The Beastie Boys.  Do they really need much of an introduction?  Even if you’ve been living in a cave for the last twenty years or so, you’ve got to have heard some thumping on your cave walls from a neighbor blasting “Fight for Your Right (To Party)”.  Not everyone’s familiar with their entire catalog, but heck, even my parents know who they are.  For those of you who still don’t know who they are, let me give you a brief history.

The Beastie Boys are a hip hop group hailing from New York City.  The three main members of the band (who have been consistent pretty much since the inception of the group) are Michael “Mike D” Diamond, Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz and Adam “MCA” Yauch.  The current DJ of the group is Michael “Mix Master Mike” Schwartz.  The three front men of the group have known each other since their youthful days as punk rock band members.

The Beastie Boys are well known as a hip hop group, but their musical talent and ability to cross genres is undeniable.  Known for funny, kitschy lyrics that reference pop culture, the Beastie Boys also have proven musical talents. This is evidenced with their latest album The Mix Up.  This album is so unique, so original, that it’s been getting air play on folk and AAA formatted stations such as the well known WFUV in New York.  A station like that has a listenership demographic that’s mostly the 50 and over crowd. Not what you normally think of when you think Beastie Boys records.

No matter what you want to call the Beastie Boys; rap, hip hop, nu-metal, or even some variant of hardcore punk; the Beatie Boys have left their indelible mark not just on the world of music, but on pop culture in general.  They have been parodied in songs by other bands, appeared as animated characters in shows such as Futurama and all around have become something of a household name.  Heck, how many bands out there can say they’ve been playing together as long as the Beastie Boys have.  In a world of one hit wonders, the Beastie Boys stand out from the crowd.
Jewish Mayhem magazine had the fortune of being able to take part in a recent press event with the Beastie Boys.  This was truly a phenomenal experience, one I won’t soon forget.  I’ve already given you a few words on their background, but what this piece is really about is who the Beastie Boys are today and how this fits in to Jewish Mayhem.  To start with, as Adam Sandler likes to mention in his comedic Chanukah songs, all three Beastie Boys are Jewish.  Not only that, but their DJ, Mix Master Mike is of Jewish ancestry as well.

The press conference I took part in was a chance for writers to ask just about any question they wished.  Questions posed ranged from their thoughts on music downloads to “Do you still feel you have to fight for your right to party?” (no, really, someone asked that).  I was determined to represent Jewish Mayhem better than that guy did and I’d like to think I succeeded.  Blender even mentioned Jewish Mayhem in their recap of the press event and pointed people in the direction of the magazine (go us!).

It should be mentioned that part of what made this press conference so special is that it was on the eve of their first ever live show in Brooklyn, New York.  For a group that’s done songs about Brooklyn, and has band members from Brooklyn it seems funny that they’ve never played there before. But, there’s a first time for everything.  The New York natives were very excited to be back home and they a good deal of energy and excitement about them.  The trio came dressed for success wearing matching outfits (as they often do on stage), except this time their outfits were suits.  Not just any suits, but slightly ill fitting suits that came from thrift stores.  Ad-Rock was proud to have gotten his for $50 on Ebay.  Oy what a bargain!  The suits were funny, but they certainly helped paint a better picture of who the Beastie Boys are and what they’re doing.

According to Mike D, “we’re not really sure why, but we started wearing suits to the studio when we were recording this album”.  What comes through to me through things like matching suits and their constant back and forth banter amongst themselves is that they are not just band members, they are old friends.  Their congenial nature made quite an impact on me.

Before the Beastie Boys actually got to the event, all the journalists were sitting around waiting.  A good number of them took the opportunity to catch up with each other.  “I was in Boston last night for this concert, how come I didn’t see you there” “Well that’s ‘cause I was in LA filming such and such.  Funny how celebrities are usually portrayed as behaving like this, but at this event the celebrities were gentleman and some of the journalists got catty.

The Beastie Boys moderated the event themselves.  I’ve often seen it to be the case where in a press conference like this a manager or PR agent controls the crowd, but the Beastie Boys were unafraid of our questions and were very happy to run the show themselves.  They did a truly admirable job too, being really fair and making sure that every one of us got to ask at least one question.

At one point a joke was made about a journalist in the room with a “Jewfro” (which Mike D is currently sporting).  At the end of the press conference, Mike D actually went up to this journalist, shook his hand and said he didn’t mean to offend anyone.  Now, everyone in the room laughed at the joke.  It seemed like it was all in good fun, but to see a celebrity really act like a descent human being I found to be refreshing and maybe even a little heartwarming. The Beastie Boys are real people too; good people to boot.

I’ve interviewed scientists, musicians, lawyers, presidential candidates and diplomats.  Few, if any of these people have been as open, honest and funny as the Beastie Boys were.  They are a good group to interact with and they love answering offbeat questions.

Probably the funniest exchange of the event centered on Mike D.  When asked about various rumors, such as his relation to (or even a possible sexual relationship with) Neil Diamond he quipped “There’s no blood line relations. Nor to Dustin Diamond, Screech from Saved By The Bell.  Although, I hear he has a Sex tape”.  Mike D also commented on the numerous rumors about his death.  “I’ve been rumored to have been dead a few times, although not for a while.  That’s funny, because you think that as you get older the rumors would increase, but it’s been a while”.

By now, the Beastie Boys have to be sick of everyone asking them how they feel about being white boys in a hip hop world (yeah, someone asked about that this time too).  I figured they’re probably a little tired of answering questions about their Jewish background as well, so I figured I’d mix it up a tad.  I asked them how they feel about being the role models for white Jewish rappers around the world.  Not only did they get a kick out of the question, but so did the entire room.  The answer they gave was pretty interesting.

Ad Rock was first to answer.  “How we identify with being Jewish is more in the mold of how we identify with being New Yorkers.  It’s more a cultural one as opposed to a religious one because of what our backgrounds are.” He continued “We all met each other going to clubs and playing in bands.  It was a small, hardcore punk rock downtown New York City scene.  We never thought this was going to last.  We never thought this would be a career and we never figured we’d inspire others.  It’s a good thing though.  We can remember going downtown to see someone like Black Flag play at peppermint lounge, or Jazzy Jay (at which point MCA interjects “none of those are Jewish bands by the way”) and the effect they had on us. To have that effect on others is a good thing. ” Well, maybe their role models didn’t turn out to be nice Jewish boys, it’s good to see that the aspiring Jewish rappers of the world have such nice boytshiks to look up to.  According to MCA “I don’t think that the three of us actually noticed we all had Jewish backgrounds until the press started asking us questions about it.”  Mike D added “It wasn’t like we intended to start a Jewish group.”  Funny coincidence then, that all three are Jewish and so is their DJ.

They might not be the most pious of Jews (MCA is a practicing Buddhist) but they certainly don’t deny their heritage.  As homage to their heritage, in their album To the 5 boroughs they make reference to the fact that they are “funky ass Jews”.  Who wouldn’t be proud of having Jewish heritage?  You’ve got Jewish Mayhem in your family tree!

The Beastie Boys are humble, intelligent, very quick witted and dedicated to their craft.  No matter how practicing a Jew you are or are not, these are certainly important Jewish values.  And let’s not forget the bargains they got on their suits…

The newest album, as mentioned before, is all instrumental.  When asked about this, MCA retorted “so what, are you trying to ask if we’ve got anything to say?  Yeah, we should get out of Iraq.  That’s one”.  The crowd laughed, but I don’t think they fully understood what MCA was trying to say.  I don’t think it was just a simple anti-war plug. I think he was trying to make the point that there’s always plenty to say and lots of different outlets to say these things.  The Beastie Boys have all been fairly active politically in their own right.  As Mike D added “We just wanted to make an instrumental album”.  I think that took guts.  How many other rap or hip hop stars can even play an instrument of any kind at all?  I think that the music journalists in the room couldn’t quite get over the fact that it wasn’t a traditional hip hop album.  Ad Rock said “We’ve got plenty to say, we’ve got a bunch more albums left in us”.  I think the simple fact that they were able to put out an instrumental album itself speaks volumes.

They are a talented group and they are dedicated to actually making music.  There is no denying that the Beastie Boys are involved with certain causes (MCA was instrumental in getting the Tibetan Freedom Concerts off the ground), but you don’t always have to shove that down everyone’s throats.  I respect the Beastie Boys for putting out the new album and reminding the world that funny, witty lyrics are not their only talent.

The Beastie Boys are more than just punk rockers turned hip hop and rap superstars (although, according to them, making punk albums and hip hop albums put you in the same “head space”); they are cultural icons. It’s really refreshing to see that none of them have been spoiled by fame.  They’re not afraid to lament the fact that New York has far too many Starbucks or that people just buy single songs on the internet instead of getting an entire album.  As MCA puts it “When you buy an entire album, you get things like cover art.  You can listen to all of the songs in order and get a picture of the mentality of the band was in when they made the album”.  Something that my twenty-something short attention span generation probably does not get that often.

They really are still friends, coming together to make good music.  Perhaps the best example of this is their answer to a question asking them how they feel about being white in the rap and hip hop world.  “People are making music regardless of what color they are. Some people are making interesting music and some aren’t.  It doesn’t matter what color they are”.  The Beastie Boys prove that selling records isn’t about what color you skin is, or what rappers you’re feuding with in your lyrics, it’s about putting out quality music and still loving what you do.  The Beastie Boys certainly love what they do and I certainly loved the opportunity to chat with them about it.

The new album The Mix Up has been in stores since the end of June and it’s one you should absolutely pick up.  It’s not a traditional Beastie Boys album, but the talent is real and the appeal is much broader.  This isn’t an album that would get you into trouble if you brought it to school.  In fact, your music teacher might give you extra credit.  There’s a reason the Beastie Boys made Rolling Stone’s top 100 artists of all time.  If it were up to me, I’d bump them up a few notches for putting this album out.  Make MCA happy too, but the whole album and get the cover art.

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