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Hip hop lifers and genre-defiant pop art blenders The Beastie Boys deliver the Hot Sauce – either their 8th or 9th album in 25 years, depending on how you count the Mix Up instrumentals set – and it sounds to us like a return to the good times hip hop funk style-hopping that the Boys flaunted so brilliantly in the period from Check Your Head to Hello Nasty! Hot Sauce was initially solicited as Part 1 to be followed by a Part 2, but the album was put on hold while Yauch battled cancer, which gave the Beasties plenty of time to finess the material and release it as the definitive project we have here. It's solid stuff and a Beastie Boys album through-and-through – and they're as immune to trends as ever. Guests include Nas, Santigold and Switch. Tracks include "Make Some Noise", "Nonstop Disco Powerpack", "Too Many Rappers (New Reactionaries Version)" with Nas, "Lee Majors Comes Again", "Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win" feat Santigold, "Tadlock's Glasses", "The Lisa Lisa/Full Force Routine", "Here's A Little Something For Ya" and more.

Not quite the Wild Style soundtrack, but still not a bad one, and with a good assortment of popular hip hop cuts. Features tracks like Beastie Boys "She's On It", LL Cool J "I Can't Live Without My Radio", Kurtis Blow "If I Ruled The World" (with the chorus Lauryn Hill sings on the new Nas single), Fat Boys "All You Can Eat", Krush Groove All-Stars (Run-DMC, Fat Boys, Kurtis Blow, Sheila E) "Krush Groovin'", Chaka Khan "Krush Groove" and 4 more!

Some of the greatest albums in rock and roll are those that were never released – including some that finally saw the light of day after decades, like the Beach Boys' Smile! This book really gets at that fact beautifully – showing how, although never issued, some of these key creative projects really represent the ongoing struggle of rock music in the music business – the push and pull between different forces, and the resulting crash when musical moments never come to be! Each chapter tells the tale of a different album that didn't make it – David Bowie's Toy, Seal's Wonderland, and other projects by The Beastie Boys, Beck, Chicago, Ray Davies, Adam Ant, The Jungle Brothers, and others – almost a musical version of the comic book What If? There's also a final chapter on other almost-rans, including a few that might just make it – and the book has a nice breezy style that's nicely journalistic at times. 319 pages, softcover.

If Paul's Boutique was the Beasties heavily mind-blown Dust Brothers dusted psychedelic hip hop Sgt Peppers, then Check Your Head is their down and dirty back to basics raw funk run at something like Never Mind The Bollocks. Their first outing without the guidance of an outside producer, though the trio did bring in ringers like Money Mark and Mario Caldato Junior, this set's a ride into a whole other mindset, still fueled by sunny So Cal vibes and the Beasties own take on rhyme science. It's hard to imagine an album that would produce so many anthems for true heads and the Lollapalooza crowd alike, but this is it. 20 tracks in all, including "Jimmy James", "Pass The Mic", "Gratitude", "Finger Lickin' Good", "So Whatcha Want", "Time For Livin'", "Something's Got To Give", "Groove Holmes" and "Professor Booty".

If Paul's Boutique was the Beasties mindblowing, Dust Brothers-dusted psychedelic hip hop Sgt Peppers, then Check Your Head is their down and dirty back to basics raw funk run at something like Never Mind The Bollocks. Their first outing without the guidance of an outside producer, though the trio did bring in ringers like Money Mark and Mario Caldato Jr, this set's a ride into a whole other mindset, still fueled by sunny So Cal vibes and the Beasties own take on rhyme science. It's hard to imagine an album that would produce so many anthems for true heads and the Lollapalooza crowd alike, but this is it. 20 tracks in all, including "Jimmy James", "Pass The Mic", "Gratitude", "Finger Lickin' Good", "So Whatcha Want", "Time For Livin'", "Something's Got To Give", "Groove Holmes" and "Professor Booty".

The game-changing Def Jam classic from the mid 80s – and still possibly the greatest album by the Beastie Boys – even though they'd grow up a whole lot after this! The Beasties later distanced themselves from much of the attitude of this album, and you can't fault the Boys for maturing. Their genesis from stoopid (as opposed to stupid) to thoughtful and playful innovators is as impressive as just about any artistic evolution we can think of, but that doesn't make these party anthems any less amazing! With all the killer cuts you remember – "Rhymin & Stealin", "The New Style", "Girls", "Fight For Your Right To Party", "No Sleep Til Brooklyn", "Paul Revere", "Hold It Now Hit It", "She's Crafty", and more.

The Beasties' masterpiece – and one of the original nightmares for sampling opponents everywhere – the cut & paste hip hop classic Paul's Boutique! The Dust Brothers unapologetic way of weaving very famous samples with soul, funk and film score obscurities would steal the show if not for the infectious, boisterous rhymes of the Beastie Boys – they couldn't possibly have cared less about alienating the massive frat boy fan base built with License To Ill, and it's a joy to behold. It's one of those mindblowing pop transformations on par with the Beatles (who the Beasties and Dust Brothers were so brazen to sample several times on this album) and the Beach Boys on the pop maturation scale from earlier hits to later artistry – even if the wild lyrics and deft back & forth rhymes by the Beasties are the antithesis of maturity. From classic rock dinosaurs to soul and disco classics, from the Jaws score to "Dueling Banjos", it all finds it's way into the beatcraft – and both mainstream pop and underground hip hop are better now because of this record. Tracks include "Hey Ladies", "Shake Your Rump", "High Plains Drifter", "Shadrach", "Johnny Ryall", "Eggman", "Car Thief", "What Comes Around", the "B-Boy Bouillabaisse" suite and more.

10-track e.p. including three different recordings of "Root Down" from Ill Communication, based on the Jimmy Smith's jazz/funk of the same name – the "Free Zone" mix, LP version and "PP Balloon" mix. Also some live versions of tracks from Check Your Head – "Time For Livin", "The Maestro", "Somethin's Got To Give", plus a live version of "Time To Get Ill" the rock track "Heart Attack Man", the funky instrumental "Sabrosa" and "Flute Loop".

What can we say? The Beasties continue with the live jazz/funk/garage (as in rock, not house) sound and keyboards by Money Mark. With the classic "Get It Together" featuring Q-Tip. And you can't go wrong with any LP that samples Ramelzee and K-Rob's "Beat Bop." Other tracks include "Sure Shot", "Futterman's Rule", "Shambala", "Sabotage", "The Scoop", "Do It", "Heart Attack Man", "Bodhisattva Wow", and "Root Down".

What can we say? The Beasties continue their manic trio hip hop style mixed with the live jazz/funk/garage (as in rock, not house) sound and keyboards by Money Mark – featuring a bunch of their classic material, and underappreciated album cuts. The Beasties could really do no wrong at this point in their unlikely long career. Includes the great cut "Get It Together" featuring a very sharp Q-Tip stealing the show And you can't go wrong with any LP that samples Ramelzee and K-Rob's "Beat Bop." Other tracks include the unstoppable "Sure Shot" and "Sabotage", plus "Futterman's Rule", "Shambala", "The Scoop", "Do It", "Heart Attack Man", "Bodhisattva Wow", and "Root Down".

The game-changing Def Jam classic from the mid 80s – and still possibly the greatest album by the Beastie Boys – even though they'd grow up a whole lot after this! The Beasties later distanced themselves from much of the attitude of this album, and you can't fault the Boys for maturing. Their genesis from stoopid (as opposed to stupid) to thoughtful and playful innovators is as impressive as just about any artistic evolution we can think of, but that doesn't make these party anthems any less amazing! With all the killer cuts you remember – "Rhymin & Stealin", "The New Style", "Girls", "Fight For Your Right To Party", "No Sleep Til Brooklyn", "Paul Revere", "Hold It Now Hit It", "She's Crafty", and more.

With the dope remixes by Extra P and the Prunes.

Hip hop lifers and genre-defiant pop art blenders The Beastie Boys deliver the Hot Sauce – either their 8th or 9th album in 25 years, depending on how you count the Mix Up instrumentals set – and it sounds to us like a return to the good times hip hop funk style-hopping that the Boys flaunted so brilliantly in the period from Check Your Head to Hello Nasty! Hot Sauce was initially solicited as Part 1 to be followed by a Part 2, but the album was put on hold while Yauch battled cancer, which gave the Beasties plenty of time to finess the material and release it as the definitive project we have here. It's solid stuff and a Beastie Boys album through-and-through – and they're as immune to trends as ever. Guests include Nas, Santigold and Switch. Tracks include "Make Some Noise", "Nonstop Disco Powerpack", "Too Many Rappers (New Reactionaries Version)" with Nas, "Lee Majors Comes Again", "Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win" feat Santigold, "Tadlock's Glasses", "The Lisa Lisa/Full Force Routine", "Here's A Little Something For Ya" and more.

A guide to essential Old School Rap & Hip Hop from team at the indespensible All Music Guide – featuring more than 500 music reviews of important records by Grandmaster Flash, Run-DMC, NWA, Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Public Enemy and so much more – plus reviews on soul and funk LPs that were instrumental in the creation of hip hop, from ESG, The Emotions, Gil Scott-Heron, Marva Whitney and many more! The book is divided into 2 parts, The Roots Of Rap and Digging In The Crates, and organized alphabetically. Paperback, 166 pages, with several reviews per page.

A massive bit of funky fusion from the 70s – an album that was crucially overlooked at the time, but which has gone onto become a crate-diggers classic over the years! The group's fronted by Polish jazz legends Michal Urbaniak and Urszula Dudziak – but it also features a fair bit of American players too – all working together in a blend of the best funky fusion modes going down in both the US and Eastern Europe in the mid 70s! Drums on the set are totally great – played by Steve Gadd or Gerald Brown, depending on the track – and some tracks have weird vocal bits that riff around the instrumentation, sung either by Urszula, Bernard Kafka, or some other backing singers. The keyboards are great – quite tripped-out at times, but never too over the top – and overall, the album's a fair bit more soulful and funky than most of Urbaniak's other work of the 70s. Titles include the killer sample track "Rien Ne Va Plus" – used famously by the Beastie Boys many years back – plus "After The World Goes Home", "Funk It", "Sinkin Low", "Next Please", "Horsing Around", and "Watusi Dance".

A Belgian take on the Congotronics vibe – not done in the same musical style necessarily, but definitely grabbing that great spirit for homemade instruments and unique stylistic hybrids! There's a punky, funky sort of vibe going on here – but one that also has more laidback qualities too – almost as if the Beastie Boys spent a lot of time dabbling in world music – coming up with their own unique instruments and sounds, and delivering them with a brash, youthful sort of approach! And while the approach doesn't always hit home, there's plenty of playfully creative moments on the set – almost an update of older European experiements by Aksak Maboul. Titles include "Beni B", "Otanato", "Stoemp", "Bruges", "1815", "Couque De Dinant", and "3 Regions 3 Communautes".

A monster album that's gone on to influence a generation – but which was barely recognized at the time! Singer Eugene McDaniels had scored big with some pop hits in the 60s under the name Gene McDaniels – but here, he steps out in a righteous batch of offbeat funk tunes – filled with politics, offbeat rhythms, and some very weird instrumentation. The whole thing's awash in moody, jazzy changes – of the style that showed up often in samples by Tribe Called Quest, Beastie Boys, and other artists who drew keen inspiration from this record. Titles include the massive "Jagger the Dagger" – plus "The Lord Is Back", "Lovin Man", "Headless Heroes", "Freedom Death Dance", and "Supermarket Blues".

They're not kidding about "The Photo Issue" tag on the cover – because this issue of Wax Poetics is filled with a wealth of amazing music photos – so much so, it almost feels like one of those high-end art books, but at a fraction of the price! The issue seems much larger than before – almost 200 pages overall – and it's filled with current and classic photos of New Orleans musicians, Brazilian artists, and a fair bit of hip hoppers from back in the day! But even with all those pics, the Wax Poetics crew have still given us plenty to read here – as at least a quarter of the magazine still features text – with articles on funky Miles Davis, Max Roach, Sharon Jones, Numero Group Records, East Bay Funk, The Dragons, Beastie Boys, and others!

A monster album that's gone onto influence a generation – but which was barely recognized at the time! Singer Eugene McDaniels had scored big with some pop hits in the 60s under the name Gene McDaniels – but here, he steps out in a righteous batch of offbeat funk tunes – filled with politics, offbeat rhythms, and some very weird instrumentation. The whole thing's awash in moody, jazzy changes – of the style that showed up often in samples by Tribe Called Quest, Beastie Boys, and other artists who drew keen inspiration from this record. Titles include the massive "Jagger the Dagger" – plus "The Lord Is Back", "Lovin Man", "Headless Heroes", "Freedom Death Dance", and "Supermarket Blues".

An incredible record from funky drummer Idris Muhammad! Idris is probably known for his funky break work on Blue Note and Prestige records sessions of the late 60s and early 70s – but by the time of this 1974 album, he was really expanding his style, hitting a laidback groove that went way beyond the simple drum break, into a world of complicated fills and riffs that forever changed the face of funk. The best example of this is the album's standout groove – the massive cut "Loran's Dance", which has a mellow jazzy vibe that you'll recognize from its popular use as a sample cut over the years (by the Beastie Boys, DJ Shadow, and others.) All cuts are long and mellow, and other titles include "Power Of Soul", "Saddest Thing" and "Piece of Mind".

Guess who's back, and just in time for the much-needed seasonal funk fix? It's that most appealing tome of all things funky, the one-and-only funk bible! Need we tell you that the Wax Poets have once again outdone themselves? The centerpiece of this issue an ever so timely look at the legendary Wattstax show, a perfect piece for a politically charged season, featuring some of the best photos of the event we've ever seen. Other features include one on the increasingly prominent Antibalas, lost Floridian funk merchants Montgomery Express, Melvin Van Peebles, Eddie Fisher, Part 2 of the Texas Stage Bands piece, a refreshing look at the Beastie Boys (sans mass media hype) and lots more. Another indispensible issue!

Classic early 90s charity compilation with now hard-to-find tracks by Uncle Tupelo, Beastie Boys, American Music Club, Pavement, Soundgarden, Nirvana, Uncle Tupelo, Smashing Pumpkins, Patti Smith and more.

15 jazzy groovers, with a sound and a feel that you haven't really heard in other comps before (except for the now hard-to-find Priceless classic.) Tight hard modal tracks, with lots of strident rolling piano lines, cool flute and sax solos, and free-wheeling rhythm sections. Cuts include "The Hipster" by Harold McNair, "Clean Up" by Harold Alexander, "JM Cobra" by Dan Seepers Soul, "Mr. Buzz" by The Flying Dutchmen, "Love for Sale" by Kanako Higuchi, "Orange Boom" by Jazz Hip Trio, and the great "Howlin' For Judy" by Jeremy Steig, a great Beastie Boys sample classic!

Nice compilation put together at the end fo the 80s with tracks for the preceding few years on Def Jam, with a number of now hard to find cuts. 13 tracks in all: LL Cool J "Rock The Bells", "Jack The Ripper" & "I'm Bad", Original Concept "Can You Feel It?", Beastie Boys "Rhymin' & Stealin" & "Fight For You Right (To Party)", Russell Rush & Jazzy Jay "Cold Chillin In The Spot", Public Enemy "Son Of Public Enemy (Flavor Whop version)" & "Rebel Without A Pause", Poppa Ron Love "I'm A Girl Watcher", Davy D "Have You Seen Davy?" and Slick Rick "The Ruler's Back".