RIP Adam Yauch/MCA of the Beastie Boys

eh, i dunno, that's a pretty good piece.

lol figured that was 3rd Bass before I even clicked on it

beef always seemed really one-sided to me, 3rd Bass defensively attacking their peers to make a name for themselves.

never understood how the Professor Booty verses were determined to be directed at 3rd Bass - did the Beasties say that in an interview somewhere or something? cuz the disses are pretty generic

It's kind of a shame that I've seen the Beastie Boys be awesome two or three times, but the last time I saw them, at Stubbs in Austin playing a "surprise" SXSW gig, they were slop-city.

Twere great both times I saw them. Once on IC tour at Brixton and earlier at Town & Country Club where they were co-headlining with Henry Rollins. Beasties played first so they were done by 9pm allowing me to get home nice and early which I appreciated. I'm not v rock n roll.

I dunno, I found that pete nice piece kind of touching in its honesty.

In reality, and despite whatever the Voice cover said, the Beasties had already broken the perceived "street barrier" for white artists performing in a black medium: their 12-inch single off of Licensed in 1986, "Hold it Now, Hit It," had done the job. The record got major play on KISS-FM and WBLS with tons of spins by Red Alert, Chuck Chillout, Mr. Magic, and Marley Marl. For any MC at that time, white or black, recognition like that on the Friday or Saturday mix-shows was the epitome of success.

^ 100% OTM. I knew the beasties from the "she's on it" single and it was cool but also kind of a joke, but when "hold it now hit it" dropped, that was a real rap song and everybody recognized it and it remains to this day my fave beastie jam.

i'm relieved to hear that MCA was black enough for prime minister pete nice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1rvUMO24eI

3rd Bass always struck me as chumpy in much the same way as Vanilla Ice...white dudes trying to be black rappers instead of just rappers. I think that's why Eminem broke through, because you don't ever mistake that guy for being a black rapper. He's just a rapper.

^^^

the first 3rd Bass album is a classic IMO, so much great prince paul, sam sever, simulated dummies production and they were really good rappers, one of my favorites of that era

that article felt sort of uncharitable and weirdly self-obsessed.

however, a couple nice pieces of trivia, which i'm always thankful for:

1) professor x was 3rd bass's manager! amazing!

2) DMX was Just Ice's beatboxer!!!! crazy

3rd Bass, Henry Rollins, Vanilla Ice ... it all comes together!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzXI_ApY4dY

yeah that Professor X bit was news to me, that's bizarre

I went back to that first 3rd Bass album awhile ago and it really didn't hold up imho

the first 3rd Bass album is a classic IMO, so much great prince paul, sam sever, simulated dummies production and they were really good rappers, one of my favorites of that era

that article felt sort of uncharitable and weirdly self-obsessed.

^^^OTM

the first time i saw the beasties, at brixton for ill comms, their different flavours didn't really gell like they do on record, but i have a boot of them in new jersey in 1992 that is simply fantastic.

The only time I've seen them was 2007 at the Greek Theater in Berkeley, I think I said that upthread somewhere. It was one of their 'greatest hits' shows they did when the MixUp came out. They were awesome, whole show was like a big party.

beef always seemed really one-sided to me, 3rd Bass defensively attacking their peers to make a name for themselves.

never understood how the Professor Booty verses were determined to be directed at 3rd Bass - did the Beasties say that in an interview somewhere or something? cuz the disses are pretty generic

― Roger Barfing (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, May 10, 2012 1:57 PM (32 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

MCA's "dancin' around like you think you're Janet Jackson" line on Professor Booty was pretty clearly aimed at Serch.

i liked the cactus album at the time, but haven't heard it in forever

"we are looking for the brooklyn-queens"

^ i thought this was a gay joke

MCA's "dancin' around like you think you're Janet Jackson" line on Professor Booty was pretty clearly aimed at Serch.

I've always heard that, but there were plenty of dancing rappers at the time. Cube had lyrics dissing dancing rappers too, were those all aimed at Serch?

3rd bass invented the gas face so theyre cool as hell forever for that

love pop goes the weasel tbh

Damn, Shakey. Did 3rd Bass take shots at Ice Cube before he started dissing dancing rappers?

The Gas Face, Brooklyn Queens, Steppin' To The AM, Products Of The Environment and a few other tracks on the Cactus still hold up pretty well. I mean what, late '80s Prince Paul and Bomb Squad tracks aren't enough?

rap beef magic eye

pete nice always had nice suits

ade is otm tho

So many wack M.C.'s you get the T.V. bozack
Ain't even gonna call out your names 'cause you're so wack
But one big oaf whose faker than plastic
A dictionary definition of the word spastic
You should have never started something that you couldn't finish
'Cause writin' rhymes to me is like popeye to spinach
I'm bad ass move your fat ass 'cause you're wack son
Dancin' around like you think you're Janet Jackson
Thought you could walk on me to get some ground to walk on
I'll pull the rug out from under your ass as I talk on
I'll take you out like a sniper on a roof
Like an M.C. at the fever in the D.J. booth

i mean, it's probably about 3rd bass because who else would it be about?

its funny i heard those lines a million times but never once thought about who it might be about, or that it was about a specific guy at all

Vanilla Ice? MC Hammer? anyone? rappers routinely attack anonymous targets.

xp

a lot of classic dis tracks drop really specific clues even if they don't name the target outright - referencing particular lines of the target's or stylistic tropes or whatever. the closest thing that Professor Booty has to any of those is maybe the fat ass/dancing line but even that's pretty vague. imho.

like, that's hardly No Vaseline or Takeover or even the Real Roxanne

Vanilla Ice? MC Hammer? anyone? rappers routinely attack anonymous targets.

More like Heavy D? Chunky A? The Fat Boys? or MC Serch?

shakey, who else ever really dissed the beastie boys that publically?

1) Hammer and Vanilla Ice dance but are not remotely "fat asses"

2) Serch is pleasantly plump but i like my white rappers w/some junk in the trunk

3) "Thought you could walk on me to get some ground to walk on" > who else used dissing the beasties to gain rep like 3rd Bass...also the "started something you couldn't finish"

4) Dissing is so out of character for the Beasties, they really occupied their own little world, it would HAVE to be for some reason, someone calling them out, i.e. 3rd Bass

5) Sure, it's vague compared to No Vaseline but I've heard way more vague stuff in disses before, so it's not like this is some unsolveable mystery

tbh by the time CHY came out I had completely forgotten 3rd Bass had dissed the Beasties at all (they had moved on to the GasFace and Pop Goes the Weasel - kinda funny how this band's best tracks are all dis tracks lol)

I'm not saying you guys are wrong - the contextual clues are there - just that they completely went past me with their relatively generic nature.

who else ever really dissed the beastie boys that publically?

there's dis lines on LTI iirc. Granted they're also vague and pretty joke-y but they're there.

I was a schoolboy on the other side of the planet but I still took "someone who'd dissed the Beasties on record to aggrandise himself, who has a fat ass, and dances like Janet Jackson" to be Serch (and was amused/pleased that Pimp Minister Pete Nice got let off)

also The Gas Face came out before Sons Of 3rd Bass afaik

Has any rapper ever dissed the Beastie Boys, besides 3rd Bass?

have any other rappers ever dissed 3rd bass?

lol

okay, i'm wondering if that's the same DMX. it really can't be right? DMX doesn't beatbox.

he goes
WHAT
HAH
WHAT

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davy_DMX ?

sounds right

Pete Nice article is interesting, but shows a complete lack of understanding of the Beasties as a punk band -- which is no sin, but leads to not getting the Beasties at all.

http://networkawesome.com/2012-5-11/beastie-boys-infomercial-for-hello-nasty

i thought it was common knowledge that that DMX started out as a beatboxer in the '80s and that that was how he got his name. apparently Just-Ice worked with a guy called Human DMX, who was neither that DMX nor Davy DMX, though.

maybe?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oberheim_DMX

maybe Pete Nice talked a drum machine in that anecdote?

talked TO a drum machine

Wasn't DMX the DJ in Material, among other Laswell projects? Like Herbie Hancock's "Rockit?"

that was D.S.T.

i feel like i'm in a room full of tuomases

Not to worry, I'm sure knowledge of this sort of thing will become more widespread and valuable in the future, so everything should even out.