasties to come it’s really just a less offensive Eminem record. Also not a fan of this Rick Rubin sound, on this record.

beast boys

The beastie boys make me laugh. The subject matter is only a little bit cleaner than the slim shady lp and straight outta Compton, but it’s just so goofy it’s charming. They just sound like kids. Like they belong in detention. Musically, they exist in a category all their own between hip hop and punk. Trading off words and phrases between members is an old school hip hop thing that they take to the nth degree. They’re yelling into microphones that must be turned all the way down. The production is raw, rough, and super catchy. 3.2

I had a hard time rating this album. There are some serious bangers in here but otherwise the songs are kind of annoying. Between a 3 and a 4.

Good album. Musically simple, but fun. Has some of their best songs on it. 3.5/5 Probably will listen again

its good, but not Paul's Boutique good. fun album, but was a little surprised how many hits I recognized off this one; Brass Monkey, Girls, No Sleep Till Brooklyn and Fight for your Right. Despite that I still feel its just an okay entry. Still enjoyable though!

This album is fine. Considering I recently got Paul’s Boutique this felt like a big step down in terms of quality. Cool 80s hip hop sound and it’s also funny to hear vocal riffs that they would sample across all their future albums. Lyrically it’s aged the worst out of their albums and I get that they’re playing characters or whatever but it still detracts from the listening experience

ja heel vet alleen ik hou niet zo van de beastie boys, not my cup of tea

Middle of the road album, all the tracks are similar, but I love the attitude and the vibe they put across

I didn’t like this. Then I did. I don’t know, it was alright I suppose but it just didn’t appeal to me even if there are a few great tracks on here.

Surprising amount of Led Zeppelin samples in this album.

mmm, lots of yell rapping, I get the influence but has corny vibes

Po pire

Had hoped for more from the songs I didn't already know...found them underwhelming.

Some days I think this album deserves 4 stars, but other times I think 2.

This sounded all a bit repetitive apart from the anthemic classics. No Sleep and You gotta fight were fun but listening to a whole album is no party.

it's all OK fun but i just cannot take the beastie boys seriously like ever.....

Enjoyed

Iconic album but disregarding the context of it, I don’t like it as much as their later albums. Rating: 3.3

Influential but not great

Party till the break of dawn. Fun album, but there are better albums to come from BB. I can’t wait

#251. Like Saul Trujillo said; the Beastie Boys are like Taco Bell, everyone knows it's not authentic, but there's no denying talent. 3/5: silly

3.5⭐️

Onhan tämä tällainen humoristinen räppiklassikko. Ei tämä listan kärkeen mene mutta ihan hauska. 3/5

Onhan tää energia tarttuvaa vaikkei ihan lempi-räbää ookaan

License to Ill by Beastie Boys Thursday 6/20/24 8:43 S Tier————————— Fight For Your Right No Sleep Til Brooklyn A Tier————————— The New Style Brass Monkey Girls B Tier————————— Paul Reevere She’s Crafty Hold It Now Slow Ride Rhymin and Stealin C Tier————————— Slow and Low Time To Get Ill Posse In Effect

It’s the beastie boys. Good for 3 or 4 songs but gets repetitive quite fast. 3 stars

Solid album, great lyrics. Slightly too little emphasis on the music; I prefer their later albums where the beats get a larger role, but nevertheless enjoy Licensed to Ill.

Unlike a lot of rappers from that era, the Beasties don't come across as entirely full of themselves; that is, they don't exhibit the puffery and self-absorption common to many of their fellow contemporary artists. That said, the songs are often puerile and misogynistic. If I were nostalgic for the 80's, I would just call it harmless teenage-boy fun and leave it at that. But I am not nostalgic for the 80's.

It’s kind of fun to listen to but it seems very lyrics driven and I’m not sure I love the lyrics. Get repetitive.

Dimenticabile come l'altro

tra tutti i sottogeneri di hip hop, l'ibrido rock è senza ombra di dubbio il mio preferito. c'è da sottolineare però che questo album mi sembra molto simile all'altro dei Beastie Boys che abbiamo già ascoltato, e in proporzione ho preferito l'altro, forse per l'effetto novità, chissà. comunque figo e capisco l'immensa infulenza che ha avuto negli anni successivi nello sviluppo della scena hip hop. ah, e Fight For Your Right spacca i fondoschiena.

It's fine. They just got better and better

Brass Monkey has more significance to this guy than entire genres of music. Its silly, but true. I can't say I want to listen to the Beastie Boys most of the time, but they did change the direction of music and changed the rules for rap and rock music. Plus they're really so NSYNC with one another it went on to influence other genres.

fun, sometimes funny and some great energy. But glaringly an often outdated, one-trick pony. probably better if listened to in its historical context.

It's so good and fun to listen to.

Of course I knew many songs off this album and immediately I could see the influence and popularity of it. I think the Beastie Boys are a band that is something I’ll always listen to if it’s on but I wouldn’t go out of my way to listen and search for the music. For some reason it’s just sometimes not what I’m looking for, however when it’s on it’s definitely a jam.

Almost immediately generates high school memories. Teachers in the 80s must have hated hearing "Fight for Your Right" so much and most probably never heard the original, instead just a bunch of idiots shouting it in the halls, cafeteria, etc etc. At times kinda funny (although 99% of "funny" in music sucks) but that doesn't always hold up. I have always liked their rapping style - annoying voices and all - it's definitely the clever interplay between all 3 of them. I was smiling while listening to this entire album but it's more a nostalgia trip than something i actively like; sounds are dated (drum machine sounds, processed guitar) and the music doesn't really hold up in many of the songs - contrast this with their next few albums which are fantastic. The perfect high school album - equal parts nostalgia trip and embarrassing. 6/10 3 stars.

Not too bad considering it’s older hip hop

Not bad

Oddly enough, the Beastie Boys have grown very heavy on me. I visited this album not too long ago after doing an Eminem revisit, and I was surprised how much I enjoyed this one. Now I will say that a lot of these songs sound very sameish.. but, there’s still some good content that’s easily digestible here. I like songs like she’s crafty where it blends hip hop and rock a lot, I wish there was more genre fusion on this record because that’s where they are at their best!

Two decent tracks, the rest a little infantile. But they are just boys.

I didn't mind this one. Liked all the zeppelin samples, would listen again.

Didn’t like it as much as Paul’s Boutique, but the last half of the album is filled with heavy hitters and makes up for the first half.

I have a true appreciation for this music’s place in my life during my formative years. However, I think I like Beastie Boys songs in small doses. Individually, the songs are fun; but after a couple in a row, the Beastie Boys style just sounds sort of shrill and relentless.

I got this album on cassette and still have it somewhere. I listened to it a lot and think I remember really liking it. I still use phrases like “no sleep till’ Brooklyn” and for everyone who has lost the freedom to party “you got to fight for your right to party” Now this kind of rapping just really kind of annoys me, I guess I’m just old. I enjoyed it mostly as a nostalgia listen but don’t remember it bing so grating.

Strong songs, but not really my thing

Late 80s to mid to late 90s I disliked Beastie Boys and this album is why. It's full of misogynistic novelty songs. Much later, I think when Hello Nasty was getting a lot of radio play, did I revisit them. Hello Nasty, Ill Communication, Check Your Head, Paul's Boutique are all incredible albums with clear purpose and style. It got me to really appreciate the musical journey and maturation of the Beastie Boys. It also left me a little upset I missed out of 10+ years of listening to new music when it was new. I still dislike this album.

gets a bit boring after the first half

This album made time fly and was never unpleasant. Favourite track: Slow Ride.

Good

Admittedly, I had no interest in this when it came out, but the Beastie Boys have grown on me considerably over the years. They weren't really doing anything that others hadn't done before them, but what they brought to the table was a deep appreciation of a lot of different kinds of music, and a snotty punk irreverence that's still good natured at its core. You can't really not like these guys. There's a certain silliness to these songs and they would get much, much better on subsequent albums, but this one's a lot of fun. Fave Songs: No Sleep till Brooklyn, Fight for Your Right, The New Style, Brass Monkey, She's Crafty, Rhymin & Stealin

These guys are so silly. Loved this album as a kid. Can still laugh and enjoy it now as an adult but I’m now slightly more doubtful of its musical quality. High 3

Cool rhythms, vocals are very much of an era, samples from all over the place, led zeppelin drums? Hip. Iconic drums, scratches and orchestra hits Slow ride - brass! Rhyming and stealing - led zeppelin Girls - definitely a play on a song/style Fight for your right - that’s a hit! Fight for your right. To party! 🤣 guitar riffs are very 80s, kinda KISS No sleep till Brooklyn - this and previous original rap rock! Fun. Guitar solo feels like a play on guitar solos, making fun of them Paul Revere - great stereo sizzle! Some reverse clap? for a snare. Orchestra hits and scratches as they should be Hold it now hit it - 1001 word plays and references Brass Monkey - cool riff! Slow and Low - run DMC vibes, classic accents on Go, Low etc Time to get Ill - great ending, aggressive drums

Gets a little old but still some classics

fun and silly, not something i’d normally listen to but served a purpose for the gym. inoffensive and wouldn’t be opposed to listening again if the mood struck.

Cool samples, cool vibes. Cocktail rap-rock détonnant, ces mecs là ont clairement annoncé la couleur de la décennie qui a suivi dans le monde du hip-hop ! La rythmique répétitive du chant me donne parfois envie de sauter quelques pistes pour aller directement à mes préférées, d'où la note de "seulement" 3 (3.5 si je voulais être vraiment précise).

What an iconic album. Some good songs, definitely a notable moment in hip hop. A unique vocal style with punchy beats. Definitely a notable moment in music history. 3.5

I love the Beastie boys, particularly 'Check your head' and 'Ill communication', and always enjoy hearing Fight for your right and No sleep 'til Brooklyn. However, I've never heard the entirety of their debut album - until now. Sadly, apart from the aforementioned singles and Rhymin' and Stealin', the album's not great. It's all rather puerile and sonically lazy. They needed the musical kick in the pants of 'Paul's Boutique to really create their own cool and influential style. Disappointing, but a stepping stone to far greater things. Ps: if you haven't had the pleasure yet, you need to read 'Beastie Boys' Book'. Phenomenal stuff!

I think Beastie Boys suffer heavily from songs fatigue. Listening to one random BB song on a playlist - great fun, so many hits to choose from. Listening to the whole album in one sitting - please, just release me from the pain and send me back to hell. Great album, but after 10 minutes of this I'm at my wits' end. I think it's the style of rap, so much "in your face", with no holdback, that makes it unbearable to listen to in long strides. But the hits are still as good as they were 30 years ago.

It is a fun album but it is super dated and I don't hold it in high regard.

Listen, I’m an enormous Beastie Boys fan, but this is arguably their worst album. Give me Ill Communication or Check Your Head or Paul’s Boutique and we’ll talk about how much I love them and think they are underrated for how talented they actually were.

Not my favorite, but I respect it

Didn't like it as much as I thought I would outside the singles

Help, I think I've died and I'm stuck in fraternity hell. I wanted to like this more than I did. I get that a lot of what the Beastie Boys did was (allegedly) satirical and comedic, but if you don't have that historical context, a lot of this album has aged like milk. If by the time you get to the second track and hear the lines "If I played guitar I'd be Jimmy Page/The girlies I like are underage" and don't realize they're taking the piss about Page being a creepy predator, you're probably not going to have that great of a time. As the philosopher Harvey Dent once said, "You either die a hero or live long enough to become the villain," and I think that became true for the Beastie Boys. They started out lampooning frat culture and hair metal bravado. And while many of their fans were in on the joke, a whole lot more weren't, and this music became the soundtrack to their lives. Aside from that, a lot of the songs are just really repetitive. How many songs on this album are about hooking up with lots of girls and carrying around a gun at a party? I lost count, but there are too many. Some of the wordplay is clever, but it's not enough to counteract the stuff that gets repeated over and over. The music also isn't that interesting. "No Sleep till Brooklyn" and "Fight For Your Right" are pretty good, but most of the other tracks are pretty basic beats and loops played incessantly, with the occasional poorly done record scratch overlaid (again, I know this is kind of the point, but it's boring). I also forgot how incredibly annoying "Girls" and "Brass Monkey" can be — ear worms in the worst way. I will say, I didn't realize how many of the songs from this album became hits. I think 95% of the songs I know by them are on this album. So, that's kind of impressive. I think I just generally prefer my comedic music to be more along the lines of Tenacious D or tongue-in-cheek sendups like the Darkness. This crank yankers sketch set to crappy music stuff isn't really my thing. I suspect if I went back and listened to the Marshall Mathers LP now I'd feel similarly. That kind of stuff can be funny at the time, but as you grow up and the culture changes, it just seems cringe. Crap, I've become my parents haven't I? 3/5 from me. I recognize the historical impact and influence of this album, but that doesn't mean I want to listen to it again.

haha! An old frat party staple.

I’ve never been a big fan of the Beastie Boys, but “Fight for your Right to Party” and “No sleep til Brooklyn” are such big hits along with “Brass Monkey.”

Didn't age amazing, has multiple classic tracks

Did not realize how many of these songs I knew. Also did not realize how problematic the “Girls” lyrics were…

This was more enjoyable than I was expecting, with some nice use of samples of songs I knew. The flow of their vocals seemed fairly similar across a range of these songs, however. Probably no need to hear them again, but my opinion of them is higher than it was last week.

It’s been a long time since I’ve listened to this all the way through. I think I’ve grown and the album has definitely aged. And the group has disavowed much of it, if I remember correctly. What would have been a strong 4-star, bordering on 5, in high school is probably just a 3 now.

Young, dumb and still quite a bit of fun. You do listen to this album with a smirk all the way through.

They were cooking

I still hate "Girls" and I can only listen to 10-15 minutes at a time before I begin to hate it and need to take a break But damn it I still had a great time

Tons of hits on here but sounds dated as hell

I recognized a lot of songs on the album and I see the connections for where hip hop began. Ultimately it wasn’t really for me.

My aunt let me buy this cassette tape at a yard sale when I was about 8 years old (1994). I vividly remember listening to it the first time and just thinking "what the heck is this?" in a good way. Such a unique record. Awesome word play, great use of samples and amazing chemistry.

wish i hadn't got this and ill communication back-to-back, because they kind of just blended into one another. did find this one more fun though! felt like you could hear their joy through the record

Maybe I missed the humour, but these lyrics seem so wack at times. Cool beats and samples, but maybe just a little bit let down by this one. Two and a half. Fave track: Time To Get Ill

Some songs are great, other make me nervous.

I didn't really like the other songs but ofc love for no sleep to Brooklyn

If Columbia Records didn’t stop them from using the original title we would’ve seen articles with zingers like no sleep till hate crime and hold it now, hit it(ft mark wahlberg). Kurt Loder would’ve had to say it on air. This album is a child in the backseat of a car asking for McDonald’s(Run DMC) only for the parents to say they have food at home. Rick Rubin will never get enough credit.

Definitely prefer their later stuff, but some fun ones on this.

This was their debut album! I'm not even a little bit of a Beastie Boys fan but I knew at least three of these songs. They sound like they're having so much fun. I want to give them 4 stars but a whole album of their thin yelly voices got tired after a while.

Not bad, but I've never been a big fan.

The cultural impact of the album is strong and there’s a few iconic songs on it. BUT - much of it hasn’t aged super well, either lyrically or sonically. It doesn’t sound as timeless to me as other revered albums. In addition, my hot take is that I hate how the Beastie Boys shout all their lyrics. It’s grating. People like to talk crap about Geddy Lee and Billy Corgan - I would put the Beasties up there in terms of sheer annoyance levels.

It's not bad, but also not my favourite kind of music

There are a few songs here that I really enjoy, but most of the album features beats that feel too thin. A lot of the beats are just drum machine, with no interesting samples or synths to accompany the percussion.

This was a great listen. I'm a little more familiar with their later stuff which I prefer. Great fun for a debut album!

6/10

3.4 - I actually have always really liked beastie boys. I find them fun and silly. I think this album is a bit too much of them being screechy but some bangers for sure. I get why people hate them but I just can’t lie to myself that I enjoy it.

about as good as I thought in the 80s. I.e. not very good,

Ltvsll stdtted sounding similar after a few songs. Love the energy

If you know the Beastie Boys, this record is their sound very amped up. Lots of scratches, yelping and classic rock sampled guitars all chopped and screwed up. There are some funny lines and generally good beats and some of their most classic songs.(Sabotage, Brass Monkey, and one of my favorites, No Sleep Til Brooklyn). Paul Revere's beat is okay but doesn't hit with me and Girls has not aged very well. otherwise I like the new style and time to get Ill as a closer.

My journey with Beastie Boys have ended. :’(

ci sono un paio di canzoni che spaccano, tipo "No sleep till Brooklyn", ma non è il mio genere. Anche "Brass Monkey" però...

3.5

Great album, the sinergy between these boys is brutal

License to Ill is no Paul’s Boutique, but it’s my understanding that most albums aren’t.

Lots of classic tracks, but not something I would listen to a lot.

Beastie boys are overrated. All the songs sound the same. 3 for a couple classics tho

Enjoyable listen, especially tracks melding hip hop with rock, Fight for Your Right being the stand out. The other tracks are perhaps not quite up there, but overall a strong debut

A very fun, albeit repetive, style of rap.

It’s only 3 days since the last Beasties album III Communication,arrived on my list. I hated that album and gave it 1/5. I said on that review that I quite liked the two singles which I knew appeared on this album - Fight For Your Right… and No Sleep Till Brooklyn, so I was bound to give it a higher score. It was an advantage to be able to compare both albums whilst the first was still in my mind. Listening through this album I was immediately struck that it was a lot more melodic than III Communication and found myself actually liking most of the album. To my ‘English white male in his 70’s’ ears I could actually hear the lyrics so could tell what they were on about. Very clever and amusing most of the time which I enjoyed. I also liked the sampling and good guitar riffs used throughout the album. The samples gave the impression of familiarity with the songs and the guitar riff on Fight For Your Right is up there with the best guitar riffs ever. Although not my type of music I could not help but love this album. It was a pity they could not take this to their future albums but I know they were/are not making music for people like me, so what do I know?

Phänomenal damals.

“The girlies I like are underage” - wtf

It's fun to revisit this record so much later in my musical education now I know where loads of the samples are from. Straight off, ah yeah the drums from When the Levee Breaks....ahha I didn't know they had sampled themselves much later on Intergalactic...etc. Beasties did loads better than this record in the time that they had, and you can level all sorts of criticism at this album now, but this was a good start. De la soul came on immediately after which reminded me how much better 3feet high and rising is.

Like 3 songs are bops but mostly I feel old listening to this bc it sounds like noise. Maybe I’m just not in a beastie boys mood today?

Some awesome tracks but shows it's age a little. Not as mature a record as Paul's Boutique.

The singles were great. Some of the other really felt like filler to me

7.1/10

The beats were nice. The content hasn't aged well but I guess it's meant to be tongue in cheek to an extent. Didn't like the verses or the delivery for the most part. It was ok overall. Decent 5

Good, but not their best by far.

Fun if unmemorable. They were really ahead of their times in the 80s, huh?

forica, not for me tho

Kako koja stvar, mozda da poslusam jos koji put bi sjelo kak spada.

Not my favorite Beastie Boys album but it's definitely got some good tracks on here.

It's hard to explain how mind blowing this album was when it came out. Rick Rubin deserves his rep - if for nothing else - for recognizing the possibilities from making a rap album with a punk band and using a heavy dose of Zeppelin samples. Is it an album of music worth listening to forty years on? It limps along in several spots. Super clever - to be sure - but now standing in the immense shadow of Paul's Boutique it feels flat. Then Girls - as good a novelty song as any, and Fight for Your Right which, in spite of its teenaged-meathead theme, just f@#in rocks. So I'd say, in retrospect, this is a solid debut album from a truly unique act.

A couple of bangers but it felt frozen in its time

I like the Beastie Biys, but it does tend to be a lot of the same stuff as far as sound and lyrics. Good in small doses.

A little boring?? Eek.

I like the beats and the samples and find myself bopping away to it but I just can’t enjoy their rap style. Listens: 2 Fave Track: She’s Crafty Rating: 3

I don‘t like Hip Hop much, but that album is funny

Every single Beastie Boys song sounds like this: (70s hard rock sample) (pans to the left) The Beastie Boys are kind of SHIT. (pants to the right) Stone fruits have an inedible PIT. Does it bang? Yeah, it sort of bangs.

A different style to what I'm used to but I did like the song Girls on the album. It was one I've heard before and enjoyed. The rest of the album was okay but not my style of music.

great

New drinking game: take a shot every time they say “girlies” then die of alcohol poisoning. Appreciate the blend of rap and rock here but there’s only one flow between 3 different dudes.

Hip-hop. Un poco rollo.

A fun and clearly influential album that has just aged pretty poorly. The energy is clearly there from day one, but the immaculate and experimental production that makes their later releases so exciting is incredibly rough here

Always have had a love hate relationship with the beastie boys, but aside from a few standouts, the album on the whole was a lot less cheesey than I expected. Not bad

Party!

Reminds me of middle school. Not their best album, but still some fun tracks. Paul Revere is my fave.

Brass Monkey is still a bop all these years later, Paul Revere is also on point. Plenty of filler and songs that haven't aged well, but overall a fun look into 80's frat music. 🐒🐒🐒

There are beasts in this world and there are boys.

Some fun beats and samples but as I get older this album is a bit too juvenile. This album and the final one they did a few years back are the only ones I really got into, although I like most of their singles.

Its decent, not groundbreaking or anything. Very mellow rock in my opinion

Not my thing

iconische sound, maar gek genoeg niet echt mijn ding

This is a pretty good record but wow what a missed opportunity including this one on the list over say Check Your Head and Hello Nasty both of which are superior to this one in every way. My entire listening group agreed that the Check Your Head thru Hello Nasty era of B-Boys is where it's at and we can't understand the love for Paul's Boutique and Licensed To Ill (both are on this list). This feels like the single Fight For Your Right has warped the reviewer's minds on this one haha

Nostalgic album that has aged so-so. Great start to a great career, but hardly their best effort.

The raps on this are the cringiest shit ever, but if you dont take it to seriously, there is a but of charm to them. I like it the most when they go all in on the rock, as opposed to the strictly hiphop songs. Theres some good stuff here, but it does not blow me away.

Their debut, and a point where they seemed to really straddle rock, rap and hip hop more than they did later (when they released Hello Nasty, say, which was the first album I knew on release). It really works, and this album was good fun from start to finish. One or two songs feel a little too raw, and Girls makes you feel like you're going totally mad, but by and large it was highly enjoyable.

It’s a classic and an esssential listen for any Hip Hop 101. But after a listen it’s noticeable how much better Paul’s Boutique and Check Your Head are, both are locked in 5s. Based solely on hindsight and knowing what’s coming next in their catalogue I’m gonna go 3.4

Está bien aun que a veces me da dolor de cabeza.

I know Paul's Boutique is already on this list, but Check Your Head, Ill Communication and Hello Nasty better be as well, because they are all superior to this one, as iconic as this album is.

yep, that's a beastie boys album

The Beach Boys and Beastie Boys were the same band in my head, so imagine my surprise when the album starts The music itself isn’t bad, not my first choice but there were parts I liked I liked how clever some of the lyrics were but themes of the songs and the lyrics were very much not my jam though, lots of misogyny and he drugs a girl in Brass Monkey??

Net geen 4

dumb fun

I really liked the beat and the production, it was catchy enough to gain my attention and kept it, but I’m not sure just yet if it’s something I’d like to listen to more than a few times to get hyped up.

Весела музика, але дуже рокова, на фоні її не послухаєш, можливо прикольно було б її включити в машині (не тоді коли вона їде 140), і може десь типу на пластинці

Closer to a higher 3 low 4 for me, such a fun album. The type of album I forget about, remember, and promptly spend the rest of the day jamming out to. Also first heard Girls in a AMV circa 2010, so.

this being a lowkey concept album (maybe a better term is caricature album) is doing a lot of heavy lifting to get them out of "the girls i like are underage." lol. still undeniably full of classic bangers, very strong for a debut album. when will this website let me give half stars!!! 3.5!!!! faves: no sleep till brooklyn, posse in effect, slow and low (but slow and low, hold it now hit it, and time to get ill kind of all sound like the same song to me)

Shouty, innocent angry. All songs sound same.

Heard it before?: Yes Enjoy it?: Solid but not groundbreaking Favourite song: Track 7 - Fight For Your Right

Beastie boys are definitely a vibe, but I like more melody in my music. Girls is a great song though, so that'll earn this album 3 stars.

Exactly what I expected the Beastie boys to sound like.

Solid 3. Love the playfully lyrics and delivery with a few classics.

Not something I would willingly listen to but iconic

Top 3: #11 Brass Monkey #7 Fight for your Right #13 Time to get Ill

I like the idea of ' Fight for your right to party' - those were the days 😂 Also, I played it out loud in the office for a couple of secs as my headphones had disconnected! Crazy, silly, 80s mens.

It grew on me after repeated listens. I'd previously only delved into the Beastie Boys as far back as Ill Communication, and those extra few years of maturity and production values really help. This early work almost feels like a parody of itself... you couldn't fit a sheet of paper between the actual Beastie Boys and the white-man-rap parody group Morris Minor and the Majors, for example. But it still has some real bangers on it - Fight For Your Right and No Sleep Till Brooklyn, for example.

4 and 3 and 2 and 1! Call me Dave Grohl because I can't remember being more nostalgic for music video-era mtv first thing in the morning in a while. I don't know if I'd like it as much without it though. Rating 3.4 rounded down to 3 stars.

7/10, not my favorite BB at all but groundbreaking and essential

Love the energy and the instrumentals. Lyrics can be a little corny and haven’t always aged well.

Got a few bangers on this one, the rest I could take or leave.

Some good ones, but not my favorite album from them.

Couple of nice banger songs, mostly kinda meh.

A classic album but hard to return to.

I’m really shocked, because this is my third Beastie Boys album, and I’m not even 100 days into the generator yet. Paul’s Boutique was great, but they’ve gotten progressively worse from there.

Slightly chaotic, kind of all over the place but still some good sounds and lyrics sprinkled in

Always good to listen to this lot. It's scratchy and the production is sparse. It feels so different from what came later. Classic moments that lit me up throughout. Mmmm...drop!

Not as good as Paul's Boutique but probably the Boy's second best

I like a lot of Beastie Boys tracks, but damn man, so much of this is just irritating and repetitive. Some of the samples and beats are good. Fight For Your Right is a classic and I love it. No Sleep Till Brooklyn is good. 2.5 rounded up.

algumas coisas soam datadas e outras soam como classicos atemporais??

Overall, Licensed To Ill was a very mixed bag for me, There were some songs that sounded very good and the rapping was pretty cool but on the other hand some songs could get really annoying due to some of the musical choices. I mostly liked the songs that had more rock elements but some of the simple rap songs weren't bad either. It is not a perfect album by any means but I feel the good outweighs the bad Best Song: No Sleep Till Brooklyn Worst Song: Girls

Yes cool

I remember a point in high school where the punks and metalheads mentioned how much they like the Beastie Boys. I went to listen to them after this and thought, “Why?” I definitely went into them expecting something else at the time so wouldn’t have been a bit biased. Let’s listen with fresh ears today! Songs I already knew: (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party) Favourites: (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party), No Sleep Til Brooklyn First of all, that’s the most ridiculous use of brackets in a track name that I’ve ever seen. With that out of the way, I did quite enjoy this. As a teen, I felt they were just a rap group, but I can definitely recognise the angst odd punky elements now (I’m honestly not sure how I missed that as a kid). The album didn’t blow me away, but I definitely did find it to be good fun. Not sure if I’ll be listening again, but I enjoyed it today.

I wasn't expecting to start the 1001 albums off with some Beastie Boys but this was a great album to listen to before work. A lot of classic Beastie Boys tracks on here, great energy!

One wonders what the kids today make of this? Would they like it? Get the jokes? The contemporary fan base likely overlaps with that of Beavis and Butthead, JackAss and other such crown jewels of our cultural inheritance. Sure, it's fun and entertaining, but also embarrassing – and very well should be, hugely so in fact, for those who listened unironically then or does so now (those numbers are probably much higher than the Beasties would like to know). For all the fun (Zeppelin and CCR hooks, Abe Vigoda name drops), the whole thing is so massively derivative, almost every beat, to more than justify the accusations of cultural appropriation. Somehow, they were just clever enough to make it different enough to appeal to knuckleheads who didn't know much (maybe any) better. Still, the quick wittedness and entitled 'tude don't quite make up for the fact that they received far more critical acclaim and commercial success than they deserved.

Good dumb fun, very juvenile and tongue in cheek (presumably) - can't think I'll ever want to listen to again

Loved this album back when my brother introduced me to them but the rapping style does get a little repetitive for a whole album listen. Great instrumentals.

Tough to listen to unless I’m in the gym. I appreciate its importance.

It was okay

Sounds exactly what (I think) it was, some mates making an album of the favourite genre. Pretty fun listen but nothing I’ll revisit.

When they broke out of the usual 80s rap structure I thought they sounded great but a lot of this was quite straightforward rhyming pairs. Still the best Jewish origin hip hop I've ever heard.

Didn’t love this but I really respect them for the song about girls. Also no sleep till Brooklyn always goes hard

a little annoying

Some fun tracks, but overall a bit juvenile for my tastes.

overrated

enjoyed it alot. love the rock and hip hop elements. ist a 3.5 for me

Beasties were an all time great band. This was their first but def not their best album

3/5

Not my thing. Objectively great

These guys are the original "rock-rap" group. Sometimes their style of yell-rapping is hype and I'm really into it, other times it's really grating and I want nothing more than to turn it off. These guys still fall into the 80's "hippity-hop" flow, but it isn't as noticeable because of the way they perform and trade words in verses. This is an alright album and they are pioneers for the genre, but I got tired of their style pretty early on. This is good but not a 4. I'm feeling strong to decent 3/5 You can tell the person who made this list is one of those "I only like old school rap" type people because most of the hip hop albums have been from before 1993 which is crazy.

an fun album for sure. a handful of these tracks are iconic for good reason. that being said, outside of that handful, there's not a lot that i feel is incredible. not bad! just not the upper echelon. obviously a lot of the production of this album sounds like raising hell from run-dmc, and i find myself mentally making that comparison, and i feel like i appreciate run-dmc's flow better. idk there's just something about the party boy rap style that i just can't get past. also boy there are a few references that do not hold up in a modern context and feel pretty immature. still i thought it was a fun listen! favorite song(s): rhymin and stealin girls fight for your right slow and low

it’s fucking retarded of course but what are you gonna do? it’s not like they were trying to make something different

the best i think rap-rock can get. another genre i'm predisposed to hate but i enjoyed it more than i thought i would, the energy was contagious on every song and they all stood out besides one or two. hard for me to give this a great rating though. just can't be obsessed with the genre Rating - 6.0 Favs - Rhymin and Stealin - Girls - Slow Ride

- Listened to this before - Find it quite hard to rate this, I'd imagine if I heard it in the 80s I'd have loved it but it's aged quite badly - Some tracks still hold up and it's clearly very influential and worthy of making this list - Fav songs: Brass Monkey, Paul Revere, Fight for Your Right

Not the Beastie Boys’ best effort but it was still quite fun Of course a lot of the lyrics have aged like milk but you just have to accept that this was the 80s and times were different Still a very influential release for Hip-Hop Favourite tracks: Rhymin’ & Stealin’, The New Style, No Sleep Til Brooklyn, Paul Revere

No sleep t'ill Brooklyn is a classic, a mixure between rap and hard rock, they also include sample of led zep, black sabbath, AC/DC and CCR songs wich is cool. Fight for your right is of course the main track and i didn't know it was from them. I never been so much into rap music, but i known this iconic cover and considering it is their debut album, this is probably on of the best old school rap album of all time.

We used to listen to this album on the bus on the way to school. We were little and in love with rap.

I reviewed the wrong Beastie Boys album last time, but Ill Communication is their best

Overall 6/10 Favorite Song - Hold It Now, Hit It Overall not much of a Beastie Boys fan but still a fun listen

Hip to the hop rap

Realizing that my favorite Beastie Boys songs are the ones that don’t look like Beastie Boys.

There’s something about the Beastie Boys I just don’t like but if I hear them out in the wild and it’s a single, I won’t pretend like I don’t enjoy it. They’re obnoxious, they yell-rap for no reason, and have really immature lyrics and themes, but apparently had something to offer considering their legacy. 3/5 I wouldn’t listen to this album on purpose.

3.5

This was an old favorite from when I was a teenager. There are a bunch of good songs even to this day. There are a few songs on this album that if I never ever heard it again it would be too soon.

that definitely was music from the 80s

Some songs reminded me of Public Enemy with the vocals. The instruments are pretty cool especially the percussions. It was overall a fun album, I will continue to listen i think. Also love the lyrics

Young me would have given it a 5. As I’ve grown it’s just average (compared to the 1000 other best albums in the world).

gutair riff in she's crafty sounds familiar like oohhh.... cow bell tickles could feel the 🦅 in fight for your right "your mom threw away your best porno mag" no sleep till brooklyn was written about brookyln nine nine duh im sorry but all these songs are mushing together - stop shouting!! time to get ill is actually a fever dream - the background tracks are throwing me off so much

listened to again good start but not the strongest for these boys

Before Trump. Before the conspiracy theories. Before the antisemitism. It's easy to forget amongst all of his various controversies, that Kanye West was (is?) a rapper, and a good one too. He showed his promise on this debut album, with a charming, easy-going vocal style. There's some occasional wonky production, including on the hit single, but overall, an auspicious first effort.

A whole album of Beastie Boys is still a bit much but I enjoyed this one a lot more than Pauls Boutique

иногда прям 5, иногда 2

Welcome to Beastie Boys World: prepare to rhyme, steal and wank your way through adolescence, with the whole world at your fingertips as long as you shout loud enough. In their debut, Mike D, Ad-Rock and MCA are anarchic, riotous and ridiculous: it’s good fun, when it isn’t incredibly grating. I reviewed Paul’s Boutique a year or so ago (IN ALL CAPS) and was turned off by a perceived lack of range, depth, and the yelling… oh, the yelling. But after hearing “Licensed to Ill”, and then revisiting “Paul’s Boutique”, I realise what a progression their second album was, how much more sophisticated and exciting. By comparison, “Licensed to Ill” is a series of bellowed brags, with all the grace and subtlety of a gang of spotty and horny college brats. To put it diplomatically, it’s much more direct and to-the-point, proudly leaving its maturity at the door. The samples are based in the crunchy riffs of rock music, with barely a funk or soul track in sight. Led Zeppelin are a key point of reference: the whole album opens with John Bonham’s titanic drum beat from “When the Levee Breaks”, before “The Ocean” and “Custard Pie” both make appearances later on. There’s also a typically bracing, edgy lyric- “if I played guitar, I’d be Jimmy Page; the girlies I like are underage”. Wow. After an immediately attention-grabbing opener, “Rhymin’ and Stealin’” (admittedly a great start) my two biggest and best tracks come back to back in the middle: “Fight For Your Right (To Party)” followed by “No Sleep Till Brooklyn”. These best capture the Beastie Boys’ crossover with rock and emergent hip-hop, sitting comfortably in either scene right through to today. I’d also shout out “Slow Ride” and “Brass Monkey” for varying the mood very slightly with some brass samples. Elsewhere, though, the joke quickly wears thin as Rick Rubin’s relentless production and the gang’s strangled vocal cords allow for no breathing room. “Girls” at least shows some attempt at humour and levity, but is pretty puerile stuff. Throughout “Licensed to Ill”, the Beastie Boys revel in being obnoxious and crass: perhaps it’s a shared persona, or some kind of satire on adolescence, but not all of it lands forty years on. Just edging three stars on account of its best material and its place in music history, but it’s also one of the first times I’ve felt too old for an album on this list.

Some great tracks, some weird tracks. Everything I expected and more.

My favorite moments here are the ones that are denser with samples, which probably explains why I vastly prefer Paul's Boutique. This does still hold up pretty well, and it's much more consistent than a lot of the other mid-80s hip hop albums I've heard. In fact, some of my least favorite tracks on here are a couple of the singles (most notably "Girls," which I cannot abide), and some of my favorites are either non-singles or ones that I don't think caught the same level of airplay ("Rhymin & Stealin," "Hold It Now, Hit It"). "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" is pretty undeniable. Rick Rubin's career is pretty fascinating too in that he worked so well on this and Reign in Blood, for instance, but then churned out some of the worst-sounding music of all time with Californication (among others) some 15 years later.

i love this sm. bops most way through. good album to jam to.

I am, as I’m sure everyone is, very aware of the Beastie Boys by name but I had never heard any songs by them. I also recognise this cover as the large inspiration for Eminems ‘Kamikaze’ album which is not an album I hold in high regard, nevertheless I was looking forward to this. The main thing that through me off about this is the classic hip hop sound that the Beastie Boys go for, I really wasn’t expecting them to have that much lyrical focus. Honestly, for me the album starts off quite weak, the first 2 songs remind me so much of the intro to ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel Air’ at some points which I guess makes sense because of the time era, but I find their ecstatic tones to get a bit much at times. They really remind me of rap battling with your friends at lunch time at school sometimes. The 3rd song ‘She’s Crafty’ picks the album up for me due to the instrumental taking on a really cool guitar riff and the chorus being incredibly infectious, I just can’t help but say “she’s crafty!” every time. A similar theme runs on ‘Fight For Your Right’ as the rock instrumental stands out at the front which really brings some weight to the song and adds so much, also when all 3 sing on the chorus there’s so much power it’s great. Of course you see this on ‘No Sleep Till Brooklyn’ too which is just as catchy on the chorus. There are also a handful of cheeky songs on here such as ‘Brass Monkey’ that really utilises these funky brass sounds, hence the title. You also see this on ‘Girls’ which has this almost xylophone beat to it making it a very playful song. Overall, I do quite like a handful of this album but as an album it’s not something I’m going crazy for. It’s alright but the start does take away a lot for me and their vocals get a bit annoying after a while. Glad this came up though.

Bit conflicted over this one. I LOVED this when it came out, and the production still sounds fresh today. But some of the lyrics and general yobbishness are hard to digest now, no matter how much the Beasties latterly reinvented both their sound and their stance. The singles are forgettable, or maybe just overexposed, but Slow Ride, Slow And Low, Paul Revere and Brass Monkey are still up there sonically with any hip hop of that era. I guess we've all (hopefully) grown up a lot since this was first released.

Toen ik de Beastie Boys zag staan was ik eigenlijk heel pessimistisch. Maar dit album viel me nog mee. Misschien dat dit dan nog een relatief oké album is maar ondanks niet iets wat ik in mijn lijst zou zetten.

Debuutalbum van de Beastie Boys. Mijlpaal in de populariteit van hiphop, met o.a. de megahit "Fight For Your Right". Het album introduceert de stijl van de Beastie Boys goed en is misschien wel hun leukste album. leukste nummer: No Sleep Till Brooklyn Het album had bijna een cover van Beatles nummer "I'm Down" erop gehad zij het niet dat de Beastie Boys hiermee in de problemen kwamen met Michael Jackson, die de rechten bezat.

Our third from the Beastie Boys I believe, and I hope it's the last because this is the big one. Probably my last, best chance at enjoying their music. A handful of recognizable hits on here, especially "No Sleep Til Brooklyn." Some of the other ones like "Girls" and "Brass Monkey" are more of memes than actual hits, but "No Sleep" goes super duper hard. Quite a few Led Zeppelin samples on here, which is nice. But man, it really is just extremely basic hip hop. Sure, it's foundational, but the majority of this stuff just doesn't age well for me. A lot of the rapping sounds like Dale and Brennan in the Boats n Hoes video: "The Nina, the Pinta, the Santa Maria. I'll do you in the bottom while we're drinking sangria." There's no mistaking that these are white boys. I know I liked Paul's Boutique more than this one, it's definitely more advanced. And then you've got "Ill Communication," which is even more advanced production-wise but I really didn't like that one at all. My verdict is these guys are overrated. Still, this is a pretty solid album with some great bangers. I respect it more than I enjoy it, but I do enjoy a decent bit of it. I can't deny it was fun trying to recognize the samples, and hearing bits that have been sampled to oblivion afterwards. [Sidebar: this came out four years after Grandmaster Flash's The Message, which I think aged EXTREMELY well, I gave it 5 stars on a first listen. Clearly going for different things (funky beats and more lyrical rap vs. party beats and going dummy), but that explains why one is more timeless to me than the other. No one wants to party to this stuff anymore.] Favorite tracks: No Sleep til Brooklyn, She's Crafty, The New Style, Brass Monkey. Album art: Definitely iconic, so much so that Eminem ripped it off for his Kamikaze album. White rappers be sticking together like rice, huh. 3.5/5

The second half is more rock influenced and stronger than the first half, but overall it's very fun and light-hearted.

Very fun, if kinda stupid. The beats are obviously dated but some of these genuinely rip. Girls maybe brought the whole album down a point on its own. Best song: The New Style

Musically this is really nice album. Especially considering that "Licensed to Ill" was their first album. Unfortunately lyrics are not so much for me. Nevertheless this album has it's good moments.

It's fine

THE rap album. No one has come close to it. This is everything Kendrick wants to be. Hip hop started here. 3 1/2

a classic, the influence of this is crazy. probably a 3.4 for me

Very 80s rap with rock influences in some songs. Definitely a product of its time, but not quite as bad as you would think. Towards the end is quite a bit of filler and there are some weaker moments, but the highs are pretty good and it doesn’t overstay it’s welcome.

3.5

There are tracks that I regularly come back to from the Beastie Boys, and I know I've listened to this album at least once before. This time through I'm finally paying attention to and recognizing the music that was sampled from other artists on many of these tracks. I'm sure I've still missed something. There are tracks on this album that are iconic for the band. "Brass Monkey" is such an ear worm, but not the only one on the album. There are lines from individual tracks ("No Sleep till Brooklyn", "Paul Revere", etc.) that are like little memory bookmarks for me. I've heard "Fight for Your Right" more than enough times. I'm even less enthusiastic about hearing others call out the main line from that track. "Fight for Your Right" is a good example of why I'm not rating this album higher. There is a more juvenile point of view for many of the tracks that keeps me from wanting to revisit much of this album.

Oh, to be young and stoopid again.

I liked a couple ofthese tracks but the shouty approach on all tracks wasn't for me.

Licensed to Ill is the debut album by American rap rock group Beastie Boys. It shocked the world by being the first rap album to top the Billboard 200 Albums chart, and has since release been certified diamond (10x platinum). It is also considered one of the best hip hop albums of all time, and has received tons of commercial and critical acclaim. While I enjoyed this album overall, I don't think it's as amazing as all the reviews state. Perhaps I am too used to modern hip hop/rap, so this album sounds different, but I have to appreciate the OG's. This was an innovative album and the group obviously had a lot of fun recording it.

You know, it's the Beastie Boys. It's one of their most energetic, but also gets a little repetitive after the half-way point.

Hip hop ochentero con algún tema reconocido. Rítmico y con sintetizadores. Estilo parecido en cada una de las diferentes canciones

lot of hits, but not my jam

Highlights: "The New Style," "No Sleep Till Brooklyn," "Rhymin and Stealin" Not for nothing do these guys jokingly compare themselves to Jerry Lewis. That cuts both ways. It's appreciative musically. Some of these beats are really great for '86, with an inspired, intuitive ear almost like Madlib, flanging snares, reverse bass, jarring sample cuts dropping the bottom out of verses, swarming vocal panning and overdubbing. The use of noise and rock is also strong for the time. RunDMC was *referencing* rock with keyboard approximations of My Sharona and Walk This Way, but they lose the edge. They lose it in the vocal delivery as well. The Beastie Boys, meanwhile, are absolutely letting real guitar samples run amok and screaming their heads off like all their pop metal influences. But. I don't really buy their tongue-in-cheek approach all the way. It registers as satire for future periods, but in context it's more like racist bad faith. Especially when gun violence and pimping tropes were not at all the norm in hip-hop, it comes across as culturally toxic. Make that two counts, because 80s-90s get broadly characterized by a swell in "(mass) youth culture," and this definitely seems like a reference point for that predatory chimera. What is the *function* of the satire? Do we think that trying to name an album "Don't Be A Faggot" at the peak of the AIDs epidemic was the choice of some progressive allies who wanted to deflate stigma and break down boundaries? Just because Eminem joked about being Elvis in 2002 doesn't make it a joke. Just because Beastie Boys joked about being Jerry Lewis doesn't make it a joke.

Rock rap just ain't my thing

Interesting

good

Their act is a bit exhausting, but fun. And definitely deserves to be on this list.

un tantinet répétitif mais dynamisant

This is a lovely album, and I know it is a classic. Still, for me, it is not better than "Ill Communication" (far from it), so I'll keep one or two songs from it and keep going with the latest releases from Beast Boys, which only increased in quality over the years and are getting old like wine, always better.

This re-listen of Licensed To Ill was a nostalgia trip. I've listened to this album a LOT in my youth and I still know every song. I very much enjoyed listening to this incredibly fun and energetic album again. Listening and almost giggling to the bashful and playful lyrics. And it certainly belongs on this list due to the impact it had on music. But putting the sentiments of my youth aside - this is not a really good album by itself. Neither is it revolutionary. The music was a couple of white boys doing what Run-DMC had already been doing for years - and was doing better. This brought a bit more punky and ska ('Girls') feeling to it. A few standout songs are still on here, 'No Sleep Till Brooklyn' is still a catchy and hilarious rocky anthem that should bring a smile to anyone's face. 'Paul Revere' and 'Brass Monkey' are standout tracks on this album and are giving a glimpse of what brilliant madness is to come on Paul's Boutique and Check Your Head

Cool

Have to say a lot of Beastie Boys stuff doesn't hit the spot with me. I enjoy their delivery but I think its the accompanying music that I don't like quite so much. But its always fun though

I like the Beastie Boys, I appreciate the Beastie Boys, but I don't really often want to listen to the Beastie Boys.

Not my style but interesting album. For sure, an album you have to know and listen to. I can here some Led Zepp samples.