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source: beastieboysgallery.com

When CYH dropped on 4.21.92, Beastie Boys had reemerged on a creative rampage. No longer were they just making cutting-edge music and wearing funky clothes. With Grand Royal, they were putting out their own threads and ‘zine, and breaking unpublicized talent. But although they were dominating virtually every underground aesthetic, Beastie Boys leveraged that cache to lead a movement of socially conscious artists. By 2001, they slowed their roll a bit, but 'till this day, Beasties can still check heads at will…

source: break-my-wings

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This is the 2nd Beastie Boys single released on Def Jam, and like “Rock Hard,” which preceded it, these tracks were never released on a full-length album. Only as singles — {notes coneslayer}.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCGCxuESM-c

She’s On It” was performed in 9 known concerts.

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“The man” is often used to refer to an authoritative figure such as the government or the police. This may also be a reference to citizens’ lack of voting power. Yes, you get to vote on who will represent you, but often times, you are picking between the lesser of two evils. The dependence on campaign contributions makes it difficult to elect those who would act out of conscience to effectively change the way government operates.

source: sadly-espejismo

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Rappin' Duke” is a 1985 hip-hop novelty/parody song. The concept places actor John Wayne (aka “The Duke”) – portrayed by Shawn Brown – as the rhyming cowboy protagonist.

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This verse is an ode to Rudolph Giuliani. Pretty much the entire NYC hip-hop community was at war with Rudy, and back when he was Mayor, the BBoys hated him, too. But by the time this interview with Adrock (by John Del Signore) dropped in 2007, it seems his position had mellowed.

Honestly, I don’t know how I feel about Giuliani as president. I know I hated his guts for a long time.

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Other songs in which Mike & Adam feel compelled to remind us of their Scorpio sign:

Source: Intergalactic.Beastie.Celebration

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“I like this cut a lot. Just straight up hip-hop. Like a lot of our songs, it’s arranged like a hardcore song. Mathematical. Intro-verse-chorus-verse-chorus-break-chorus-verse-chorus-end. Nice. The flute line is from the elusive Jeremy Steig. Of the SP-1200, it sounds nice.
As usual we would meet at the studio (G-Son with the parquet floor), and make music. This day was not that different. We put the music on tape and started to freestyle over it, writing lyrics down, saving things and what not. It was just missing a chorus. Not that a song is not a song without the usual pop verse-chorus math. But this song needed one. We couldn’t come up with anything. So we knew what to do. We called DJ Hurricane cause he’s always got something. We woke him up maybe around two a.m. And from bed he came up with the chorus and did it over the phone. Thanks.” – Adam Horovitz, 1999, from Beastie Boys Anthology: The Sounds of Science

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New Jack Swing is a fusion genre that became ubiquitous in late-1980s through the early 1990s. Teddy Riley and Bernard Belle were instrumental in spreading its influence from the Black New York club scene into pop culture. “New Jack Swing fuses the rhythms, samples and production techniques of hip-hop and dance-pop with the urban contemporary sound of R&B…”

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Sean Henry Carasov was the Beastie Boys' former road/tour/personal manager. “The Captain” brokered the the deal that got A Tribe Called Quest signed with Jive Records.

Known by many as “Final Boss of the Internets,” Carasov, aka Rorschach, was a force within 4Chan and Encyclopaedia Dramatica, and a hero to Anonymous. Captain took his own life on 10.30.2010.

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To come correct is to perform a task with the confidence and competence that comes from having adequately prepared. Talent doesn’t hurt, either…

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