Reviews (page 4 of 15)
I have not listened to many of these songs in years, and it's surprising how silly/goofy many of the lyrics are - ones I have been able to recite since the late 80s, but never reflected on how just inane they are. But it still works years later. This is a great album.
Would've defo given it 3.5. Can see how this is a precursor to modern rap, good music.
While there are a few iconic songs on here, the deeper cuts are fairly average at best. I also can only take the Beasties in small doses, and even though this record is well under an hour, their rap style starts to grate on me during loner listening sessions. Still, for a debut album, the sound and style they would go on to perfect is on full display here.
Cool 👌
Now this is a way better boy band than the Beatles were on Thursday! Just straight up fun, high-energy tracks. They are unapologetically fun to listen to.
With all the beastie boys albums on this list reviewed, I should perhaps come to some conclusion. In all honesty it is not complicated, the boys parody the machismo and frat-boy culture in a way they actually unironically embrace. Which is a hard way of saying it's fun but also making fun of that fun. So in conclusion it was fun.
Rap lento mas legal, mas sabottage ainda é a melhor musica deles
Beastie boys understanding of rhythm and spunk is legendary 🔥🔥 some songs kinda started sounded the same by the end of the album tho
its fine, maybe a little corny at times but there are some fun songs there
goddamn dude the guitar in "fight for your right" is NAASTY, fucking hell that's good dude. also, brass monkey. other than that, cool album, but not entirely my tastes.
Every. Single. Song. Is. The. SAME
Never again. Such crap.
Listened to this quite alot back in the days.It really is a game changer of an album.
This is a hard one to rank. I feel like this hasn't stood the test of time very well. Didn't like it quite as much as I thought I remembered it. But, on the other hand it's the Beastie Boys who I have a very soft spot for, even if they have better albums. And they were quite pioneering - fusing rock, punk and rap. Especially for 3 young white Jewish guys from New York. Think real credit here goes to Rick Rubin, that man is a genius. About 3.5 stars going up to 4 stars.
Some absolutely WILD lyrics on this one. 0% chance this album could ever get made today and that is sad. I’ve never been a huge Beastie Boys fan, but this is really fantastic. Very of its time, but great nonetheless. 4 stars
Very cool. Their voices are so cocky and proud its almost annoying. I like it when they each say a part of a line one after the other. Rhymin & Stealin and The New Style were my favorites. 6.8/10.
An all-time classic - fun, snotty, mean, and hilarious. It gets a bit TOO repetitive after a while but merely a sampler of great things to come. Rick Rubin did a great job on this. And, Slayer's Kerry King's provides on "No Sleep Til Brooklyn" one of the greatest guest guitar solos I can think of in popular music. So, it basically passes in flying colors even if it's just the start. 4 stars.
Is it dated? Yeah, probably. But it's still cool. Plenty of big hits, and the non-hits are pretty good too. It's proof white boys could rap before Eminem.
super fun album. very raw and very early hip hop but It was awesome to hear and you can really tell why it hit so hard at the time, and why they became so big. I'd listen to this again.
habs sehr gefühlt, good vibes, gute laune, gute tracks, zum kopfmitnicken und tanzen
I just love the beastie boys, that's it. That's my review.
I'm more of a Hello, Nasty fan
Iconic - if one word could sum up the Beastie Boys in general it would be exactly that. License to Ill is maybe their most accessible in their catalogue thanks to Rubin's production and the relatively short runtime. The songs (regardless of how fans and the media interpreted them) remain an essential introduction to what would be a legendary discography.
Misogynist biggots
I can't believe how good this album is. + 1 star for the shit flinging at Jimmy Paige. I love how the album switched genres, I'm not too familiarized with Hip-hop myself, but the albums I've been getting recommended here are making me get curious. Favorite song: Hard to say, I really liked a handful of them, but "Girls" is up there.
it’s fun and comical but i don’t think i’d crave it or seek it out.
Not really my vibe tbh. I liked the first one more
S'OK, not really my thing - a bit slow for my tastes. Can't believe it's nearly 40 years old!
Waarom schreeuwen ze zo, beetje barbaars
2.5
so much angst and joy (if not a wee misogynistic and homophobic) was banging tho
Not for me, but definitely a unique one.
Know this album well
Paul’s Boutique clears but Beastie Boys beat ass.
This was the first record I ever bought with my own money, which means it probably doesn't get a perfectly objective review. That's fine. Some records earn their place in your life before you have the critical vocabulary to explain why, and this is one of them. The juvenile quality is real and worth naming honestly. "Girls" is especially hard to defend in 2025, even with the vibes loop doing something genuinely cool underneath all the nonsense. But the rhymes throughout are sharper than the frat-boy reputation suggests, the energy is relentless, and Rick Rubin's sampling instincts were genuinely revolutionary — colliding Zeppelin riffs, funk breaks, and hardcore punk energy into something that hadn't existed before 1986. The musical details reward attention even decades later. The trumpet on "Slow Ride" catches you off guard in the best possible way. The drum entrance on "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" still hits like a freight train. "Brass Monkey" remains a strange and wonderful collision of scratching and horns that shouldn't work and absolutely does. And the sequencing of "Girls" directly into "Fight for Your Right" is a deliberate contrast move that shows more craft than the band usually gets credit for. There's a personal footnote worth including: in elementary school, a friend and I performed a lip sync to "Paul Revere" for a class skit. At the time I genuinely couldn't tell Ad Rock from Mike D. That's probably the most honest review of this record I can offer — it got inside you before you even knew what was happening. A stone cold classic. Five stars, no apology.
Lots of good songs. As an album its super repetitive and I wasn't in the right environment to be listening to it
The one that started it all.
ist good
Rick Rubin trbajó en este álbum, se me hace un poco denso pero la mezcla de rap y hardcore está guapa y contiene la salsa de la época
No mi estilo
oh my god dude
Did not enjoy nearly as much as Ill Communication
6/10
2,4/5
Not sure I really like them. Who knows, I quite liked the Paul's boutique album, but it just feels really forced, probably because of how early on in rap is. I think I said this before, but 2 of the guys are quite ok, but there's one dude who's voice is so annoying. I think there's heaps of better rap around this era. The beats are quite good, the rock elements probably bridged the 2 audiences, but I'm not sure mostly. I hate the girls song, no idea why its so popular. I feel like an old person but I wish they'd stop yelling all the time. Favourite songs: first 2, hold it now hit it. Overall around 5/10
I was 16 when this came out. And it was a staple straight through college. So my rating is clearly biased, but this is the straight five star banger.
Beastie Boys combined rap, hip hop, boom bap, punk, and rock all at once and kinda lean in one direction or the other whenever they feel like it. Is the rapping good? Not particularly. It seems like it’s meant to be more humorous. But the highs are great and the lows on the album are still a worthy listen. I’ve never really thought about it before now, but I’m sure Beastie Boys laid down a few of the roots that lead to Nu Metal, especially with some of their later work.
No es el estilo que más me gusta, pero tiene buenos temas.
Very good. A strong 4. It is not diverse as the other albums they have. But still very good. Every track seems to have a very clear trajectory of motifs, contents, arrangement, polishing, and production.
i come into this review with a ton of bias, but i LOVE this album. to me, its 5 stars through and through. 'fight for your right' and 'no sleep till brooklyn' are the obvious hits, but Paul Revere is an incredible feat of storytelling, She's Craft is hilarious, Brass Monkey is gold, and Hold it Now, Hit it i think is such a sick beat total bias on my part, but i love this album
Such a fantastic album, as long as you enjoy the Beastie Boys' unique sound. All of the main hits this group is known for come from this album and that made it so much more enjoyable. The four-song stretch that includes Girls, Fight for Your Right, No Sleep 'til Brooklyn and Paul Revere had me singing/rapping along the entire time. Late 80s rap is an acquired taste, but this album can get anyone bopping along I feel like.
This is a really solid album, and I'm really close to giving it 5 stars. "Girls", "Fight For Your Right", "No Sleep Till Brooklyn, and "Brass Monkey" are all great songs! They're iconic in everyway and it's even more impressive coming off of a debut album. My only complaint is that the rest of the songs are all really similar. I was even getting a little bored by the first 5 songs, but the middle is so strong. 9/10 album for me, but I think I'm going to round down on this one.
Some of the production and bars have aged like a gallon of milk left out on a hot summer day, but these guys established, and then reinforced with subsequent albums, their cred as the first group of quirked up white boys of hip-hop. 3.5/5
It's weird to call the Beasties game-changing, because hip-hop was already gaining major steam, but one cannot deny how big this was. There's such a distinctive Beastie Boys flow, the backbeats are as influenced as much by hard rock and punk as by hiphop of the age. It's immature as hell, as one can barely blame for a bunch of college age bros, chasing girls, creating tough guy mythologies (while simultaneously being the goofiest guys in the room). That can make it tough in places to listen to as someone about twice their age at the time, but there's also the feeling that they were tongue and cheek and knew there was an aspect of parody in a lot of this (even as a kid, "Girls" was way more of a clear winking joke than a serious statement on what women were like). Anyway, "fight for your right" still captures a certain childish anarchy that makes it continue to be appealing, "Slow Ride" makes excellent use of a "Lowrider" sample, "Paul Revere" was absolutely the first primarily hip-hop coded track that my stereotypical white self really rated, and the album in general just makes me want to get a sack of white castles. Nostalgia makes this a light 4*. Top Track remains No Sleep Till Brooklyn
++: Girls, Fight for Your Right, No Sleep till Brooklyn, Hold It Now, Hit It, Brass Monkey, Time to Get Ill +: She's Crafty, Slow Ride, Paul Revere +-: Rhymin & Stealin, Posse in Effect, Slow and Low -: The New Style 6,0/10
Still hits. Appreciate the various music influences more now
ill drink a big fat beer (beer) then ill go to the potty (potty)
J’aime pas. Ils font que crier …
I went through a pretty big Beastie Boys phase for a while there but never got around to listening to this. It’s definitely on the brash and grating side, but not as annoying as I was afraid it’d be.
I'm just not into the Beastie Boys, sorry
Não faz meu estilo.
I only listened to a few of the songs, but I could not get into it :(
I would like this if it was currently 1986.
So many great ones, can’t believe these were all on their first record!
I mean it's ok, but not for me. Rate 6/10
Better than I thought, the production doing the heavy lifting. Edge lord 80s rap, but still fun. Goes by smooth. 3.5 rounded up Heard before? Some Owned: No 59/240 (24%) Will I get: No
The lyrics have not aged well but the beats are there.
This, like RUN DMC sounded quite corny now and I don’t think this has aged that well. I found it hard to hear how this is so influential, it just feels quite repetitive.
Just not my thing at all. Music for playing loud in suburban America in a bedroom to annoy Mom. Can't really relate to it sonically or lyrically. Music for kids and adults who wish they were still children.
A clachique
great album
Didn’t like it, not my style
The Feminist Internal Conflict is real with this one, but I can't give anything fewer than 5 stars. It's too good.
Go, white boys, go! 2/5
The talent and layering of styles is impressive for a debut album. The misogyny is unpalatable though.
I'm gonna use this review box to write a shoutout for Rick Rubin. In the same year that he produced Slayer... he did Beastie Boys. Guess that might be to crazy to say but, Rubin is like Tarantino for the music. Everything he touched turned to gold. And when we able to put Beastie Boys, Slayer and Johnny Cash on the same phrase, you know the guy isn't sleeping on his shift... or he is, I don't know. About the album: Zeppelin with flow rhymes? Gimmesomathat! 5 stars.
J’ai vraiment pas trouvé ça bien
Fun listen, good start, and decent finish. A couple of songs sound repetitive with good hip hop and old school rap rock beats. 3.5/5
I feel like I am both too young and too old to enjoy this. Too young to have any nostalgic feelings for this era of music and too old (read not a child) to enjoy it at face value. There are some cool samples and some good beats but it’s all ruined by some kids shouting at me the entire time. I actually don’t get it at all, it’s just annoying. Maybe it’s supposed to be ironic or something but that doesn’t stop it being hard to listen to.
Отличный экспериментальный альбом. Запоминающиеся треки, которые мне на удивление понравились и что-то я добавила в свой плейлист. Четыре звезды за то, что это все же не совсем мой стиль, но альбом крутой, буду слушать дальше.
Fairly ok some of it got a bit tiresome. Of its time!
Its Beasties innot
Van de the influence of hip hop and rock after it and the impact if i was their age at the time but i struggle to resonate with it
Kind of funny - buy not my bag.
Just a good time
I never was huge in Beastie Boys but there is no denying the footprint they left on hip hop music. While I'm not a huge fan and never listen to them on my own some of their songs (most of them on this album) just feel right at home at an event or a party.
Solid album, several recognizable hits. Overall though lyrics sometimes seem disconnected or meaningless. Great production for its time.
Silly good time that at times feel incredibly outdated
There are some good throwback tunes on this album, but overall I didn't like it anywhere as much as Ill Communication. It's not super musically interesting and the lyrics are a bit generic. I also find the vocals to be kinda annoying at times. It's still a fun album but I wouldn't go out of my way to listen to it (except No Sleep Till Brooklyn - that's a great song).
Fun learning about the origins of this one. Being the first rap album to top the Billboard 200 charts. The early days of Rick Rubin as a producer still living in a NYU dorm. The album title being a James Bond pun and the album art all show the goofy style of the beastie boys. Some of the lyrics didn’t age super well. But I’ll always enjoy this one.
Though it definitely sounds dated as far as rap music goes, it's very clear how much this inspired so much coming afterwards.
Throughout this whole album, I was absolutely shocked when I loved it so much. I did not think that this album would do that at all, but I was in fact wrong.
Fun. Immature fun.
Girls Fight for Your Right No Sleep Til Brooklyn Brass Monkey (13 songs, 44 mins)
absolutely bangers
One certified all-time banger of an anthem surrounded by a host of juvenile posturing and braggadocio. I get it. You’re Ad-Rock, you’re MCA and you’re Mikey D. And you pull plenty of hot girls and trash hotel rooms and make heaps of money. 2.5 stars marked up for the CCR sample.
Has some mid songs but nothing truly awful and the good songs on here are REALLY good. Some of the most fun songs ever written are on this album. Like seriously this could just be fight for your right to party plus half an hour of construction noises and I’d still give it a 4. Start to finish they’re having fun with their music and it shows
Best white boys ever in the game…sit down, Marshall.
As someone who is a big rap fan I was excited to do a full dive into this. It was cool to see how future artists would sample this. The beats, instrumentals, and whole vibe of this album is very fun, but man their rapping style is mainly just yelling which can get old fast. Likes: The New Style, Fight For Your Right, No Sleep Till Brooklyn, Brass Monkey
Not my taste. Listened to a couple known "classics" (Brooklyn and Party), and called that enough.
Sólido 3.5. Mezcla de estilos que funciona muy bien
It's still never not the right time for the Beastie Boys. Yes, not all of this aged well... but if you were there... well, then you probably also still know every word of Paul Revere.
When I was a kid, I asked my dad to buy me an album he used to listen to. This was that album.
There is some crap in the album (girls?), and only one or two very good songs. So, let's say its average. 5/10
Un álbum clásico del hip-hop / rock, creo que todo aquel que sea fan del rap tiene que escucharlo, tiene varias canciones míticas
yoooo swag ich bin so cool wie Bernd das Brot 67!!!1!!!
Too much going on for me
Don't like them except for a couple of songs here and there. The voice is annoying, grating and their melodies boring. They sound like annoyed kids not able to decide which genre of music they want to play
Feels a little bit too silly most of the time. Some moments that perk my interest but lyrically doesn't do it for me.
6/10
3.25 - There are some good moments, but I think I'm more of a "greatest hits" Beastie Boys fan.
Licensed to Ill is the debut studio album by the American hip-hop group Beastie Boys, released on November 15, 1986, by Def Jam and Columbia Records. The album became the first rap LP to top the Billboard 200 chart, and was the second rap album to be certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It is one of Columbia Records' fastest-selling debut records to date and was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2015 for shipping over ten million copies in the United States. The album received critical acclaim for its unique musical style, chemistry between the group members, and their stylized rapping. Since its release, Licensed to Ill has been ranked by critics as one of the greatest hip-hop and debut albums of all time. Despite its popularity and success, this would be the group’s only album to be released from Def Jam due to creative differences with producer Rick Rubin, resulting in the group leaving the label to sign with Capitol Records for their next album, Paul's Boutique (1989). Licensed to Ill was met with critical acclaim. In 1998, the album was selected as one of The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums. It is the only album by a Jewish hip-hop act to receive 5 mics from The Source. In 2003, the album was ranked number 217 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, 219 in a 2012 revised list, and 192 in a 2020 revised list. In 2013 the magazine named it the 48th best debut album of all time. Vibe included it in Vibe's 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century. Q gave the album four out of five stars, saying "Licensed to Ill remains the world's only punk rock rap album, arguably superior to Never Mind the Bollocks ... knowing that apathy and slovenliness were just around the corner." Melody Maker gave the album a positive review, saying "There's lots of self-reverential bragging, more tenuous rhymes than are usually permitted by law and, most importantly of all, an unshakably glorious celebration of being alive ... A surprisingly enduring classic." In 2002, Pitchfork ranked the album at number 41 on its list of the "Top 100 Albums of the 1980s", despite their prior unflattering review of the album. In the 2018 edition of the "Top 200 Albums of the 1980s", the album placed number 103. In 2006, Q magazine placed the album at number 16 in its list of "40 Best Albums of the '80s". In 2012, Slant Magazine listed the album at number 12 on its list of "Best Albums of the 1980s" saying "Rife with layer upon layer of sampling, start-stop transitions, and aggressive beats, it helped transform the genre from a direct dialogue between MC and DJ into a piercing, multi-threaded narrative" and "helped set an exciting template for the future". Eminem said the album was one of his favorites of all time and said it changed hip-hop.
I love love love Beastie Boys, but besides Brass Monkey, Fight For Your Right and No Sleep Till Brooklyn the rest of the songs just aren't good and not enjoyable. Especially knowing what great work they would do later.
Enduring debut for the rap/rock/hip-hop legends infectiously celebrating being a shithead
yeahhhh boiii
Rough and raw compared to later work, but listening to Beastie Boys albums is literally listening to them grow and mature. This first album is pure youth and energy!
i don’t think i like these boys much on this album but hoping for the best for some of their other records
It's aged kinda poorly and it's not at all their best but damn if it isn't still fun
I got 10% cooler and naughtier by listening to this
I couldn’t listen to much of this. I liked the underlying music but the scream singing is very different from what I enjoy.
I do like moments of the beastie boys. But I think their voices grate on me and a whole album is a bit too much. Similar to bitches brew, I can see how influential it is but not really my cup of tea
This makes me distrust Rick Ruben
I didn’t just listen to this album, there was a full on performance. Are some of the lyrics questionable? Yep. Did the guys learn and grow and change their beliefs? Also yep. Rest well, MCA, the world was lucky to have you. One Lonely Beastie I Be.
Yeah i fw the boys
Liked second half best. Can understand why this was so popular...cutting edge NY hip hop in the 80s.
Wouldn't listen to again. Just sounds like boys screaming. Brass Monkey was a familiar tune. Girls has a catchy tone. Probably the best song of the album.
Abwechslungsreich und macht schon bock bin aber heilfroh das wir uns von diesem hippety hiphop flow weg entwickelt haben der text fight for your right ist unnormal corny aber sind schon immer nice tracks dabei
Kopfnicker Old school drum & snare Slow Ride Anfang & time to get ill Ende-> Hintergrund Beat masta Ace born to roll?? Viele Tracks noch nie gehört, aber Textstellen & Samples erkannt Gitarre slapped Schlagzeug auch 6/10
If you look past the lyrics this is a really vibey album with some bangers on it. Would rate 4.5
Great stuff! One my favourite things listening to this album is recognizing so many cool little samples. Also the songs are catchy, and enjoyable. A good record!
Whack
Decent enough - good fun, torn between 3 and 4 stars - given I wouldn’t really look to dig it out to listen again gone 3
I haven't really listened the Beastie Boys since I was in middle school. This definitely sounded better in my head reminiscing on the past than it does today.
For a debut it's pretty great. There's something about the Beastie Boys where it works but they almost come off as kind of cutsey and lame at times. Really good samples. One of the bands where their energy carries it. Strong three weak four.
I can only imagine that this was mind blowing when it dropped. Like punk, rock, hip hop and vaudeville crossed paths. Perfect album for a teenager. Mostly just dumb fun. Some cool samples, some clever word play. It's not perfect, but definitely belongs on the list.
insanely good for its time catchy would genuinely listen to
"Fight for Your Right" is such a great classic. The first few songs I wasn't even remotely interested in, but I loved this song along with "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" and a couple others at the end.
okay album
Raucous fun from start. The famous songs get a little tired; more predictable patterns and rhythms. This era of sampling remains the standard for oddball creativity.
I gotta say, formative, the raw sound and talent is there. Even classics like fight for your right... But it really lands for me, with hello nasty then 18 years later with To The 5 Bourghs as my true beasties favourite album.
4 absolute classics in the album, staggering to think they were teenagers.
4 mecs qui crient des trucs décousus sur un rythme répétitif et plein de bruitages superflus. Sacré coffre nonobstant. Par contre les voix ont toujours le même timbre, toujours les mêmes intonations, au bout de la 3e chanson j'en pouvais plus. Les changements de rythme/style au sein des musiques par contre m'ont plu, genre la fin de "The New Style". Mais pitié arrêtez de hurleeeer
En écoutant, j'ai vraiment eu une sensation étrange entre le j'aime et le j'aime pas. Certains sons sont dures à écouter et ont mal vieilli et pourtant d'autres sont cools, funs et modernes. Il y a des chansons vraiment trop particulière, c'est parfois étrange à écouter. Je ne pense pas réécouter tout l'album mais j'ai mis certaines chansons dans ma playlist. Note : 2 À réécouter : Non
Bah moi j'ai kiffé de fou 😂
There are a ton of classic Beastie Boys songs on this album, and they are all great. I’m not sure if I ever listened to the entire album straight through, but I definitely enjoyed it.
This is a really good party album. A perfect mixture of hip hop and rock and roll.
Shes crafty has kinda flow to it . I know Girls from somewhere idk where but its a funny song. Rest is not my stuff
Bangers from start to finish
An amazing discovery. Excellent old-school sound, interesting hip hop, with heavy guitar riffs in places. In 2026, it still sounds lively.
These white boys weird fr
Fire
Não gostei muito. Parace mais barulho do que musica mesmo. Coisas faladas de qualquer eito sla
not a huge fan.
Some wacky lines I heard: The New Style - The girls I like are underaged She's Crafty - She's named Lucy but they call her Loose Posse in Effect - Cheaper than a hotdog with no mustard Slow and Low - White Castle Fries only come in one size
I was 13 years old when I saw the "Intergalactic" music video and got really excited about Beastie Boys. Teenagers do weird things so instead of "Hello Nasty" I bought "Licensed to Ill" (and "Beastie Boys Anthology: The Sounds of Science" about a year later). I think that the golden age of Beastie Boys starts from "Paul's Boutique" and ends with "Ill Communication" but "Licensed to Ill" is nonetheless a fun album. At least half a star is due to nostalgia.
There’s some gold in here, but honestly the sample parts were the best, in which case I may as well listen to the original song.
I didn't know white boys went this crazy back in '86.
Good !
One of the best albums of all time! And it's definitely a classic! So many classic songs! Long live the beastie boys!! Rip MCA
Absolutely subjective on this one. Love it since maybe 8 years old and ever since for different reasons as I grew up. Juvenile, crass, but a fine album with crazy samples and three extraordinary MC's who create something unique. It would only get better from here.
can't lie i thought i was going to like this a lot more, but this thing drags on. it starts off super strong; "rhyming and stealing" as an intro works so well, high energy and fun. "she's crafty" is a cool beat, not sure about the lyrics, but the song overall works. "slow ride" is probably my favorite beat on the album, but the vocals are a little annoying, with some of the intonations they use on the call and response bit. "girls" is just hilarious, couldn't help but smile listening to it. "fight for your right" is a classic revolutionary hip hop song, and that guitar riff is fucking bad ass, the solo is dope too. after that it just goes downhill to me. "no sleep til brooklyn" has a cool ACDC sample on the refrain but other than that it doesn't do much for me. and that's pretty much the last song i can tolerate; from here it's just a no go for me unfortunately. so despite a strong first half or middle section, this was really difficult to go through. i think it's partly because the instrumentation doesn't really diversify much, all the beats kind of start to meld together. and the yelling vocal does get a little tiring after a while.
Not my thing. Having said that, 2 stars would have been harsh.
ME RE SORPRENDIÓ me gustaron mucho los sonidos de las bases, muy 80s just not my style pero disfruté mucho de varios temas, otros me parecieron malísimos
If you know the Beastie Boys, you know the song on this album brass monkey fight for your right no sleep till Brooklyn and Paul Revere heavily carry this album that’s what got them popular. The singles drove a success. They did a lot for hip-hop. Don’t get me wrong but when you’re coming into the album and you only gain two songs that you didn’t already know it’s not a good look I’ll be adding all the songs mentioned, including slow ride and time to get ill I think this album could’ve been a lot shorter so it’s a mixture of good and bad. I’m gonna give it a three.
Odd album bordering on being novelty at times … strange to see how they would progress . Still raw and exciting
Bit outdated and rather noisy, I do prefer Paul’s Boutique.
Loved it! It’s a very important and fun album. I had lots of laughs with it.
Heard Before? Well I haven't been living in a pit my whole life. Notes: - the beat switches on "The New Style" are still somehow exciting. - no shortage of inspired samples throughout the album. - "Paul Revere" made me laugh. - that said, Beastie Boys improved in every conceivable way after this. only "To the 5 Boroughs" is weaker. - the beats are as punchy and distinctive as ever BUT - of course, it needs to be said that no one should be writing incel anthems, even as satire. someone is always going to take it seriously and run with it. Verdict: For better and (mostly) worse, the ground zero of white rap. Listen Again? I don't think so. But I still enjoy later Beastie Boys.
I get it
Todavía no lo terminé pero quiero destacar lo mucho q m gustan las baterías d las canciones. Peak Lamentablemente no pude tomarme enserio slow ride tuenti la concha d tu madre
Elite album. One of my favorites growing up
5 stars for rick rubin…. damn…….this is so well-produced. 3 stars for white men rapping. the punk spin gives them lots of points there. 4 stars for the average.
So many hits on this album!
definitely not for me
Weak first half but from girls onward it’s strictly bangers
Surprising/ cool/ charged with energy/ unapologetic/ addictive
GOAT ON WAX // bratty, loud, historically seismic // juvenile but self-aware // sounds like three kids who just realized they can bend culture for fun // all-time favorite, energetic, never apologizes, never slows down // because the beastie boys have gone awol is my forever out-of-office message
A mí me parece que no se había hecho algo como esto antes de ese momento, conectar hiphop con rock por medio de samples Genios totales, puro entretenimiento También increíble como este no fue su peak, tuvieron o tienen más que ofrecer 3.7
It's not my favorite album but I do get how it was instrumental (and very different) in shaping what make hip hop so unique. Part of my "reasoning"... has to do with the fact that the entire album was SO OVER played... and at the time I didn't love that a lot of solid hip hop acts were not receiving the same attention. However, the album is great and is a hip hop legend.
Wow I had no idea this was their debut. Their chemistry and delivery are really great. The sound is really clear for the 80s. It's not totally my thing but I liked it.
Mid album
Not my cup of tea. Whiny yelling over sampled famous rock songs.
This one is fun! No sleep till Brooklyn was on repeat the entire time I was moving from chicago to Brooklyn last summer. Am I going to be playing this whole album on repeat all the time? Certainly not. Did I enjoy listening to it today? Absolutely. Favorites: slow and low, rhymin & stealin, brass monkey, no sleep till
Ahhhhh. Like...respect. But it's a 3.5 for me, simply because I struggle to listen to the album straight through. Gets a bit much.
Another classic, Beastie Boys put out some great music in their time and this album was the blueprint. Probably my least favorite album of theirs but this is definitely a great album that laid the groundwork for everything they did after. Haven't heard it in quite a while and it is still great; A great fusion of punk and hip hop.
Love it, old school fun. I remember recording “Fight for Your Right” from the radio when I was a kid! This began a love affair with The Beasties!
Likes: ridiculousness; high energy Dislikes: big fratboy energy; no sense of dynamics or chill; samples are so on-the-nose that it takes away from the song - if I want to hear Zeppelin, I’ll listen to Zeppelin Overall, disappointed by this one. Thought I’d really dig it as one of the first albums to combine punk and hiphop, but I just didn’t care for it. It’s a little to juvenile to warm up to if you’re hearing it for the first time in your 30s
Preferred Ill Communication despite this album having the “big” hits. 3
Honestly this was good, but I thought I was going to like it more. The big hits are epic obviously, but the deeper tracks are pretty skippable. This isn't bad by any means, but the rapping starts to sound similar. Liked Songs: "Rhymin & Stealin" , "She's Crafty" , "Posse In Effect" , "Girls" , "Fight For Your Right" , "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" , "Paul Revere" , "Brass Monkey" , "Slow And Low"
I don't care for the Beastie Boys 1.5
Meh
This was fun. I knew a lot of these songs from when I was a kid. Love the blend of hip hop and metal. Some really fun beats here.
You should be embarrassed to listen to this.
Im not sure this aged as well as I thought it did. Fight for your right, no sleep, and brass monkey are undeniable of course but songs that I remember really liking like Girls and new style are very empty. The production seems like it’s just missing so much range that it really takes away from the rest of the songs and is even noticeable on those hits too. Energy is infectious, it’s a great debut, but it’s definitely not the masterpiece I remember it being.
Loved to hear this one. Such a goated group and some absolute bangers on it. 5/5
The back half of the album really shines when they can just be silly. Paul Revere, Hold it Now Hit it, Brass Monkey. I would put their next album Paul's Boutique above this.
80s hip hop. Debut. One of biggest selling rap albums. Great rock elements.
love the in yo face style rap along. The flow is so hard never heard of them before, so i kinda thought they were black and was quite surprised when i learned they were white guys being so good
I was expecting to enjoy this more if I’m honest! Still good but No Sleep and Fight really carry this album. Enjoyed Girls though!
A few ok songs. The Led Zeppelin sample was cool. It's just not great. Strangely enough I occasionally hear Tekashi 69 in some of the raw vocals, these guys definitely influenced his style. 1.5 outta 5
Quelques éléments intéressants mais je n’aime pas le son
A great debut, the beats are awesome and their energy & smarts are on display. It suffers from youth’s lack of filters though and some of it has aged very poorly.
I knew and already enjoyed both hits from this album like Fight For Your Right and No Sleep Till Brooklyn, so listening to the entire album was good. Enjoyed a new one: Crafty Girl
Beasties at their best! Debut album a pinnacle to change of the scene in mid 80’s.
This is my first album on here. I mostly listen to 2000s hip hop so this is very interesting to hear something from the 80s. Some of the songs werent for me but its a very good album. Safe to say that i will revisit this album again. Saved songs: Posse in effect, girls, fight for your right, brass monkey, time to get ill
Cool shit.
8/10 (from 3 to 4)
Some classics on here for sure though like half of this album is honestly some really boringly produced 80s rap stuff. Some funny lines here (like the Jimmy Page one on the second track) definitely make the boring songs more memorable at least
This was always going to be an experiment for me, I know the Beastie Boys and have some respect for them, but their output doesn't necessarily speak to me. Stylistically it's so much it's own thing that you can't argue with their credentials creatively. I'm also thrilled to discover that the theme track from Broad City is an excerpt from Beastie Boys `The New Style`. However it's a struggle to hear past a lot of the awful shit contained in the lyrics. The spirit of the party is strong, but they're teenage boys in the 80's, their takes on women at this stage in their lives are basically as problematic as they come, maybe I'd prefer the rerelease where they recanted and redacted a lot of the most ire inducing lyrics. Honestly though, the limits of my love for it are probably in it's use for summoning a kind of immaturity and parody. They remind me of nothing more than Michael Scott's Rap Video `Straight Outta Scranton`, and thats about as high as I think they're ever going to soar for me.
This album reminds me of the kid in the corner of the classroom with severe ADHD. Loud, obnoxious, distracting, attention seeking, but give him the benefit of the doubt and support his artistic endeavors, and you just might notice his brilliance. This is another of that you absolutely have to be in the right mood for , but I feel like the beastie boys sincerely accomplished exactly what they tried to with this album, and its success speaks for itself.
While I love the Beastie Boys and I do think this is a great album, it’s not my favourite Beastie Boys album. I love the Zeppelin samples, but overall, it just has a bit too much of the frat boy party rock vibe for my tastes.
i dont even like the Beastie Boys (besides a few select songs)
The beats are great but their voices are just too whiny
A great album with some great songs. Some of the lyrics haven’t aged particularly well but they’re still fun to listen to. A really strong major label debut album, that set them up for a legendary career. RIP MCA
trash lol my 10 year old lil brothers raps better
I went in to this thinking this is my least favorite Beastie Boys album. I haven’t listened to them in a long time. Maybe it still is but I enjoyed it. The production has more variety than I remember. The yell-rap cadence does get a little old for me over time.
You need a license to be this ill.
Liked: Rhymin & Stealin, She's Crafty, Hold It Now Hit It, No Sleep Till Brooklyn, Slow And Low Disliked: The New Style, Girl Added: Rhymin & Stealin, No Sleep Till Brooklyn, Hold It Now Hit It
Sounds a bit dated but i definitely feel like this album could have lots of replay value for me, its got that kind of style in music that i love, its this kind of hiphop rapping form, that being said i already really like this album even from the first track but i could totally see it growing on me more. This is perfect for when you’re angry at something and you wanna blast music in your room, and also when you wanna blast music in your car. Highlights: Rhymin & Stealin, She’s Crafty, Posse in Effect, Fight for Your Right. There were two really bad songs “Girls” and “Paul Revere”. The track “Girls” sounds like it came straight off the mario kart theme song. But besides that, its overall a great album, totally worth checking out.
Banger.
Really enjoyed it and I am not a huger rap fan. Beats are incredible and this album is now nostalgic.
My favourite is "The New Style". Not what I expected at allll but it was a fun album to listen to!
A few bangers, some repetitive vibes but overall I’m a fan.
I just don't like rap. And this was worse as it felt like being shouted at 2
It's kind of fun and very hokey. At first I thought the hokeyness was a negative, but after hearing more and reading more reviews, it seems that was part of the charm. It's ok. I still think the songs are mostly idiotic but that doesn't mean they're bad.
Fine.
Not for me at all
fuaa me gustoo no pente que me fuera a gustar tanto estuvo muyy bienn
Boring repetitive
So much of this album is very outdated, with the corny, one-note flows, identical in just about every song in the album, couple with some weird lyrics (Think he said something about preferring underage girls in The New Style? Ick). On the bright side, the singles are great. Fight For Your Right and No Sleep Till Brooklyn both have such a rousing energy. Feels like in those two they actually get the rap/rock fusion correct, unlike the rest of the album. Those two songs do make me want to explore the rest of the Beastie Boys discography, I'm hoping they get it right on later releases. Favourite Song: No Sleep Till Brooklyn Worst Song: Girls
Some instrumental melodies were good but they were mostly just hootin and hollerin and I’m not a middle school boy so…
à réécouter
This is how I learned that White Castle fries only come in one size It’s not Paul’s Boutique but strong debut and exactly what I wanted to listen to when I was 16/17. Holds up 40 years later.
1: No Sleep Til Brooklyn 2: Fight For Your Right 3: She’s Crafty
pretty epic. hip-hop rap rock, kinda?? only downside that most tracks sounded pretty similar, aside from a couple hits and singles.
Some iconic songs and I can see the appeal for the time but wow I lowkey hate the beastie boys. I always hated Fight For Your Right. And whatta ya know, this whole album sounds like that song. It’s just three dudes yelling for 44 minutes. Is it 3 dudes? Idek. I started getting used to their sound by the last three songs so MAYBE it can grow on me overtime but that was just awful. Brass Monkey is pretty good though of course.
A few classic tracks, fun, fight for your right to party, but feels very high school teen angst, found myself wanting more hip-hop that spoke of struggle and social justice so then I put on a KRS one album
It’s a classic for sure….a little goes a long way 🎸
Very fun. Not their best work, but iconic.
This brings back middle school thrill. I later had this album…entire Beastie collection, in fact. Love.
Ooooobviously a lot of this albums lyrics aged terribly. But these boys grew and adapted with the times better than most men, in my opinion. This album is so nostalgic and fun. I can't help but love it.
Zero chill. Endless fun. Crank it up!! Gets me hyped every time. Still slaps, still pumps, still makes me want to break something.
The best beastie boys album in my opinion. Front to back no skips
Znam ovo od ranije tkd okej je. Ocena za album je 3,5/4
I know how important the Beasties are to the industry and music in general, but this record is an example of why I've just never liked them. Paul's Boutique hits different, but Licensed To Ill just doesn't do it for me. Their voices are grating, the music is corny and I just don't get it. I respect what they've done for hip hop and the culture and those they've inspired along the way, but this one is just not for me. I'm giving it 3 stars because of it's place in history and it's not all bad, but this one just doesn't do it for me.
Cool! Ahead of their time. Always feels like it's younger. Good year though ;-)
Yeah I liked this more than i thought. Lots of fun. plus i like them more since finding out one of them was/is married to Kathleen Hanna which makes me think their politics are all right.
Great if immature debut. Fun, but they've got better records
Gotta fight for your right to paaaaarteeee! Better, finer stuff certainly followed this debut album but still gold in my opinion. Always loved that album cover too!
Banging!
fine. A little abrasive.
I don’t like this at all, and I really can’t take it seriously. A couple of hits like “No Sleep Till Brooklynn” are good but the rest is trash. Like on “Girls” and “Slow Ride”. What were they thinking?! It’s also crazy how much one of the members sounds like Mr. Poopybutthole from Rick & Morty.
Wonderful album cover art.. but not a fan of the album.. too punky and edgy.. not my style
Feels blasphemous to say this all sounds like the same song. The only exceptions are the songs with guitars in the background. Everything else was kind of filler
I feel like this album exists just for the fun of it. That kinda seems like the vibe of a lot 80s rap and hip hop, contrasted to the politically-heavier hip hop and gangster rap that takes over when you get into the 90s. I guess it also makes some sense when considering that this album was made by 20ish year old kids from presumably affluent families. That also means there doesn't seem to be a lot of depth to the album. What you see is what you get. And what you get is kind of obnoxious sampling and instrumentation combined with often juvenile lyrics. Somehow, you also get something entertaining. I don't really love rap/hip hop, so the style here isn't really my favorite. It helps me some that they blended rock into the mix. I also find the Beastie Boys' delivery to be a bit of an acquired taste, probably worsened here because of the stylings from when it was made. But I can sit back and enjoy it well enough, especially tracks like Fight for Your Right and No Sleep Till Brooklyn (which had more rock-like music compositions than most of the other songs). Is this a great album? Not in my estimation. But it's still a fun listen, and I was able to enjoy it for the most part. I'd probably be more likely to listen to a few songs on their own rather than the whole album again, though. Overall: 3.2/5
Classic. A trip back to the late 80’s
classic, still slaps for the most part
This one is hard for me - I absolutely love some tracks and find others just ok. I think I would end up with a 3.44.
Na mě asi moc ukřičené, ale doprovod se mi líbí.
This was a fun album to listen to even amidst the excessive name dropping.
3/5. My personal least favorite Beastie Boys album on the list. This is when they were at their most “Frat-Rap” which is a style that tends to get annoying pretty fast for me and that slight annoyance definitely seeps into a few of the deep cuts on here. That being said the hits on here are as big as they are for a reason, and they make the album worth it. but I still prefer the sample-heavy madness of Paul’s Boutique of the punk energy of Ill Communication over this album.
4.5/5
Love this album
its, alot of yelling. i only knew about brass money and no sleep til brooklyn going into this album. ive always been a huge fan of brass monkey but this is like 15 brass monkies in a row and it gets very annoying after a while. was pretty irritated while listening to it. half the songs i couldnt tell the different between. they might as well been all one song lol. that being said! Fight For Your Right - that one is so fun man. the guitar is super cool. probably the best song on the album aside from Brass Monkey. Im sick of their voices though :( 4/10
Obviously, Fight for Your Right is incredible. I liked the sample in Slow Ride. Girls was a unique song so added that too. Everything else I would never listen to again. It has too much energy which works for me if the music comes with a catchy melody but in this case it just sounded like annoying frat boys yelling for 45 minutes.
The Beastie Boys are so fun lol, I enjoy what they do but it isn't the kind of music I could listen to every day. I would get sad that i don't have my own group of boys to yell the last word of every line with.
I liked the beats and the music and the singing was good but not my favorite. But still nice
Gen X anthems!
Powerful
Favorite Track: Fight For Your Right
You can hear the sparks of ingenuity which would be better reflected in later albums, and the production makes a great pastiche for us fans of dad rock. But it’s bogged down by its immaturity.
Makes me want to drink light beer and party hard
First time listening to an hip-hop album, and I gotta say that it's a nice change of pace. Some tracks feel like the song isn't going anywhere, but some show a real harmony in the rhythm, tempo and rhymes.
Yeah i like it. No sleep till Brooklyn was a sick song on Guitar Heroes
Not really my thing. I didn't hate it though.
I seriously don't understand why people like this. I will admit, it's perfectly fine. Like, I wouldn't tell someone to turn off Beastie Boys. I might even play them on my own sometimes. A few songs at a time though. This album is full of bad rhymes and that annoying thing where one person sings a whole line except for the last word that a lot of people sing. That's every song. Literally. Why. It's not funny, it's not cool, there's a lot of samples so any good part isn't even their doing. I am 6 songs into the album as I'm writing this. I know I like a couple upcoming songs, but already this is going to be a low score. Nothing can save it, not even the Guardians of the Galaxy. Alright, No Sleep Till Brooklyn is great. But still. Again, the album is just perfectly fine and not for me. But I don't get how anyone has any better opinions of this album than that. If you love this album, I'm happy for you.
This project sucks sometimes, this is not cutting edge, and if it is, then the other two albums aren't, they all sound the same. Girls is without a doubt the low point.
Супер энергичный альбом, в стиле американского рэп и хип хопа. Это дебютный альбом группы и это был потрясающий старт. Однозначно пойдет в список любимых альбомов
No notes. Put it in the Louvre. Rhymin & Stealin is such a tough opening track.
It's fun to listen to a hip hop record and recognize some of the samples. The Beastie Boys always make me think of "what if some punks from Brooklyn got really into sampling" An important hip hop record and a true classic.
not my cup of tea. very repetitive also
Guys. Keep your voices down. The generic "hip-hop-wannabe" yelling wasn't quite done to death yet by 1986, but it was on its way out. There's not a single valid argument that it sounds better than singing (or nothing at all). The most passable instance is when there's a bit of a melody, as in the track Girls – definitely a punk influence here. Pretty cool. Is that the drum beat from When The Levee Breaks? Shamelessly ripped from (arguably) the best Led Zeppelin record for use on this nonsense of an album? Unfortunately, it's one of just two enjoyable parts of Rhymin & Stealin (the other one being the mixed-back guitar power chords). Everything else is just shouting, noise, and record-scratching. She's Crafty nicks another Zeppelin instrumental lick, this time part of the riff from The Ocean. Again, it's solid if you ignore the vocals. (Time To Get Ill steals the riff from Custard Pie too. You can't make this up.) Slow Ride is the exact same. Fun unconventional percussion (which teeters a little close to a trap beat, but ah well. You can't win them all) and Latin-type horn lines, but with monotonous vocals that do nothing but make the music slightly more difficult to enjoy. Brass Monkey is another similar case. It would be really cool if the group composed a proper, high-effort, high-fidelity sound based on that echoey sax. But instead it's just another shouting-fest that more or less fades into the background amidst the other songs. I've known No Sleep Till Brooklyn since my Guitar Hero days. (A strapping young lad I was.) It's tied with Fight For Your Right as the strongest song on the record. And it seems like most listeners agree with me. That is, that the songs with the most interesting melodies, harmonies, and textures are the strongest, and hence the most well-received. Why hip-hop artists generally refuse to take this to heart, I have no idea. In all honesty, though, this is much better than Ill Communication (which is also on the list). Maybe I underrated that one a bit – I gave it one star – but even so, this record contains noticeably more artistic merit and fun musical ideas. Fight For Your Right and No Sleep are excellent tracks that deserve every bit of traction they've received. Some of the deeper cuts are noticeably weaker, but less egregiously so than on the Beastie Boys' later albums. 3/5 Key tracks: She's Crafty, Fight For Your Right, No Sleep Till Brooklyn
Repetitive
ow, my ears. no sleep till brooklyn is alright.
80’s Hip-Hop ⭐️No Sleep Till Brooklyn
hell yeah
This album was outstanding when I first heard it and carried it's magic all the way to my 5 year old getting into fight for your right. Great band, eclectic back catalogue and fun times.
This is good, but more of a precursor to what they would do later. I get that this made them famous, but they would go on to make much better albums.
Holds up for it’s humor and commitment to the bit.
A bit to punk for me
HIP HOP TÊTE DE SHNOCK!!!!!!!
I enjoyed this, with some big time hits, but didnt blow me away. One thing I'll give it credit though is that they have an obvious interest in Led Zeppelin and added some tracks of that to 2 of their songs. Inventive and fun for the time.
Very much a product of its time and also visionary. This one isn’t for everyone, but for the people it’s for, it’s a helluva record.
Dette var slitsomt å høre på til tider! Noen av sangene her er virkelig grusomme (Girls, blant annet). You Gotta Fight For Your Right to Party er en ordentlig banger da. Rhymin and Stealing og. Og stjal Eminem dette albumcoveret for Kamikaze?? 🤔 2/5
Synes det er en god del catchy låter, gode basslinjer. Kanskje litt likt gjennomgående, men det er vel litt av tiden sin også. Utrolig å tenke på alt dette har inspirert.
Loud, snarky, self-conscious, funny, gross, hooks, riffs, in-jokes, pop culture references, frenetic. I thought I hated this but I was wrong.
I wish this had aged better than it has. Still a nostalgic listen, though.
not bad rap album with sometimes rock instrumentals
Oh man this album was pretty big for me when it came out! I just started my first year of high school and with an insanely traumatic home life it really helped me get through some dark times by being able to escape into some sort of fantasy land in a very musical way. This and Raising Hell by Run-DMC really stood out at the time in the rapidly changing landscape of the popular music world. Even though I would have never understood the meaning of most of the lyrics there’s great musicality in the rapping (at such a high pitch!) as well as in all the backing tracks (great mix of beats and samples) which is probably what completely drew me in. It is too bad about the content of some of the lyrics now many years later but it probably does genuinely tell what a party their lives must have been at that time and with apologies made we must forgive them and be able to not take some of these lyrics too seriously. I hope their next two albums are also on this list because they really progressed a lot over those years.
5 - AVERAGE