Beastie Boys - Paul’s Boutique - Capitol Records - 1989

Without question one of the greatest achievements in rap and hip-hop has to be this classic album from the Beastie Boys. I think it is by far their best album, and definitely reached a creative level with the back beats and sampling that few albums even come close to touching. It is still the most enjoyable Beastie album in my opinion, and is one of those albums that I can remember pretty much wearing it out playing it for months after I got it.

This album is of course famous for its extensive use of sampling, the likes of which would be completely impossible today. For a little bit of fun just go check out the sample list on wikipedia for this album, it is fucking ridiculous. It is of course also notable for being the starting point in the mainstream for the Dust Brothers, who also produced Beck’s “Odelay”, and several other artists ranging from Santana (for which they won a Grammy) to They Might Be Giants’ newest album “The Else”. They really took the art of sampling and layering of the beats to such a new level with this album that it really took the art form of hip hop to a new level. But it excels well beyond just being a hip hop record obviously, and is just a great album period outside of being labeled into any genre.

The killer intro of “To All The Girls” into “Shake Your Rump” is just brilliant and so well done. The great thing about this album though is that even though there are “songs” it really kind of plays like one complete mix tape of sorts from start to finish, with every song flowing perfectly into one another. It is incredible the way all of these samples (105 in total according to wikipedia) are woven together into this awesome back beat that the Beastie Boys just lay down their brand of off kilter sometimes goofy rap all over. It is just an incredible mix, and from start to finish it keeps you bouncing.

This album is one of my favorites of all time, and if you enjoy the Beasties, or especially if you enjoy some old school rap, this album is just incredible, and you could not go wrong at all picking this bad boy up. I think it will always stand as my favorite of their albums. Even though they certainly enjoyed more commercial success and notoriety with stuff like “Licensed To Ill” and “Ill Communication” (Sabotage), this was their moment of elevating the rap and hip hop game to a new level of creativity (obviously with huge help from the Dust Brothers) and it will always endure because of that. Everyone should have a copy of this album in their collection.

Beastie Boys - Shake Your Rump - From Paul’s Boutique
Beastie Boys - Shadrach - From Paul’s Boutique