Beastie Boys
USA, 1981–2012
New York hardcore-punks turned rap pioneers — from Licensed to Ill's rap-rock to Paul's Boutique's sample collage, three MCs who fused punk energy, funk breaks and hip-hop into a genre-blurring whole.
MusicRoots documents 9 artists who influenced Beastie Boys and 8 artists Beastie Boys influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.
Who influenced Beastie Boys?
- Silver Apples — The Beastie Boys are among the acts cited as influenced by Silver Apples' early electronic experimentation.
- Black Flag — The Beastie Boys began as a hardcore band — Mike D mimicked the cranked power chords of Black Flag and other LA/DC hardcore.
- Bad Brains — Bad Brains' blazing hardcore was a founding model for the young Beastie Boys' punk incarnation.
- Minor Threat — Minor Threat's DC hardcore was part of the punk foundation the Beastie Boys came up through before turning to rap.
- Run-DMC — Run-DMC's stripped rap-rock was the direct model for the Beastie Boys' pivot from hardcore to hip-hop — Licensed to Ill built on their template.
- James Brown — James Brown's funk breaks were foundational raw material for the Beastie Boys' rhythm and sampling.
- Led Zeppelin — Led Zeppelin's riffs were literal source material — 'Rhymin & Stealin' samples Zeppelin — and the rock half of Licensed to Ill's rap-rock.
- Black Sabbath — Sampled on 'Rhymin & Stealin', with Led Zeppelin and the Clash.
- The Clash — Sampled on 'Rhymin & Stealin', with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath.
Which artists did Beastie Boys influence?
- Seo Taiji — The Beastie Boys' rap-over-hard-rock is part of the American fusion Seo Taiji rebuilt in Korean.
- Eminem — As a white rapper, Eminem looked to the Beastie Boys as proof of crossover credibility, calling them a major influence.
- 311 — The Beastie Boys' rap-rock showed 311 how to marry hip-hop delivery to rock instrumentation.
- Sublime — The Beastie Boys' genre-hopping hip-hop is woven into Sublime's sampling, rapping and party-rock eclecticism.
- Cypress Hill — The Beastie Boys' rap-rock crossover is part of the lineage behind Cypress Hill's later rap-metal fusions.
- Cibo Matto — Cibo Matto signed to the Beastie Boys' Grand Royal label and took them as mentors — their playful, sample-collage hip-hop-pop follows the Beasties' eclectic template.
- Lord Tracy — The other end, and the reason the band sounds a year early rather than a year late.
- Sum 41 — The rap half of Sum 41's early rap-rock, heard clearest on All Killer No Filler.