Licensed To Ill

Brilliant early Beasties, doing one thing but doing it very, very well.

As a fan of rock, I love old hip hop beats that are centered around guitar and heavy drum samples. The album is fun, aggressive, influential, I love it. It was fun listening to it again.

Crazy to think that, in the 1980s, the only way you could get white people to listen to rap was to fill it with Led Zeppelin samples and have the flow come out of the mouths of upper middle class white boys from Long Island. I love the Beastie Boys, especially their hits, but you have to admit that they seem more of a cultural oddity the further away we get from the 20th century. Highlights on the album include the infectious "Girls", the 1-2 punch of "Fight For Your Right" and "No Sleep Til Brooklyn", and the goofy horn riff of "Brass Monkey". "Sabotage" aside, I don't think the Beastie Boys ever got better than this. Well, maybe Hello Nasty is better.

Last time we got the beastie boys I accidentally reviewed this album instead of ill Communication...Here's that review: Better rock-rap than most nu metal ever was. || Loved listening for the samples! When the levee breaks by Led Zeppelin and (I think) sweet leaf by Black Sabbath on the first track. definitely caught some recognizable riffs on girls and other tracks, but couldn’t name em all. || Fun facts I learned looking this up: this was the first rap album to chart! || Kerry King of Slayer played the riff and solo in No Sleep Til Brooklyn, they met because Rick Rubin was producing Slayers album at the same time! || they also were planning to record a Beatles cover but ran into legal trouble with Michael Jackson - funny this came on our list right after thriller!

Dope

While they are One of my favorite artists and they have a few albums I would give 5 stars this album is just a glimpse of what they could do. The innovation is groundbreaking - led zep riffs over beats with Jewish guys rapping. Absolutely nobody was doing that or had even thoughts of doing it. Handful of tunes are in here that are classics - I love how the sign when you enter we Brooklyn says no sleep til Brooklyn

a classic

Sexist as hell but damn good

eles tem mt bom gosto

Classic album. From the sampled Misty Mountain Hop all the way through, every song holds some 30 years later. I'm old enough to remember this album coming out and remember how groundbreaking it was, still is. What a contrast to yesterday's Eminem. Such better innovation, edgy lyrics without hate and threats. Thank you, Beasties, for bringing me back to why we love music!!

Beastie Boys are inseperable from my adolescence. They certainly embody a certain amount of immaturity at this stage in their career, and to some that might be a turn off, but I see it as part of their charm. They're just kids playing around and having fun in the largely unchartered territory of a blossoming new genre in the middle of it's major breakthrough into the mainstream. The main thing is I think they are being true to themselves and who they were at the time. They present a brash, cocky, immature, irresponsible, unrealistic sort of fantasy world projection that sounds fun as hell. It's very clear they're just messing about and making up ridiculous shit to crack each other up. The fun they had making this album is palpable and I find it contagious. I love the Run DMC-like way they finish each other's lines and back each other up for emphasis. They stuck to that technique throughout their career even after it eventually fell out of fashion but I think it speaks to their connection as songwriters, performers, and even as people. You can tell they enjoyed working together and shared a wavelength. Musically I'm a sucker for the 808 sound and I love the dominance of guitar samples that give it that rock punch. Beyond this album I love their wild career trajectory, from their early punk formation, to this album's golden era hip hop sound, to the hyper-collage of Paul's Boutique, to the genre bending albums that came afterwards which I consider their peak. I enjoyed this one but I look forward to hearing more of their albums on this list.

false

Lots of cool samples and bops. This is fun! 3.5

Very fundamental hiphop. Would listen to it again. Overall solid album. Very fun, but not much depth.

Chill out Mom, it's just the

Not my favorite Beastie Boys album, but still pretty good. Didn't remember them talking

Bumpin, fun. Perhaps revolutionary idk

Simple and genre defining. It really captures the feeling of being a teenager. At 35 I have a different view to the music, but it certainly rocks.

Not much to say here - have heard this album a few times. Great tunes. issa classic

definitely a bit dated at this point. Very glad they didn’t call the record “Don’t Be a Faggot”. They keep making high school references despite being in their mid-20s

This is somehow even better than I remember. The run from "Slow Ride" to "Slow and Low" is untouchable, and comprises most of the album. Amazing album with only a couple of okay-ish songs and odd production choices.

Awesome phat old school production but the lyrical content and structure seems very basic and dated now

Classic album. Some great tracks.

Didnt realize how much they sampled.

Great debut album

Old hip-hop

8/10 F.t.: fight for your right

Fun debut album, not beastie's best but the kickstart of what was to come. Iconic.

3/25 Fun, rowdy and rebellious, had a great walk listening to this. Standout Tracks: Rhymin & Stealin, She's Crafty, Slow Ride, Fight For Your Right, Paul Revere, Slow And Low, TIme To Get Ill

I've heard this a couple a times but can't remember much beyond the singles. This album is dated in 2021, almost sounds like jokey tv ad rap it's that old, but it's still catchy as. Some of the time it sounds like Gilbert Gottfried screaming over samples haha. 4/5.

You could say the Beastie Boys came out of the gate swinging. This fusion of Rap and Rock became the blueprint of pretty much every aspiring white rapper to come, and bear in mind, there were a lot (A LOT) of terrible ones. But, of course, the Beastie Boys would go on to do greater things with their innovations in sampling on their second album. Key tracks: Girls Fight for Your Right No Sleep Till Brooklyn

The first hip-hop album on this list that I didn't absolutely hate.

QUIT YELLING AT ME! Lots of noise on this one. Best thing here is 'Fight for your right' to paaaarrrrrrtty! Can do without the rest of it.

Not my favourite and not the worst. It’s not like other hip hop records, it’s punkier, it’s more chaotic. But it didn’t fully connect with me on this listen.

haven’t listened to this all the way through before. it’s just a solid album and incredible debut.

It's definitely a new listening experience, the album seems like a punk hip hop fusion, funky (inna good way).

Rock and hip hop funky rap battle type vibes

Favorite track(s): Rhymin & Stealin, Fight for Your Right, No Sleep Till Brooklyn, Brass Monkey Heard before Previous rating: 7/10

Fun listen, not my genre of music. Pleasantly surprised.

Хип-хап и рок, наверное для времени выхода было весьма свежо.

6/10

My mileage varies on the Beastie Boys in general but an undeniably fun album that sort of drifts off toward the end.

Just not really my vibe but I get the hype if you love hip hop

Who doesn’t like these goofy guys with their goofy rhymes. This early album is pretty unrefined even by their standards. But the hits make up for some of the filler here. Great for cruising down the road in the summer.

Classic Beastie Boys. Has a ton of hits, and many references to White Castle. 3.8/5.0

i like that they mix rap n rock in one album, its kinda unique for that time. I prolly will never listen ts album agian but its good, just not my type of music

Me surpreendi ao achar pelo menos 5 músicas interessantes. Acredito que o álbum possui uma produção capaz de 4 estrelas. Porém, comparado a álbuns de outros estilos ele fica abaixo. Os caras são muito nons e talentosos mas a chega um momento que fica repetitico e enjoativo

6/10 Rap moins mon genre

Je savais que c'était connu, et franchement l'idée est bonne, avec le sample de Led Zep en ouverture. Malgré tout je ne suis pas séduit non plus. Playlist pick : Rhymin & Stealin

Was fun until it wasnt and i got really bored i dont know its probably on me for not being a fan of the genre very much. I liked the "girls" until the cleaning and cookin lines. I know I know but it icked me anyway -0-

Fun enough! some quirked up white boy beats.

Distinctive style. Lots of production chops, punchy lyrics

Album 220. Licensed to Ill — Beastie Boys (1986) I adore mixing my two favorite genres: jazz and hip hop — like A Tribe Called Quest do. But I don't really understand or accept this mixing: rock + hip hop. I mean, I like to listen to Beastie Boys once in a while, but it creates a strange feeling to me. Beats are great, samples are great. It's great music. But it feels weird — Run-D.M.C with more rock and screaming. It's really disturbing sometimes. What the heck. 3/5 Liked: — The New Style — Fight For Your Right — Brass Monkey — Time To Get Ill

Respect for the beastie boys. But tbh is not my cup of tea (this album). I know how relevant is for the genre and for the industrie so 3/5 it’s fine (for me)

Found first half a difficult listen but improves from fight for your right

Nicht meins 🥹🖐🏻

Hun teksten zijn echt leuk (Fight for Your Right), maar ik vind het een beetje te veel geschreeuw sorry

Some songs were pretty dated, others were absolute bangers.

“Scranton the Electric City” for 45 minutes Highs: Zeppelin samples Best switch on The New Style No Sleep Till Brooklyn holds up Beat on Paul Revere Lows: Every guitar solo Girls Every song felt the same

Might've been the best white boys to do it. Beats are sick, old style hip hop. Slight overuse of everyone repeating the same lines, but still fun

This was pretty good. Old boom bap sound with some fun turntable work. Favourite Track(s): Brass Monkey, Slow and Low Least Favourite Track(s): Paul Revere

Rhymin & Stealin - 2.5/5 The New Style - 3.5/5 She's Crafty - 3/5 Posse In Effect - 3/5 Slow Ride - 2.5/5 Girls - 4/5 Fight For Your Right - 3.5/5 NO Sleep Till Brooklyn - 2.5/5 Paul Revere - 2/5 Hold It Now, Hit It - 2.5/5 Brass Monkey - 3/5 Slow And Low - 2/5 Time To Get Ill - 3/5

Annoying and fun/funny in equal measure. First two tracks are so grating, just constant shouting, but She's Crafty is pretty good fun with humorous lyrics. Rest of the album follows suit, some grating but some entertaining. Girls, Slow and Low and Time To Get Ill are the standouts outside of the two I already knew (brooklyn and fight).

Quirky album. Respect though.

While technically it’s not the best it’s very fun

no me gusta la voz

La première démarre fort C’est un peu du rap de con quand même Ça a assez mal vieilli sur les paroles (misogynes) comme sur le son Fight for your right : bien ! Ils me sont sympathiques quand même No sleep till brooklyn ! Ça s’écoute assez facilement mais des sons ont vieilli. Quand même certains sortent du lot

The whole album kept true to form

brass monkey är fan catchy.

Lmao I can’t get over how one of them sounds like Morty

MUUY experimental, álbum bastante divertido y variado. No mucho de mi gusto tho.

3.9/5

I hated Pauls's but if it's nostalgia or just better music I'm not sure but I like this one much better. Not top to bottom but has its moments

I think this album is great. It's definitely not my favorite. While I like the Beastie boys I just don't feel them. They are a good listen yet they don't motivate me.

This is a weird one in that I could’ve sworn I’ve had this album already on the album generator. Nonetheless, I liked a few tracks and the energy but struggled to get properly into it.

It is undeniably historic and possesses an incredible, raw energy, but the heavy use of straightforward hard rock riffs and standard drum machine beats makes it a bit primitive compared to their later, far more complex cut-and-paste sampling work. Still, the Led Zeppelin and AC/DC loops give it a heavy rock foundation that makes it a blast to spin when you just want unfiltered, aggressive noise.

me gusto la bateria y las voces pero no es tan pegadiza como me gustaria, es demasiado gritos en un momento

I prefer later Beastie Boys albums. Too snotty boy sounding on this album. Of course they were young pups. They already had a distinct sound. “Girls” is a lot of fun. I like to think that there’s self mockery going on, but who knows. Still it’s delightful. I understand why “Fight for Your Right” was a hit. It speaks to the teen in me. I lean toward “No Sleep Till Brooklyn”. Probably the use of “Sugarhill Groove” is what catches the ear.

2,9 Highlights: Rhymin And Stealin, Fight For Your Right

This is very much of it's time. Childish, snotty, sort of punk hip hop by bratty boys. It's pretty good too!

always preferred Ill Communication but its had to argue with the hits here

How is this 40 years old?! So juvenile — I was a contemporary of those guys, but at the time, they sounded younger to me, no doubt because of "Fight for Your Right," a high school song if ever there was one. I recall picking up the album in a record store and shaking my head at the cover art; I didn't buy it. I really liked some of their later work better ("Sabotage," for example), but this is a great kickoff to their recording career, and "Brass Monkey" is a highlight for me.

one of the most gleefully, knowingly boneheaded albums i've ever listened to. you know these guys were absolutely CHEESING in the booth rapping about white castle and russell simmons smoking angel dust also something crazy about how THIS was the first rap album to hit the billboard top 200, especially since it was already 2 years out from Run-DMC's debut. Whodini had two records out! but rick rubin, for all his myriad faults, knows (knew?) the business and i guess he had a hunch that what people needed was for it to be some white boys anyway: Paul's Boutique clears

The nostalgia factor is high with this one. I had it as a kid and listened to it endlessly with my Walkman. That was decades ago. This is my first listen to the full album as an adult. It’s still fun and dumb and full of posturing and misogyny. 12 year old me gives it a 5. Adult me wants to tell these overprivileged boys to grow up. A 3 seems right.

unfortunately, this album does not hold up this good for today`s projects and even other Rubin projects such as LL COOL J and RUN DMC Albums, but it still has some flavor, you just need to get used to it

Can’t deny their influence and I do enjoy some of these songs every once in a while but I get bored of their style pretty quickly

"This is my second Beastie Boys album I've listened to on this thing, and I hated the first one. This one wasn't so bad. I can't help it if every song makes me think of the ""Boats and Hoes"" rap from Stepbrothers. But this album has all the classic BB songs, this might as well be their only album. "

Some great beats, some decent rhymes, but definitely not the full mature sounds of later albums. But that's to be expected from a debut album.

Some serious white boy, dusty, mid 80s rap. The type where they say "girly" and it sounds like the 808 was invented the week before. These boys have serious charisma though and rap off each other like its nothing. Very fun album undeniably, though I understand their sound would coalesce on later albums. Can we talk about the guitar break on Fight for your Right? Rick Rubin got Kerry King in there and was like Ok play a pentatonic solo. He could not do it - listen to that shit. Maybe the worst solo on a major hit. Why would he make Kerry king do that? How does Kerry king not know how to do that? Why leave it on the track? Thankfully he realized the error of his ways and allowed him to do it Kerry style on the next track. 3.5

FUUUUUUUUUUCK. the motherlode of barrett and co. annoyance™️. shoot me. please. it's fine. go listen to (no like genuinely slow and low's a cover {cover's better but ["king ad rock" in the same tone rev run says "king of rock" is noted] y'know}) Run DMC. young men amongst (the thing about verhoeven esque critique that's so good it's subsumed into what it's targeting is that verhoeven bashes over the head; y'all just slow) frat boys 👁️ . an early exercise in rick rubin slamming the shit out the drum mix. singles are (begrudgingly) classics. well. some of them. back in the day (👵) artists could afford to drop multiple singles. thank you for giving them the ll cool j beats. and reversing the 808 on paul revere. baller move. stop player hating. 3.5. (related but unrelated) why do i (abby has mentioned this) share a bday with ad rock? is it bad that there were multiple moments that reminded me of SNL Sandler (and/or YFM)? anyways. it's objectively funny that kerry king had to take time off from writing Reign in Blood to bash power chords for MCA. albums recommended by yt music: body count, the EMF album, shout at the devil. i mean. why not. style boyz in the house. and we gives a fuck. so whip out your nuts and shut the.... (actually related) it's cool i can recognize the sample family tree (eg run dmc samples on the new style to travis scott sampling it for CAROUSEL). posse in effect gated reverb on the 808 snare>>>. that's the note. the other note: slow ride (+ time to get ill)? i Know these niggas aren't serious right now. but are you niggas SERIOUS right now? i have similar thoughts on girls. AR built like lena dunham indeed.

Le daría una puntuación de 5/10 en la primera escucha. Es de estas canciones que escuchándolas en otro sitio sin ponerlas yo me flipan y mejoran el ambiente, pero de ahí a guardarlas en mi playlist o ponerlas yo... hay un trecho, no creo que guarde ninguna en mi playlist pero ha sido divertido escuchar su álbum y darme cuenta que ya había oído alguna de las canciones de pasada.

no sleep till... was one i liked and overall it was good just need to be in right vibe

First Beastie Boys album I’ve listened all the way through. I enjoyed it for the most part, but it took a while to get going and there were a few tracks that I just couldn’t really get behind (Girls especially.

2026.05.01

haaaated the start of this album but really enjoyed more as it got into it. fun

Album was great, unique. But not really what im looking forward. Crazy fan of hip hop btw

not my piece of cake. old school hip-hop. hip-hop/rock fusion. in "The New Style" i really liked the beat-switch.

This is the first one that I didn't love. I feel the same way about a lot of 80s hip hop as I do about 50s rock: I appreciate this more as a historical artifact than an album I'd seek out. I like the rawness and looseness of the production, but the flow is too samey for me. The songs aren't there for me, but I get it.

The Beastie Boys ran so Eminem could fly and NYSNC and the Backstreet Boys could walk. They hit their sound on their first album and awesome songs like Fight for Your Right, No Sleep Til Brooklyn, and Brass Monkey bring a good, but ultimately not to my tastes genre up into the 3 range.

They are a vibe. Sometimes when a whole album is a single vibe it wears a bit, and this one does drag a bit in the middle.

I really like the Beastie Boys. Ill Communication has been one of my favorite albums I've received so far. However, this debut is not doing it for me. You can tell that these guys were having a lot of fun making this album, shooting the shit and rapping about whatever they wanted. The production, however, leaves a lot to be desired, and it's just not as exciting or interesting as their later stuff. I'm not really vibing with the Brass Monkey.

I am so unsure how to rate this album, which is reportedly considered one of the greatest hip hop albums ever made? But as long as it gets in over under my thumb I think we'll be ok Also lol re: having two zeppelin samples in the first 3 tracks 😂

Esta muy bueno para ser tan viejo.

Así como con el rap, no soy fan del hip hop, pero siento que mínimo con este último se puede bailar. En fin, interesante álbum (¿debut?) que tiene dos canciones (al menos en Apple Music son las más populares) que incorporan las guitarras rockeras de los ochenta en el género hip hop que me gustaron.

Listening in the morning: god these guys are obnoxious and whiny. Listening in the evening: YOU GOTTA FIGHT. FOR YOUR RIGHT. TO PARRRRTYYY

Hablando de cosas que se me hacen bola: el hip hop. Cuando todo el mundo asociaba el rap a las bandas de personas negras salidas de suburbios que hablaban de droga, violencia y sexo, llegan tres muchachitos neoyorquinos blancos de familias bien y se comen el negocio a base de punkear el hip hop de los bajos fondos. Le añaden algo de originalidad y guitarreo al rap, pero para mí, en más de la mitad de las canciones, creo estar escuchando una copia barata de la introductoria de "El Príncipe de Bel Air". Sí, bueno, "Fight For Your Right" está muy chula.

Not my favorite type of music, but still knew all the classics in here. Definitely some hits. I still enjoy them, but I'm not sure I'd say they're musically good. Probably a product of its time. 3.5 I'd say

Not my favorite but I appreciate it for what it is. Beats are good but I hate the bro-rap style in some of the tracks

Норм, движово, но однообразно

This is fun

Great beats, lyrics didn’t age well.

Not for me.

I am not a big fan of the hip-hop sound from this era. It sounds like nothing more than a skeletal structure. When you listen to obscure records from that time that didn't really make history, you could argue that they are interesting precisely because they sound so hollow, but this one is polished enough that it feels like it sits right in the boring part of the uncanny valley.

I loved this record freshman year of high school and had outgrown it by sophomore year. I’m pretty sure the Beastie Boys felt the same way about it. I still know all the lyrics from “Paul Revere” and a couple other songs. The Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin samples still hit and “No Sleep Til Brooklyn” and “Fight For Your Right” remain eternally iconic anthems. Some of the deeper cuts are fun too. Not gonna lie, I enjoyed revisiting it way more than I expected.

Nice

liked this a lot more than i expected

One of them sounds likes Danny brown or more like Danny brown sounds like one of them

Good and fun and party and nostalgic. Too repetitive and monotone for me.

Bastante blanco, pero bien

Brass Monkey is still one of the hardest singles of all time. I think some of this album has aged well and there are more highs than lows. If I ever saw a real 727 painted like the album cover I would pop off.

Definitely not a genre I listen to usually, I do like the way they swap between each other. The beats are phenomenal. I like brass monkeys.

huge week on the generator for high-school-age me! i've loved the Beasties for a while, but i think even as a young person this one seemed a bit inessential compared to what would come next. they've got tons of personality, and it's pretty clear why they were such a sensation right away, but this just doesn't stack up to the next few records, and some of the lyrics have absolutely curdled in adult ears. it's prodigiously, charmingly annoying, but still annoying at the end of the day - can't picture ever putting this on over Paul's Boutique or Ill Communication

I was a kid when this came out, but not quite juvenile enough

I studied the lyrics to this one profoundly… and I think I might be onto something… I think them Boys liked girls!!?? Ok, that had to be said. Now back to business: It’s a fun record - which is no small feat, after all these years. Granted, some bars don’t hit as hard as they did back in the ’80s. Knowing that the Beastie Boys were destined for much greater things, this is probably one of their “classic” records that I take off the shelf the least. Is it essential listening? No… eh, yes? Whatever… it kind of defies that category for me. It was formative for their own trajectory as one of the most idiosyncratic white hip-hop groups to have ever graced the ears of mankind, at least. Spinning this today, some stuff seems a tad stale or cliché - but back then, it probably made people stop in their tracks. It’s the blueprint for a much better artistic catalog, so that should suffice for its inclusion. Also, I’d bet a lot of money that the Licensed to Ill bangers - deservedly - still make their way onto myriads of party playlists. My baby daughter was just vibin’ hard to “Brass Monkey”… so yeah, there’s that.

Album #72: Licensed To Ill - Beastie Boys Genre (W): Rap rock, hip hop Singles: Hold It Now, Hold It, Paul Revere, The New Style, (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!), Brass Monkey, No Sleep till Brooklyn, Girls I have not listened to this album before. Thoughts?: I didn’t like the drum machines at first, but I warmed up to them by the time of the second side. The productions sounds very 80’s, I guess that isn’t a bad thing though. Side 2 was better than Side 1. Favorite songs: Fight For Your Right, No Sleep till Brooklyn, Hold It Now, Hold It, Brass Monkey, Slow and Low, Time to Get Ill

fun!

blablablbla ... =^_^= GIRLS! dududuududud =^_^= ... yeaaah 80s rooockk ... blablablabla

Nice one!

Iconic but sounds so dated now

Its fun. Catchy, they use the samples so well it feels like they're the originals lol. The only thing I don't like is that by the end, I'm a little worn out of their constant aggressiveness - but that's what this album is Fav Tracks: No Sleep Till Brooklyn, Brass Monkey, Girls 7/10

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.

Rap lento mas legal, mas sabottage ainda é a melhor musica deles

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.

Listened to this quite alot back in the days.It really is a game changer of an album.

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.

it’s fun and comical but i don’t think i’d crave it or seek it out.

Not for me, but definitely a unique one.

Lots of good songs. As an album its super repetitive and I wasn't in the right environment to be listening to it

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

Did not enjoy nearly as much as Ill Communication

6/10

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

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

++: 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

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 would like this if it was currently 1986.

I mean it's ok, but not for me. Rate 6/10

The lyrics have not aged well but the beats are there.

The talent and layering of styles is impressive for a debut album. The misogyny is unpalatable though.

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.

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. Immature fun.

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.

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

Sólido 3.5. Mezcla de estilos que funciona muy bien

Un álbum clásico del hip-hop / rock, creo que todo aquel que sea fan del rap tiene que escucharlo, tiene varias canciones míticas

6/10

3.25 - There are some good moments, but I think I'm more of a "greatest hits" Beastie Boys fan.

Enduring debut for the rap/rock/hip-hop legends infectiously celebrating being a shithead

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

Liked second half best. Can understand why this was so popular...cutting edge NY hip hop in the 80s.

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

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.

"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

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.

These white boys weird fr

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.

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.

Bit outdated and rather noisy, I do prefer Paul’s Boutique.

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.

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.

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 was expecting to enjoy this more if I’m honest! Still good but No Sleep and Fight really carry this album. Enjoyed Girls though!

Cool shit.

6/10

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.

The beats are great but their voices are just too whiny

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.

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

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.

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.

à réécouter

1: No Sleep Til Brooklyn 2: Fight For Your Right 3: She’s Crafty

Very fun. Not their best work, but iconic.

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.

fine. A little abrasive.

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

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.

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.

Powerful

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.

Not really my thing. I didn't hate it though.

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.

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.

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.

I wish this had aged better than it has. Still a nostalgic listen, though.

not bad rap album with sometimes rock instrumentals

5 - AVERAGE

УННВ, если бы были американцами..

Check Your Head is their 5 star album. This is too corny, and I'm a Juggalo.

top 3 - Rhyming & Stealin, Fight For Your Right, No Sleep Till Brooklyn.

Highlights: - Rhymin & Stealin - Fight For Your Right - No Sleep Till Brooklyn

Decent album.

Songs got better towards to end. The first few seemed to have the same track

A nostalgic listen from the days when we used to, er, "collect" car badges. We were young and stupid and this was our music. No regrets.

Typical Beastie Boys. Nice listen.

Not bad but not my style. Repetitive in all songs.funny

I really liked it, lots of different sounds, great instrumentals (drums + piano), amazing flow, lyrics about the evils of fame and about his early life. Favorites were Wesley’s theory, these walls, king kunta, how much a dollar cost, the blacker the berry

This is a very creative and groundbreaking album without a doubt. I’ve still always viewed the Beastie Boys as pretty dated. They also lack the coolness that makes me love hip hop. The yelping singing/rapping is energetic, but definitely annoys me sometimes. I understand the satire and sarcasm of it all, but I prefer their more rock leaning tracks.

Too much boys for one sitting. Nothing but respect for them and I wouldn’t mind listening to one of these songs if I’m at a party or something but yeesh all of them in a row is grating. I’ve heard great things about Paul’s boutique so hopefully I like that one better!

Too juvenile (sometimes childish) humour and a few not great verses, but it has also crafty samples and good production. The first track, "Rhymin & Stealin", sounds like a manifesto. 3.75/5

A lot of nostalgia with this album. Interesting to listen to it after listening to “ill communication”, the production on this album it’s much more raw. Fun listen!

There's a few songs I like, but they never really been my style

Fun but songs are a hit or a miss for me. The most popular tracks - Fight For Your Right and No Sleep Till Brooklyn are the best

I love the Beastie Boys. It's a weird, magical thing that they ever got big. I mean, imagine these dudes walking around in matching tracksuits in 1985 and thinking THEY'D be legends in rap music. It's bizzare. I've noted previously that a lot of 80s hip hop, especially early- to mid-80s, sounds very dated, slow, and corny. Much of this album falls into that bucket, with a few cuts that hold up remarkably well. I'm thinking in particular of "Rhymin' & Stealin'" "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" "Hold It Now, Hit" and "Brass Monkey." The formula for most of their rap work that follows is here in terms of song structure, flows, crazy-heavy samples, etc. Much of that is enjoyable, and they would continue to build on it every album thereafter. Still, it sounds tinny and whack when compared to contemporary hip hop or golden age 90s stuff. It sort of requires grading on a curve in some way. Where it really suffers is the topics. Much has been written--far better than I could--on their evolution from the clowish, misogynistic, frat-rap party boys they were to the Tibetan Freedom, Kathleen Hanna-marrying feminists they'd become. It's just crazy how stupid this record is. There's absolutely nothing credible about three Jewish prep school kids talking about toting guns while, um, also breaking into lockers to smash a nerd's glasses. Some of these dumb lines are clever, but goddamn are they dumb. This holds up better than it should, but I wonder if that's me being too generous to them. They're great, and I understand why this was big at the time, but this is their worst album, by a mile. Has its moments, but graded on its own merits, it pales to the four albums that immediately followed.

sadly this album didn’t suit my taste at all but I quite enjoyed two songs. I didn’t hate it that’s why I was about to give it a 2/5 but for the sake of those songs I increased it to be a 3/5

Bueno rap así ok me aburro un poco pero escuchable dan un poco d penilla. Suenan tdasigual

This was a good listen. I wasn’t sure if I’d be over it by the end, but I actually wouldn’t have minded spinning it again if I had time. Just a bunch of fun non-serious rhymes and beats to bop to.

Foundational Beasties--but I think I prefer the later stuff tbh

I want to really like it but there are some songs that really fall flat

Hyvin soitettu ja aikanaan todella merkityksellistä, mutta nyt vuosikymmenien jälkeen, ei enää samalla tavalla pysty arvostamaan, kun vaikutukset on vieläkin kuultavissa nykymusiikissa.

Oli tämä parempi kuin se edellinen Beastie Boys. Muutama ihan semmoinenkin biisi mitä voisi uudempaankin kertaan kuunnella.

It was good, however, it did not age well. I enjoyed several of the songs on the album, and had heard many of them before.

Entiendo el valor del album, pero sigue sin llegarme. Siento que envejeció mal. 6/10

A good diferente

One big joke that didn’t age particularly well. Fun along the way and captures the mood - feels like a soundtrack album for 80s New York

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater vibes. Fave track: No Sleep Till Brooklyn

It’s rock rap so yeah. Idk. 3/5

A classic but the lyrics....

favorites: track three: she’s crafty, track five: slow ride, track six: girls, track eight: no sleep till brooklyn

N/a

Legal

My recollection of this album was that it paled to the rest of their work, no urgency, and too reliant on an in-joke of frat boy rap that went too far. The rhymes are definitely bad, rough, and utterly tasteless in their time. The BEATS though - Rick Rubin saying “yeah these little Brooklyn twerps who used to be punks should have the thunder of John Bonham and the hellwinds of ‘Sweet Leaf’ over the opening track” and NAILED it. Every beat sounds so good, so urgent, so intense that the only sound to rival it would be their Def Jam labelmate Terminator X. It’s a real mixed bag, it’s not a great record, and it doesn’t need to be on the list but if you wanna nice sonic blast you’d be hard pressed to find worse.

3.5 out of five! Some great songs and i like the track production, im just not the biggest fan of their voices

1/2/26. Fun. 6.5/10

My third favourite Beastie Boys album and yet still a high 3. Just a bit less consistent. Still some great moments

Without looking you can tell this is Beasties Boys’ debut because the blend of hip hop and rock is not as refined as what comes later. They are still building their rapping abilities and their music doesn’t sprawl and stretch into the different sub-genres (i.e. hardcore punk) that make later records such a delight. Having said that, the track list is home to plenty of treats, especially in the middle of the record. The barbershop quartet-esque Girls is absolutely brilliant and seems to come from nowhere, a nice contrast with the energetic breakout hit single that follows Fight For Your Right, which acts as their rawdy mission statement. You can see how these boys whipped up so much excitement among the teens!

Licensed To Ill is not as good as our previous Beastie Boys record, I think this is less funny lyrically and less interesting musically, but bits of it really work for me, probably a low to mid 3

very boombox very hippy hop. every song is unique to the other, melody, rhythm. brass monkey on top. although would not listen again

They didn’t become great until they re-imagined what they could be after this album. This album has some good tracks but was mostly them trying to imitate Run DMC and just get attention.

Loved the album!!! I had listened to it so much as a kid with mum so it brought back memories of us in the kitchen playing

It was good but pretty i fell asleep for half of it. But its really different to what I would normally listen to but I liked it or at least the bits I listened to

at first i got scared bc it’s a bunch of dudes aggressively screaming into my ear but then it kinda got groovy. the lil punk moment at girls caught me totally off guard. they had visions.

❤️

100 down still much more to go

Too heavy. To rap what US metal was to rock.

Some Quirked up White Boys with just a touch of swagger, are they goated with the sauce? Historically śpeaking, I guess, lowkey overrated but they were on the bleeding edge so you gotta give it to em. Obv they were pretty big. I like their classics that they’re known for from this album. I fucking HATED the song Girls, maybe it was a joke but mf you aint weird Al Yankovic idk what the hell that was. My roommate liked it because it’s the first beastie boys song he ever heard lol. Good music to hate your parents and steal from dollar tree to. Also good for smoking weed behind a church at 13 years old.

not quite my style

has some classics for sure, but outside of those the general style isnt rly for me

Classic album, though it feels like it doesn't really live up to the age that has passed since.

Production was a bit overwhelming but there was some good stuff so maybe a 3

Fighting for the right to party

Like a fine wine, it seems to have got better with age.

Genius cross of hard rock and rap, especially when the rock being sampled is Zep. Bit of a health warning on other tracks though. 3*

I recognized two songs No sleep till Brooklyn Paul Revere it’s popular. used a lot in movies, not my style but definitely memorable.

Classic album first time to listen and it was okay

162 Los Beastie Boys no tienen nada que me gusten, pero hacen cosas entretenidas que hacen que disfrute escucharlos, aunque sólo me gustan algunas canciones específicas de ellos. En este disco no había ninguna, pero igual lo pasé bien escuchando qué canciones samplearon o qué guiños a otras canciones hicieron.

es fehlt was egal wie laut typisches hip hop album alle lieder ähnlich gutes cover

Their worst album. Still enjoyable despite sounding very dated.

For me it starts kinda weak - just looping beats and some rap, peaking midway with 'fight for your right' and 'no sleep till brooklyn' (more melodic, catchy, etc). In summary: funny (sometimes cringy?) texts and rap/hip-hop typical rhymes on a looping beat or sound samples. Not bad but also not really my taste in music.

I loved this album when I was younger. It was up there with Run DMC and LL. I still enjoy some of there stuff but it it all way to similar. Fun mix and DJ work, silly lyrics and screaming into a megaphone into a mic. I will give them huge leeway as hip hop was new and they are trailblazers but damn it sound the same from song to song.

A fun album, but that's kinda all there is to it. Nothing wrong with fun, but it kinda overstays its welcome. The ones that everyone knows from the album - "Fight for Your Right", "Girls", "Brass Monkey", "No Sleep Till Brooklyn", are all serviceable '80s hip-hop, but the rest of the album is just kinda inferior versions of them.

I like Beastie Boys. I have a very white-person taste in hip hop and prefer when it’s fast-paced and production-focused. This is kind of what Beastie Boys are making. However, although I enjoyed this album, I think it was pretty inconsistent. There’s a bunch of songs with great beats and fun vocals, and I like the guitar riffs that are occasionally inserted into the music, but there are also some songs that are underproduced and feel kind of empty. Good album overall but not the most consistent. Also, the mixing is also not the best. 7/10

(3.2) Pretty unique sound and production. I think this is probably one of my dad’s favorite albums; definitely reminds me of some car rides when I was a kid. Overall it’s just not my favorite sound, it’s definitely interesting and fun to listen to, but it’s not something I would regularly re-listen to.

3/5

I love the Beasties. On my shortlist for albums to contribute to this list when I've finished is Check Your Head (my favorite of their albums), but I'll admit I rarely go back to listen to their debut in full. The album is too much screaming, too many similar break beats, too much Rick Rubin (whose production I appreciate in short bursts) but if I'm honest, about half the tracks I could skip because they're monotonous. It should be pointed out that the Beasties were young, dumb and stupid at this point. The original title for this album was "Don't Be A Fa**ot" (they have since recognized the error of their ways and apologized) but while there are quite a few funny lines throughout, the album is largely crass and juvenile, and not necessarily in a way that makes their protagonists likeable. There was also some startling creativity being hemmed in by Rubin and Russell Simmons, who were conspiring to rip them off, and it would come out after they moved to Capitol Records in the masterpiece Paul's Boutique. The bangers on this album, "Fight For Your Right," "No Sleep Til' Brooklyn," "Brass Monkey," "Girls," "Paul Revere," etc. mean I can't rate this album too low, but it ranks well below what were going to see from the group.

good shit

Good debut

Pretty solid but not their final form.

A fun record. Took me a minute to get into it but after I did, I enjoyed it! It does feel quite dated, though. The record scratching and lyric rhythms scream 80s rap

Nice album, but not my style

This first album by The Beastie Boys reminds me of the first album by Ween (GodWeenSatan): basic, immature and dumb as hell and yet they both oops!, happen to be great! For the Beasties it’s hitting the surprising goof nail in the burgeoning genre of rap. I personally don’t like them overall. They don’t speak to me. Fight For Your Right is another all time hated song for me. Girls is ridiculously misogynistic…such a WTF! moment. Their Zeppelin sample was cool, but if I want that I’ll go listen to Zep. No Sleep Til Brooklyn, Brass Monkey and Slow and Low are pretty great. The Mr. Ed sample in Time To Get Ill had me chuckling and reminded me of watching endless reruns of that show as a kid. 3.5 stars, because this album is NOT good and yet great at the same time.

I've never loved the Beastie Boys, but this has some fun songs.

This guy's are amazing at making fun music. The energy is hard to dispute. The rapping is in very high quality, the interaction between the boys especially. Production also feels ahead of time A very good record A high 3

Cool beats but nothing really that special to me outside of Fight For Your Right

preferred to the last beastie boys album but was happy when it was over

Hard not to get caught up in nostalgia with this one, my first proper hip-hop album. Sounds very raw now with some dubious lyrics but still has some great tracks.

Copying from my other account, this is the best of the three beastie boys accounts on this list, Fight for your right easily being there best song

kind of fun, kind of annoying