Rip Round'n Roc
05-28-2004, 12:00 PM
http://www.artofrhyme.com/reviews/beastie_check.shtml
The Beastie Boys have traveled full circle in their career. Whether it's their humble beginnings as old school Hip Hoppers over classic break beats, tracks like "Sabotage" which established them as a legitimate Rock band, or random periods of experimentation. Now they seem to be back to their roots of trading silly rhymes in the name of Hip Hop. Even the title of their upcoming album, To The 5 Boroughs, seems to reaffirm that belief. "Ch-Check It Out" is already burning up radio airwaves and MTV simultaneously.
Mike D, Ad Rock and MCA are back in full effect on "Ch-Check It Out". It puts me in mind of a faster version of "So What'cha Want" from Check Your Head. The beat is relatively simple with horn bursts and speedy drums, but it suits their off-the-wall style perfectly. The Beastie Boys are poster boys for musicians that can have legitimate political and social views, but are still able to let loose and have fun in their music when necessary. Other artists could take a lesson from them.
What else needs to be said about the Beastie Boys? Groups that transcend genres and reinvent their sounds are often unfairly labeled as "sell-outs", but I've never heard that with the Beasties. They've never been too Hip Hop, too grunge or too anything, they've always just been themselves. I'm looking forward to see what other styles they can dig out of the vaults for To the 5 Boroughs.
Score: 7.5/10
The Beastie Boys have traveled full circle in their career. Whether it's their humble beginnings as old school Hip Hoppers over classic break beats, tracks like "Sabotage" which established them as a legitimate Rock band, or random periods of experimentation. Now they seem to be back to their roots of trading silly rhymes in the name of Hip Hop. Even the title of their upcoming album, To The 5 Boroughs, seems to reaffirm that belief. "Ch-Check It Out" is already burning up radio airwaves and MTV simultaneously.
Mike D, Ad Rock and MCA are back in full effect on "Ch-Check It Out". It puts me in mind of a faster version of "So What'cha Want" from Check Your Head. The beat is relatively simple with horn bursts and speedy drums, but it suits their off-the-wall style perfectly. The Beastie Boys are poster boys for musicians that can have legitimate political and social views, but are still able to let loose and have fun in their music when necessary. Other artists could take a lesson from them.
What else needs to be said about the Beastie Boys? Groups that transcend genres and reinvent their sounds are often unfairly labeled as "sell-outs", but I've never heard that with the Beasties. They've never been too Hip Hop, too grunge or too anything, they've always just been themselves. I'm looking forward to see what other styles they can dig out of the vaults for To the 5 Boroughs.
Score: 7.5/10