The first two hip hop records that I ever heard in full were nothing less than classics. I'll always remember having the cassette-dubs of the harder-than-hard leather-clad Run DMC, whose Raising Hell was the pinnacle of hip hop badassery. On the other side of the coin was the boyish, obnoxious, beer-soaked young lads responsible for the oh-so-fun Licensed to Ill. It was the perfect yin-and-yang, but I latched onto the Beastie Boys more, partly due to their cartoonish antics and over-the-top videos.
As Beasties evolved musically, so did I. They started going the cut-and-paste way of Hank Shocklee and the Bomb Squad when they teamed up with Dust Brothers for Paul's Boutique. They, along with Stetsasonic, used real instruments (shock!) on a hip hop record for Check Your Head, and even got back to their roots in punk on the same record. Their willingness to experiment and do what was right for them was an important lesson for my young mind; do what you like and the rest will follow.
MCA, thank you for providing the soundtrack to my youth. The world will miss you. Check out some of my favorite songs by the Beastie Boys below.
Beastie Boys - Rhymin & Stealin
Beastie Boys - Hold it now Hit It
Beastie Boys - Shake Your Rump
Beastie Boys - So What Cha Want
Beastie Boys - On Music Sampling