Say what you want about Beastie Boys but the energy that flows through their discography is undeniable and consistent throughout the trio’s many sonic risks. Throughout their time in the spotlight, Mike D, MCA, and Ad-Rock merged the worlds of punk and hip-hop through experimental sampling and lively flows that deployed the trio’s personalities almost as much as their natural musicianship. This marriage of their two favorite genres has gone through many phases, the Dust Brothers produced nature of their sophomore album showed the band was more than three New York City-raised party lovers who found a new means to express themselves. Their exploration into new territories (and its lack of sales) allowed Beastie Boys to get back to their punk roots on their third effort, bringing in live instruments to complement their new style of songwriting. This landed the band back where they began for their fourth outing except with a newfound sense of maturity, completing what will be referred to as the “Beastie Boys Cycle”. The Beastie Boys Cycle sums up their first four albums, combining their two favorite genres only to break down this fusion to create two albums that dove head first into each one respectively with a return to form to add a lovely ribbon on it all.
With the band’s unique style already experiencing a full life cycle, we arrive at Beastie Boys’ fifth album with almost zero expectations and their new sense of freedom that has been reinforced by the positive feedback of their previous LPs. Hello Nasty, Beastie Boys’ sprawling fifth LP, was released 25 years ago today (July 14) and continues to inspire wonder for anyone who comes across its comical cover art. It was the band’s most mature and expansive album to date with songs that pull from the trio’s past while continuing to push the boundaries of what Beastie Boys could become. The 22-song album feels like a victory lap, it is a middle finger to those who questioned the work on their psychedelic sophomore release while also embarrassing the lessons learned along the way. Their structure is stronger than ever and the vocals are equal parts frantic and honed-in, Hello Nasty introduced us to a side of Beastie Boys they’ve been parading in front of us the whole time except this time, their message refuses to be lost in translation.
Their fifth album welcomed Mix Master Mike into the Beastie Boys’ universe, a fourth member to help corral the original trio’s loftiest ideas. The band also brought in producers like Money Mark Nishita and Mario Caldato Jr. along with legends like Biz Markie and Lee “Scratch” Perry. The group created a style of music that is an open format, their albums are built around unpredictability and approaching every element of a song as another color to add to their kaleidoscope vision. This allows for the wide range of features and styles we hear on Hello Nasty, an album whose legacy is based on its sweeping sonics and ambitious tendencies.
The music of Hello Nasty finds the middle ground between the band’s past and their future, creating a rainbow of flavors for Beastie Boys to play around in. The album goes from “Super Disco Breakin’” that harkens back to the trio’s party days while a song like “Putting Shame In Your Game” shows how the band has matured into venomous emcees. The lead single and smash hit “Intergalactic” showed their ability to combine their experimental tendencies with tradition, creating a funky track that allows them to rap their ass off while fueling their unfiltered creativity. The album is broken apart by instrumental moments like the criminally smooth “Sneakin’ Out the Hospital”, allowing for breathers between the onslaught of imaginative hip-hop. Hello Nasty allowed Beastie Boys to take their experiences and apply them to their daring creativity, creating consistency in their all-over-the-place style.
Beastie Boys saw the highest highs and lowest lows of pursuing music before they arrived to record their fifth album. With a reputation for the unpredictable and four albums that bounce between genres and worlds, Hello Nasty was the band’s final swing at the album they’ve been trying to make since their debut and before their discography took another left turn with the more serious To the 5 Boroughs. The trio injected every emotion, experience, idea, and musical sensibility into their fifth album, it is a grab bag of influences filtered through four minds attempting to cement their ever-running imaginations. For 22 tracks, Beastie Boys guide you through their creative lifecycle and present you with their most mature album to date as “The Beastie Boys Cycle” receives an ambitiously beautiful send-off.
