highest selling rap groups of alltime

[canucklehead200]

? where do the beasties rank?

[kleptomaniac]

beastie boys...........................priceless. ;)

[M.C. Guevera]

I don't know about groups, but in all of rap, they're #2 behind Tupac, but in front of Eminem.

Never underestimate the popularity of Licensed To Ill, even today.

[BeastieAlbum07]

I don't know about groups, but in all of rap, they're #2 behind Tupac, but in front of Eminem.

Never underestimate the popularity of Licensed To Ill, even today.

I love LTI today.

[KENNY GUIDO]

Ive always maintained that LTI was thier best album. Although I love PB alot now too, LTI is just chock full of memories of the beastie boys in my teens.

[M.C. Guevera]

I've known quite a few people in the past few years who only have LTI and that's it. Even in 2007, there are still 14-year-old boys who know all the words to "Girls".

It just goes to show you that while the Beasties have many fans, for alot more people on this planet, the Beastie Boys begin and end with Licensed To Ill. (Just look at LTI's record sales compared to their other albums for proof of this)

[ILLMIX]

M.C. Guevera: I don't know about groups, but in all of rap, they're #2 behind Tupac, but in front of Eminem.

Never underestimate the popularity of Licensed To Ill, even today.


really, i thought that this was just a fantasy of beastie fans??? but if it is true then its cool. have u got any figures anywhere to show us?

[M.C. Guevera]

I believe they've sold about 22 or 24 million copies. 2Pac has sold either 26 or 27 million. Eminem has sold 21 million.

That's what I remember though. It may have changed, since it's been a little while since I last saw that list.

EDIT: And apparently it has:

Tupac: 36.5 million records sold
Jay-Z: 33 million records sold
Eminem: 27 million records sold
Beastie Boys: 23 million records sold

So yes, The Beastie Boys are the highest selling rap group of all-time!

[Nerd Fight]

heeyyyy.....so Tupac's obviously not going to be releasing (much) more material....hopefully Jay Z realizes his return from retirement wasn't such a hot idea and he goes back to retirement...and no-one wants another eminem album, right?

So...if the Beatie Boy's new album sells a few million copies....and then they keep on after that like energiser bunnies ....2, 3 more albums...
They'll claim hip hop's sales crown !(y)

But only if the fresh prince doesn't release another album.

[tpk]

heeyyyy.....so Tupac's obviously not going to be releasing (much) more material....hopefully Jay Z realizes his return from retirement wasn't such a hot idea and he goes back to retirement...and no-one wants another eminem album, right?

So...if the Beatie Boy's new album sells a few million copies....and then they keep on after that like energiser bunnies ....2, 3 more albums...
They'll claim hip hop's sales crown !(y)

But only if the fresh prince doesn't release another album.doesnt tupac have a new single out right now?

[ILLMIX]

I believe they've sold about 22 or 24 million copies. 2Pac has sold either 26 or 27 million. Eminem has sold 21 million.

That's what I remember though. It may have changed, since it's been a little while since I last saw that list.

EDIT: And apparently it has:

Tupac: 36.5 million records sold
Jay-Z: 33 million records sold
Eminem: 27 million records sold
Beastie Boys: 23 million records sold

So yes, The Beastie Boys are the highest selling rap group of all-time!

nice, what site is this from....i cant find it anywhere.

[M.C. Guevera]

I put it together using information from the RIAA website and Wikipedia. The RIAA list was from 2004, so I had to add in TT5B and Jay-Z's latest album also.

[funk63]

doesnt tupac have a new single out right now?


I wrote this song a long time ago,
A real long time ago. Feel me!
I wrote this song a long time ago,
Was the dopest song I ever wrote... in '94.

What can a nigga do,
When half the people voted for George W.
Life's a bitch, cause George W., can't be true,
I wanna choke him, cause he's a snitch,
I'm talkin' bout George W. Smith, from city council,
He ran in '93 out in Oakland, you probabably didn't hear about him.

[abcdefz]

I think LTI is kind of the Bob Marley: Legend of rap. It works for frat boys who can latch onto that one album and feel like they've bought in because they "get it."

[pm0ney]

For the longest time it was Tupac #1, Beastie Boys #2. But with Eminem releasing another 2 albums, Jay Z releasing another 3 albums, and Tupac releasing more and more material in the after-life, the Beasties have fallen behind. 6 studio albums in 20 years doesnt exactly equal the best workrate on the planet. But I would take 6 solid albums over 20 years than 10 average ones in 10 years.

[Brother McDuff]

for the history books, though, the beasties will end up past these guys eventually because their records are more timeless pieces of work accessible to wider audiences. LTI will still be selling considerably in ten years, wherein records like "All Eyes on Me", "The Black Album", and "The Marshall Mathers LP", for examples will be much less significant by then. These guys' biggest albums were big for their careers, LTI and PB were big for hip-hop in general.

[Justin]

heeyyyy.....so Tupac's obviously not going to be releasing (much) more material....hopefully Jay Z realizes his return from retirement wasn't such a hot idea and he goes back to retirement...and no-one wants another eminem album, right?

So...if the Beatie Boy's new album sells a few million copies....and then they keep on after that like energiser bunnies ....2, 3 more albums...
They'll claim hip hop's sales crown !(y)

But only if the fresh prince doesn't release another album.

If tupac didnt die he wouldnt be #1

[BeastieAlbum07]

If tupac didnt die he wouldnt be #1

Tupac is not dead.

[canucklehead200]

Ive always maintained that LTI was thier best album. Although I love PB alot now too, LTI is just chock full of memories of the beastie boys in my teens.


agreed, i find that it's bashed quite often around here unjustly. As if people think it isn't as quality of an album because the boys themselves don't like it or that they were rapping about stuff they never did etc. regardless of that it's still an alltime classic rap album, and i put it as my number 1 quality album overall of theirs, i still just don't get pauls boutique, it set a standard for sampling in hip hop but i just don't quite get the appeal of a lot of the songs, please don't bash me, it's just the way i feel

[Jitters]

Tupac is not dead.

I'm loving the new theory that he's coming back on 07/07/07

Check it... (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7_Day_Theory)

[ggirlballa]

I believe they've sold about 22 or 24 million copies. 2Pac has sold either 26 or 27 million. Eminem has sold 21 million.

That's what I remember though. It may have changed, since it's been a little while since I last saw that list.

EDIT: And apparently it has:

Tupac: 36.5 million records sold
Jay-Z: 33 million records sold
Eminem: 27 million records sold
Beastie Boys: 23 million records sold

So yes, The Beastie Boys are the highest selling rap group of all-time!

last time i saw the list they were #2 i knew that they must have slipped down a bit and i was right...well all the rappers on that list are talented ones so no complaints here, just one question is that the list world wide or nation wide?

[Justin]

I'm loving the new theory that he's coming back on 07/07/07

Check it... (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7_Day_Theory)


I love your quote!

[M.C. Guevera]

last time i saw the list they were #2 i knew that they must have slipped down a bit and i was right...well all the rappers on that list are talented ones so no complaints here, just one question is that the list world wide or nation wide?

It's nationwide. If it's worldwide, then Eminem might be number 1 as he has sold 77 million copies worldwide.

[abcdefz]

agreed, i find that it's bashed quite often around here unjustly. As if people think it isn't as quality of an album because the boys themselves don't like it or that they were rapping about stuff they never did etc.



You don't think that maybe it gets criticized because it's kind of puerile?

Not that it doesn't have some good songs, but I think most of that album is just a pretty wack joke. It might be funny if you're emotionally twelve or something, but it just doesn't hold up for the most part. For what it was trying to do, humor-wise, "Girls" probably straddles the line best. "Rhymin' and Stealin'" and "Slow and Low" work, and "Time to Get Ill" is all kinds of awesome, but it's NOT a masterpiece.

Also, the production sounds pretty dated now.

[canucklehead200]

You don't think that maybe it gets criticized because it's kind of puerile?

Not that it doesn't have some good songs, but I think most of that album is just a pretty wack joke. It might be funny if you're emotionally twelve or something, but it just doesn't hold up for the most part. For what it was trying to do, humor-wise, "Girls" probably straddles the line best. "Rhymin' and Stealin'" and "Slow and Low" work, and "Time to Get Ill" is all kinds of awesome, but it's NOT a masterpiece.

Also, the production sounds pretty dated now.

completely disagree with everything you said, though yes it was supposed to cater to teenagers, didn't say it was a masterpiece, just a classic rap album which it is, not one bad song on the whole album, brilliant delivery throughout as well

[Brother McDuff]

definitely dated, but definitely a classic.

[gorilla]

Ignorance of LTI is evidence of your age. That album had impact because you just never heard anything like it before. How many albums did that? Only a handfew. If your first listen to LTI was in 1993 your just not gonna get it.

Not even the internet will help you with that one.

[Laver1969]

It looks like this thread has become an LTI thread. Being a senior in high school when LTI dropped, I was the prime age for LTI to strike a chord with me.

It is the perfect album for that time period of '86/87 and when you're 17.

LTI doesn't sound dated to me. It still sounds fresh and strikes that frat boy chord with me everytime I hear it. Although now there is a lot more to me than that one dimension.

And to a-z's thought of it being a wack joke...yeah, but they were living the joke. They didn't appear to pop in and out of character. They pushed the envelope because they were young and having fun. And thankfully they didn't try to keep the same LTI vibe, they grew up...but they also maintain their sense of humor.

[Justin]

Im still surprised that I havent heard another album like LTI. You would think that others would have picked up on it, but no one has pulled it off.

To me, all the songs on that album still sound fresh today in 2007.


You can still throw any of those songs on at a party and still get people dancing!

[BeastieAlbum07]

Im still surprised that I havent heard another album like LTI. You would think that others would have picked up on it, but no one has pulled it off.

To me, all the songs on that album still sound fresh today in 2007.


You can still throw any of those songs on at a party and still get people dancing!

The first time I listened to LTI was in 2007, and I am a teen.

This album in enchanting.

I love Slow Ride, Slow and Low, Paul Revere, hell, I love ALL of the songs.

[ggirlballa]

The first time I listened to LTI was in 2007, and I am a teen.

This album in enchanting.

I love Slow Ride, Slow and Low, Paul Revere, hell, I love ALL of the songs.

yea LTI was my first bboys album i got when i was 12 like 2-3 years ago? (2005) its does sound outdated nobody raps & makes beats like that anymore but its a hot album(y)

[BeastieAlbum07]

yea LTI was my first bboys album i got when i was 12 like 2-3 years ago? (2005) its does sound outdated nobody raps & amkes beats like that anymore but its a hot album(y)

I only listen to music like that.

Shout and reply lyrics and bangin bass.

Otherwise, count me out.

(Literally, after 1996, count me out, except for the Boys.)

[jb007]

How could they compare with anyone else?

[dirtydan11]

Ignorance of LTI is evidence of your age. That album had impact because you just never heard anything like it before. How many albums did that? Only a handfew. If your first listen to LTI was in 1993 your just not gonna get it.

Not even the internet will help you with that one.


yup, even though that may sound harsh, it's true.. lots of us here were pretty lucky to experience it when it was brand new.. that one album impacted me profoundly, and helped shape me into the sexy, clever, wise, filthy rich, man i am today