The funky Root Down EP by the Beastie Boys – riding high on a mid 90s creative peak! Root Down featuring a trio of versions of the title track and Ill Communication album standout, based on the Jimmy Smith's classic of the same name – and in hindsight, you really have to hand it to the Beasties, not only sampling and celebrating classic early 70s jazz funk, but for their earnest wish to introduce Jimmy Smith to the pop culture kids of the 90s – including a killer remix by the mighty Prince Paul. Also includes some live recordings from the time of classic Beasties tracks like"Time For Livin", "The Maestro", "Somethin's Got To Give", Time To Get Ill", thier punky "Heart Attack Man", "Sabrosa" and "Flute Loop". CD

A masterful later album by the Beastie Boys – who always preferred to put out a great record every five or six years, than a sub par album every 2 or 3! All these years after Paul's Boutique, when the world of difficult, expensive sample clearance could've kill the layers of pop pastiche sound bites that made P's B such a brilliant statement, the soul and funk samples are still piled on in abundance on this one (albeit with a more electro studio built backdrop), as are the block rockin' party rhymes – even if the tone is serious and strident in spots. There are no attempts at live funky jazz or punk rock this time – this may be the Beasties' most classifiable hip hop album in decades. Add it to that ever growing list of good-to-great albums by aging artists who were coaxed back into the game in part by their feelings about post 9/11 politics. Tracks include the great throwback single "Ch-Check It Out", "Right Right Now Now", "3 The Hard Way", "It Takes Time To Build", "Rhyme The Rhyme Well", "Hey F**k You", "Triple Trouble", "Oh Word?", "That's It That's All", "All Lifestyles", "Shazam!", "An Open Letter To NYC" and more. CD

The Beasties' masterpiece – and one of the original nightmares for sampling opponents everywhere. Tracks include "Hey Ladies", "Shake Your Rump", "High Plains Drifter", and "Shadrach". CD

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

The Beasties' peak-era, retro-style instrumentals LP! Even at their weakest vocal moments, we've always dug the Beastie Boys' firm commitment to funky instrumental backing – their albums are filled with lots of nice interludes, instrumentals, and backing grooves – but they often seemed to get buried amidst all the bugged out vocals. The record kind of has the vibe of a lost jazz organ session, with lots of weird twists and turns thrown in, and all the better thanks to Money Mark, pretty much a 4th Beastie here! A cool bit of instrumental funk with a very classic production feel. Every track's a winner, and the titles include "Ricky's Theme", "Groove Holmes", "Sabrosa", "In 3's", "Transitions", "Bobo On the Corner", and "Shambala". LP, Vinyl record album

The game changing Def Jam classic – and possibly the greatest album by the Beastie Boys – even though they'd grow up a whole lot after this! Profane party anthems galore, and the Beasties would distance themselves from much of the attitude of this album, making their career arc from stoopid (as opposed to stupid) to thoughtful and playful innovators one of the more interesting artistic evolutions of their generation for sure. With all the killer cuts: "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. LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

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. Includes "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". CD

If Paul's Boutique was the Beasties' psychedelic hip hop Sgt Peppers, then Check Your Head is their White Album – a raw, stylistically sprawling, yet always connected batch of live instrumentation – backing rhymes that range from stream of consciousness to expertly written. Check Your Head is also their first outing without the guidance of outside producers, though the trio did bring in a host of regular collaborators like Money Mark and Mario Caldato Jr, who work as well with the Boys as ever. It's stunning how far The Beastie Boys grew creatively over their first few albums, and this point is pretty close to perfection! Titles include "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". CD

The first-ever Beastie Boys hip hop effort – a really great single done after their early punk material, and already a great showcase for their strong sense of humor! The gimmick here is great – the trio call up a number of Carvel Ice Cream stores, and ask to speak to various ice cream cakes – and the responses of the store staffers on the phone becomes most of the text of the song – over raw early hip hop breaks and beats! 4 tracks "Cooky Puss", "Bonus Batter", "Beastie Revolution" and "Cooky Puss (censored version)". 12-inch, Vinyl record

The Beastie Boys are looking plenty playful on the cover, and they definitely follow up in spirit on the record – all with that great mix of really rich production that they seemed to discover on the west coast – while still able to serve up all the youthful energy when they burst into the world frm the New York scene! The album has a space of a few years between its predecessor Ill Communication – and it almost feels as if the Beasties spent that time to go record shopping and crate digging – to bring in all these really cool musical twists and turns that remind us that some of their best expressions often come from the direct inspirations of others! Lee Scratch Perry and Money Mark help out on the set – but as always, it's the energy of the core trio that really ignites the fire – on titles that include "Super Disco Breakin", "The Move", "Song For The Man", "Just A Test", "Body Movin'", "Intergalactic", "Flowin Prose", "Remote Control", "Three MCs & One DJ", "Song For Junior", and "Dr Lee PhD". CD

The Beastie Boys are looking plenty playful on the cover, and they definitely follow up in spirit on the record – all with that great mix of really rich production that they seemed to discover on the west coast – while still able to serve up all the youthful energy when they burst into the world frm the New York scene! The album has a space of a few years between its predecessor Ill Communication – and it almost feels as if the Beasties spent that time to go record shopping and crate digging – to bring in all these really cool musical twists and turns that remind us that some of their best expressions often come from the direct inspirations of others! Lee Scratch Perry and Money Mark help out on the set – but as always, it's the energy of the core trio that really ignites the fire – on titles that include "Super Disco Breakin", "The Move", "Song For The Man", "Just A Test", "Body Movin'", "Intergalactic", "Flowin Prose", "Remote Control", "Three MCs & One DJ", "Song For Junior", and "Dr Lee PhD". LP, Vinyl record album

A late 90s classic from the Beastie Boys, done with that great mix of really rich production that they seemed to discover on the west coast – while still able to serve up all the youthful energy when they burst into the world frm the New York scene! The album has a space of a few years between its predecessor Ill Communication – and it almost feels as if the Beasties spent that time to go record shopping and crate digging – to bring in all these really cool musical twists and turns that remind us that some of their best expressions often come from the direct inspirations of others! Lee Scratch Perry and Money Mark help out on the set – but as always, it's the energy of the core trio that really ignites the fire – on titles that include "Super Disco Breakin", "The Move", "Song For The Man", "Just A Test", "Body Movin'", "Intergalactic", "Flowin Prose", "Remote Control", "Three MCs & One DJ", "Song For Junior", and "Dr Lee PhD". Features two bonus LPs of material – including remixes, live tracks, and b-sides! LP, Vinyl record album

What can we say? The Beasties rise to an even higher level with their manic trio hip hop style mixed with the live jazz/funk/garage rock sounds and keyboards by Money Mark – featuring a bunch of their classic hits and underappreciated album cuts alike. They could really do no wrong at this point in their unlikely long career. One of our favorites then and now is "Get It Together" featuring a very sharp Q-Tip almost stealing the show, and other standouts include unstoppable "Sure Shot" and "Sabotage", "Futterman's Rule", "Shambala", "The Scoop", "Do It", "Heart Attack Man", "Bodhisattva Vow", the Jimmy Smith shoutout "Root Down" and more. CD

Includes "Hey Ladies" and "Shake Your Rump" plus 2 rare cuts, which are only on a rare promo LP besides this: "33% God" and "Dis Yourself In '89"! 12-inch, Vinyl record

The funky Root Down EP by the Beastie Boys – riding high on a mid 90s creative peak! Root Down featuring a trio of versions of the title track and Ill Communication album standout, based on the Jimmy Smith's classic of the same name – and in hindsight, you really have to hand it to the Beasties, not only sampling and celebrating classic early 70s jazz funk, but for their earnest wish to introduce Jimmy Smith to the pop culture kids of the 90s – including a killer remix by the mighty Prince Paul. Also includes some live recordings from the time of classic Beasties tracks like"Time For Livin", "The Maestro", "Somethin's Got To Give", Time To Get Ill", thier punky "Heart Attack Man", "Sabrosa" and "Flute Loop". CD

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

Naturally, "You Gotta Fight For Your Right To Party" was the Beasties' first big crossover moment in pop – and a single that's still played non-stop in worldwide! This single also serves as a virtual sampler of the classic License To Ill LP, with the tracks "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" and "Time To Get Ill". 12-inch, Vinyl record

Be warned – this might not be the Beastie Boys you know and love, because this special set has the trio returning to their punk rock roots – getting some help from Awol, and blasting through tracks that are as loud and fast as the work on their early Polly Wog Stew EP! In fact, the group are so fast here that they blast through the songs very quickly – the record is just a quarter of an hour in length – yet given that they could just have kept doing their same hitmaking thing at the time, it's great to hear them still be able to operate in a hardcore mode! Titles include "Square Wave In Unison", "Brand New", "Deal With It", "Believe Me", and "Nervous Assistant". Again, this is not hip hop – it's punk rock! Includes bonus tracks – "Light My Fire" and "Soba Violence". LP, Vinyl record album

If Paul's Boutique was the Beasties' psychedelic hip hop Sgt Peppers, then Check Your Head is their White Album – a raw, stylistically sprawling, yet always connected batch of live instrumentation – backing rhymes that range from stream of consciousness to expertly written. Check Your Head is also their first outing without the guidance of outside producers, though the trio did bring in a host of regular collaborators like Money Mark and Mario Caldato Jr, who work as well with the Boys as ever. It's stunning how far The Beastie Boys grew creatively over their first few albums, and this point is pretty close to perfection! Titles include "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". LP, Vinyl record album

A huge dip into the history of hip hop – in a set that's something of a groundbreaking effort from the folks at the Smithsonian! If we're honest, we'll tell you that we're old enough to remember a time when folks thought that hip hop was just a fad – when it was a musical style that would disappear in just a few short years. But now, all these many decades later, the form has had such an impact on American culture that the Smithsonian Institute is giving it some official sort of due – something we never would have believed back in the 80s! The package is huge – 9CDs with a whopping 129 tracks in all, and a 300 page book that supports the recordings with an insane amount of notes, photos, and all sorts of other information – alongside a track list that was put together by folks who include Questlove, 9th Wonder, Chuck D, Jeff Chang, and MC Lyte! The set is especially great on old school tracks up through the golden era hip hop years – but also moves into the 21st century too – and artists include Treacherous Three, Afrika Bambaataa, Fearless Four, Cold Crush Brothers, Herbie Hancock, Run DMC, Fatback, Sugarhill Gang, Kurtis Blow, Funky Four +1, T La Rock, Schoolly D, Beastie Boys, Kool Moe Dee, LL Cool J, Eric B & Rakim, Mantronix, Stetsasonic, Audio Two, Big Daddy Kane, MC Lyte, Marley Marl, Tone Loc, Jungle Brothers, NWA, Public Enemy, Slick Rick, 3rd Bass, De La Soul, Queen Latifa, DOC, 2 Live Crew, Dr Dre, Sir Mix A Lot, Digable Planets, Positive K, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Naughty By Nature, Black Sheep, Tribe Called Quest, Geto Boys, Pharcyde, 2Pac, Warren G, Gang Starr, Notorious BIG, and many many more! CD

The massive third album from Run DMC – made at the top of their game – an pivotal effort that brought them to peak popularity and helped break hip hop in a huge way in the pop culture landscape! Part of the album's strength is its guitar-heavy sound on some of the grooves – produced by Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons with a classic early Def Jam vibe, in the same manner that helped the Beastie Boys get their records in the hands of folks who'd never buy hip hop otherwise! That sound comes to culmination on the album's hit collaboration with Aerosmith on a remake of "Walk This Way", resulting in the commercial breakthrough, but the real triumph here is the increased complexity in both the lyricism, and the way Jam Master Jay serves up their beats – which makes for a stone classic all the way through, on tracks that include "Peter Piper", "It's Tricky", "My Adidas", "Proud To Be Black", "You Be Illin'", and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Not a bad year in retrospect – featuring "Dangerous" by Busta Rhymes, "Lost Ones" by Lauryn Hill, "Intergalactic" by The Beastie Boys, "Deja Vu" by Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz, "Rosa Parks" by Outkast, "Find A Way" by A Tribe Called Quest, and more. LP, Vinyl record album

The massive third album from Run DMC – made at the top of their game – a pivotal effort that brought them to peak popularity and helped break hip hop in a huge way in the pop culture landscape! Part of the album's strength is its guitar-heavy sound on some of the grooves – produced by Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons with a classic early Def Jam vibe, in the same manner that helped the Beastie Boys get their records in the hands of folks who'd never buy hip hop otherwise! That sound comes to culmination on the album's hit collaboration with Aerosmith on a remake of "Walk This Way", resulting in the commercial breakthrough, but the real triumph here is the increased complexity in both the lyricism, and the way Jam Master Jay serves up their beats – which makes for a stone classic all the way through, on tracks that include "Peter Piper", "It's Tricky", "My Adidas", "Proud To Be Black", "You Be Illin'", and more. CD

The massive third album from Run DMC – made at the top of their game – an pivotal effort that brought them to peak popularity and helped break hip hop in a huge way in the pop culture landscape! Part of the album's strength is its guitar-heavy sound on some of the grooves – produced by Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons with a classic early Def Jam vibe, in the same manner that helped the Beastie Boys get their records in the hands of folks who'd never buy hip hop otherwise! That sound comes to culmination on the album's hit collaboration with Aerosmith on a remake of "Walk This Way", resulting in the commercial breakthrough, but the real triumph here is the increased complexity in both the lyricism, and the way Jam Master Jay serves up their beats – which makes for a stone classic all the way through, on tracks that include "Peter Piper", "It's Tricky", "My Adidas", "Proud To Be Black", "You Be Illin'", and more. LP, Vinyl record album

The massive third album from Run DMC – a set that was done at a time when the duo were totally at the top of their game – and broke out big to a much wider audience than the usual hip hop crowd! Part of the album's strength is its guitar-heavy sound on some of the grooves – produced by Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons with a classic early Def Jam vibe, in the same manner that helped the Beastie Boys get their records in the hands of folks who'd never buy hip hop otherwise! And that sound comes to culmination on the album's hit collaboration with Aerosmith on a remake of "Walk This Way". But apart from that rocker, most of the rest of the set also shows an increased complexity in both the lyricism of the pair, and the way Jam Master Jay serves up their beats – which makes for a stone classic all the way through, on tracks that include "Peter Piper", "It's Tricky", "My Adidas", "Proud To Be Black", "You Be Illin'", and "Walk This Way". Bonus tracks on this expanded edition include "My Adidas (acapella)", "Walk This Way (demo)", "Lord Of Lyrics (demo)", "Raising Hell Radio Tour Spot" and "Live At The Apollo Raw Vocal Commercial". CD

The massive third album from Run DMC – a set that was done at a time when the duo were totally at the top of their game – and broke out big to a much wider audience than the usual hip hop crowd! Part of the album's strength is its guitar-heavy sound on some of the grooves – produced by Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons with a classic early Def Jam vibe, in the same manner that helped the Beastie Boys get their records in the hands of folks who'd never buy hip hop otherwise! And that sound comes to culmination on the album's hit collaboration with Aerosmith on a remake of "Walk This Way". But apart from that rocker, most of the rest of the set also shows an increased complexity in both the lyricism of the pair, and the way Jam Master Jay serves up their beats – which makes for a stone classic all the way through, on tracks that include "Peter Piper", "It's Tricky", "My Adidas", "Proud To Be Black", "You Be Illin'", and "Walk This Way". Bonus tracks on this expanded edition include "My Adidas (acapella)", "Walk This Way (demo)", "Lord Of Lyrics (demo)", "Raising Hell Radio Tour Spot" and "Live At The Apollo Raw Vocal Commercial". CD

Single track mix with music from De La Soul, Beastie Boys, Special Ed, Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud, Whodini, DXT, Funk Inc., Treacherous Three, Davy DMX, Herbie Hancock, The Mean Machine, Grandmaster Flash, Pumpkin And The Profile All-Stars, Sugarhill Gang, Hot Day, Z-3 MC's, Mantronix, and more. CD