Beastie Boys; A history and involvement in
Tibet, Milarepa, and other crazy stuff
The Beastie Boys have been around for many years. They began their quest back in the early 80s not as the Beastie boys, but as a group of three guys and a female drummer (Kate Schellenbach, currently the drummer for Luscious Jackson, Adam Yaunch, Mike Diamond, and John Berry) known as the Young Aborigines. They decided after a while of punk music with Kate and John to move on. The two boys (Adam Yaunch 'MCA' and Michael Diamond 'Mike D') then decided to ask Adam Horovitz a.k.a. 'Adrock' to join the crew and it was then they knew they were complete. They began playing together and put out rough punk songs like 'Cooky Puss' and 'Beastie Revolution.' After their first successful album 'License to Ill' their careers took off and they were well recognized in the hip-hop community as the great artists they were. They’re next few albums 'Paul's Boutique' and 'Check Your Head' were popular, but nowhere near the caliber of License to Ill. Their next mass produced successful album put out was Ill Communications and featured tracks the likes of 'Sabotage' and 'Root Down.'
It was on Ill Communications that the boys first showed their connection to something higher and the influence that Tibet had on them. Tracks titled 'Bodhisattva Vow' that start off "As I develop the Awakening mind, I praise the Buddha's as they Shine, I bow before you as I travel my path, To join your ranks, I make my full time Task. For the sake of all beings I seek, the enlightened mind that I know I'll reap." They played songs like this on their album to show their changing and newfound respect for everything under the sun, while they made it big off of tracks like Sabotage and Check your head that had little meaning. In 1996 they put together and played at the first Tibetan Freedom Concert in San Francisco CA. Adam Yaunch spearheaded the event along with the Milarepa foundation and pulled together great bands such as the Smashing Pumpkins and the Fugees. The concert was put on to create awareness in the youth of America about the situation in Tibet. Yaunch and the Boys had learned the atrocities that the Chinese Government had put on the Tibetan people.
The Chinese Government invaded the people of Tibet in a military fashion, taking over the passive Buddhists quickly. By the time the people of Tibet decided to try and defend themselves, the Chinese Government had already invaded the borders of Tibet, and the people were out numbered, out gunned, and at a military disadvantage to say the least. Since the Chinese hostile take over, it is estimated that 1.2 MILLION Tibetan people have died as a result. (Save Tibet statistic) Through all of this, the Dalai Lama (Spiritual and Political Leader of the Tibetan People) still has a peaceful attitude and refuses to take any hostile action toward the Chinese Government. He chose instead to lead through peaceful demonstration such as sit ins and awareness events such as the Tibetan Freedom Concert.
With the great success of the 1996 Tibetan Freedom Concert, the Beastie Boys and the Milarepa foundation decided to hold another the next year. The second annual Tibetan Freedom Concert was held in New York in 1997 with big name bands such as Pearl Jam, Radiohead, and A Tribe Called Quest. That inspired the 1998 Tibetan Freedom concert in Washington DC. This was by far the largest and most publicly recognized TFC (Tibetan Freedom Concert) in its short history. The Concert caused such awareness so that the Chinese Government actually banned many of the bands from ever playing a show in China or even allowing their records to be sold in the country of China. This shows that the TFC is at least creating awareness of the situation Tibet was put in by the Chinese Government, and that is why the Government reacted the way they did. The dream some day is to have the Tibetan people released from the iron fist they have been put in and be allowed to live the way they have for hundreds of years in peace and harmony with man and nature alike.
This is what the Beastie Boys of today are interested in. They are still the same men that put out songs like 'fight for your right [to party]' and the infamous 'Girls,' but they have changed also. They regret some of the decisions they made as younger men, but realize also that they were younger and just into the groove of things. To go from a song like 'Girls' with lyrics about having them wash your clothes and put out, to a song off of Ill Communications 'Sure Shot' with the lyrics 'I want to say a little something that's long overdue, the disrespect to women has got to be through, to all the mothers and the sisters and the wives and friends, I want to offer my love and respect to the end.' shows a true change in the attitude of the band.
The Boys have recently put out a new album titled 'Hello Nasty' and it is by far the most musical, intricate, and meaningful album yet. The lyrics and meanings of each song on the album are astounding. Their ability to put together great lyrics and top ten songs truly shows how great the Beastie Boys are. Their planning of the 1999 Tibetan Freedom Concert are well under way and it is to be held in Chicago as well as in different locations around the globe to raise awareness.