Last week, before their performance at
McCarren Park Pool - which coincidentally marked the first ever
Beastie Boys performance in Brooklyn -
AdRock,
Mike D, and
MCA fielded questions from a handful of journalists as part of a very intimate press conference, which was held at the
SOHO House in NYC. It appeared early on that their latest release, a collection of instrumentals and jams entitled
The Mix Up, has been on the minds of many journalists, specifically in regards to the "statement" the Beastie Boys - one of the earliest success stories in hip-hop culture - were trying to make on the status of
hip-hop music by releasing an all instrumental record. "We've been getting asked that a lot lately." says MCA, and AdRock follows up by saying, “In a way, the album was a reaction to
our hip-hop. Our last record was an all rap record, so when we started recording [
The Mix Up] we wanted to work with some instruments, and it just sounded cool, so we kept with it.”
But Mike D offers another explanation. “We get asked [about
The Mix Up], and we also get asked "What do you think of the state of hip-hop today?" Maybe I’m being defensive, but it seems like people always look for us to come out and criticize hip-hop. But hip-hop is what we grew up on, and it continues to be one of the only forms of music left that strives on evolution and innovation. Yeah, we might be in a spell where we’re waiting for that next record to come out and change everything - but still, that’s what hip hop is and that’s what puts it in its unique place."
On some level, it must be difficult for Michael Diamond (Mike D), Adam Yauch (MCA), and Adam Horovitz (AdRock), to field questions like these. Together, the Beastie Boys are a polite, incredibly funny, and relatively soft-spoken group. But to this day, twenty years after the release of their debut record,
License to Ill, they are still asked if "they still feel the need to fight for their right to party." And if that wasn't bad enough, they are still rather crudely regarded as "the white boy rappers" by certain journalists. "I'm not trying to call anybody out," says MCA, "but we always seem to get asked by journalists in other countries about being white rappers. There seems to be some kind of focus on that, and I'm not sure why. I think what is most important is that people are making music regardless of what color they are. Some people are making interesting music, and some people aren't, that's just how it is."
Even their Jewish heritage is still a topic of discussion for some people, primarily in regards to the emergence of Jewish artists like
Matisyahu. To this point, Diamond offers, "I think how we identify ourselves with being Jewish has more to do with how we identify ourselves as being New Yorkers. It's more of a cultural connection than a religious one. When we started out, I was living in
Brooklyn Heights, and Yauch lived a few blocks away. Once we started playing, a lot of our friends were in bands as part of this downtown New York City
hardcore scene. We never thought it was going to last this long, let alone be successful and inspire people, but at the same time, if it does inspire people for whatever reason, that's good." Yauch adds that, "I don't think we really were conscious of the fact that we were all Jewish until journalists started pointing it out." And as Diamond concludes, "Let's face it: to find three Jewish kids hanging around New York City is not uncommon."
Because the Beastie Boys have never been limited to a particular style, or even a certain school of thought (other than to just make music that feels good), it's hard not to be curious if the B-Boys have any intention of recording an album of new
hardcore material. “There’s always a possibility of a hardcore record, even though we don’t have any plans for it," says Yauch, who just produced the latest release from hardcore legends,
Bad Brains. "That’s definitely a fun type of music that we like to play.” When asked how much their punk rock and hip-hop influences overlap each other, Horovitz says that "They are very similar forms of music, in a way. I feel that punk rock and rap have the same headspace. You know, that attitude you have when you make punk records is very similar to when you make rap records." Diamond adds that there is a commonality of energy and attitude within the genres. "It's easy to look at outward trimmings of each, but when we were growing up and going to clubs, all the new wave/punk rock clubs that we would go to would play all the new hip-hop records when they would come out, and it seemed to all fit together in a very natural way."
If the major music industry is, at the very least, experiencing a period of transcendence, the Beastie Boys don't seem to mind. "It seems to me that the tools for doing it yourself are more available than ever before," says Diamond. He continues on by saying, "When we put out
Pollywog Stew, we had to actually go and press a 7" - you don't have to do that anymore. Now you can use your
MySpace page." When asked if the way things were done back in the day are a testament to longevity, Diamond seems overtly unsure while remaining optimistic. "For me, I'm excited to see what people can do using their home computers or their video cameras. Some of it might be wack, but their will be some that are completely self-reliant, and will attain its own audience." Horovitz adds that, "The whole idea of success and "making it" is changing into a different thing. Do you want to be playing arenas, or do you want people to just watch your
YouTube video? So, we just have to see what happens next."
The Beastie Boys will continue to tour in support of
The Mix Up through the fall.
