Beastie Boys - To The
5 Boroughs
My Thoughts: (Reviewed by Big Pun)
The
Beastie Boys have been at it for nearly 20 years as one of the most experimental,
innovative, just flat out fun rap groups on the planet....There latest installment,
To the 5 Burroughs, hit shelves last week and proved once again that no one,
and I mean no one does it like the B-boys...a true tribute to old school beats
and rhymes, this Beastie Boys album is a throw back to all that was cool about
hip-hop...not like that gangsta bullshit that's out there today clogging up
your local record store....The album kicks off strong with the first single,
"Ch-Check it Out" and follows the same pattern throughout...a lot
of great beats, more of the same silly, trippy rhymes and lines that you find
yourself saying over and over as you master the album..."Right Right
Now Now" has a haunting beat behind it as the Beastie delve into some
political issues as they do often on this album...There is no mistaking there
dislike of our current Prez. Bush, and they let it be known on several tracks...a
few people I've talked to have been put off by this, but it doesn't bother
me in the slightest...these guys are older now, all three pushing their 40s...of
course their views on the world are going to change, and it should be reflected
in their music.... another strong selling point for me on this album is the
love the trio give out to the greatest city in the world, NYC....nowhere can
this be found more than on the track "An Open letter to NYC"...Overall,
this is another strong addition to the Beastie catalog....a different change
of pace from some of their past work, but a welcome one in my eyes...no instruments
on this one folks, so if you are looking for another Sabotage, sorry...dust
off your copy of Ill Communication and give that another whirl...and if you
are lucky enough to catch the boys on tour somewhere in the coming months,
expect the same...straight hip-hop....
This album will not leave my cd player all summer, I can guarantee that...I
was there at the beginning...7th grade...Licensed to Ill drops...my whole
fucking world changed man....that's how much these cats have meant to me....I
own everything they have ever done, and trust me when I say, I still listen
to everyone of those cds often...seen them 3 times in concert and got my ass
rocked off each time....I was there when they started this...and I will be
there when the decided to end it....So Whatcha, Whatcha, Whatcha, Want? Bitch!
Key Tracks:
3 The Hard
Way
Triple Trouble
The Brouhaha
Rhyme the Rhyme Well