Beastie Boys: Make Some Noise

Posted April 15, 2011 by J Matthew Cobb in Reviews 1.0

The Beastie Boys are still making noise, the good kind

Take a page out of Run D.M.C.’s rap form, preferably from the Licensed to Ill LP, some cool Doug E. Fresh freestyle and mix it with some Roots-inspired live instrumentation and you’ve probably discovered the formula behind the Beastie’s “Make Some Noise.” The third single from Hot Sauce Committee Part Two (Part 1 has yet to be released) finds the brass monkeys experimenting with golden-age rap on top of their familiar approach to live hip-hop rock. Although the music isn’t as tight as it shoulda-coulda been, the Brooklyn bad boys manage to kick open a bottle of bad-ass (I’m like an ornithologist when I get pissed/You must have drank a fizzy-lifting drink and you got lifted/And sifted, I’m just whiffed/And when I catch MCs it’s time for wing-clipping.”). It’s the kind of ego-thrashing rebellion that Kanye West was aiming for on “H.A.M.” Mike D speaks to that on his opening lines: “Leggo my Eggo while I flex my ego.” The hook even sends a special shout-out to their right to party (see 1986’s “Fight for Your Right”) Lyrically the boys are on top, still invigorated and haven’t missed one beat. Had the beats been a bit perfected, with a tad bit more “umph,” earned more cowbell placements and cleaned up around the edges, the Beasties would have had the upper hand on modern rappers.