Licensed to Ill is a NYC classic for quite a few reasons. For one, it was The Beastie Boy’s debut album but it is also one of Columbia Records fastest selling albums to date. It has some iconic songs such as, “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)!”, “Brass Monkey” and “Girls.” If you grew up in the 90’s like I did, you definitely know these songs. This is a New York band, period. They were a regular fixture on the 80’s East Village circuit and performed at the legendary CBGB and Max’s Kansas City.
The album also epitomizes the crossover of 80’s hip-hop and pop culture. The group holds it’s own against other influential artists of that time such as LL Cool J but can still open up for Madonna’s Like a Virgin tour, which in itself is quite incredible. It is also the only album by a white hip-hop act to receive 5 mics from Source magazine, which Jay-z also received for his Blueprint release.
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