When Mike Diamond, Adam Horovitz, and Adam Yauch first emerged nearly three decades ago as a trio of punk rock–enthused New York City teens hell-bent on remaking the then-emerging genre of rap music in their own snotty image, the idea that they might one day become important seemed anathema to the very notion of being a Beastie Boy—which, at the time, seemed to have more to do with a semi-ironic (but only semi) appreciation for the joys of juvenile bacchanalia than, you know, making history. Of course, much has changed since then for Mike D, Ad-Rock, and MCA, creators of the best-selling rap album of the ’80s, Licensed to Ill(1986), as well as its groundbreaking follow-ups Paul’s Boutique (1989), Check Your Head(1992), and Ill Communication (1994), and who, if not important (which they are), would at the very least have to cop to being influential, and who, in addition to musicians, now also identify as husbands, partners, parents, Buddhists, activists, and, as we discover, amateur affineurs.
The Beasties’ most recent album, Hot Sauce Committee Part Two (Capitol), released in May, is as vital, and irreverent, as any of their previous records. Casual fans concerned that they may have missed something need not fret: There is no Hot Sauce Committee Part One. Initially slated for release in the fall of 2009, the record was delayed and retooled after Yauch was diagnosed with throat cancer, an illness from which he is still recovering. In a chat on the balcony of a room at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, Diamond and Horovitz spoke about finally getting Hot Sauce Committee Part Two out into the world, reclaiming their mojo, and confronting life in the face of art.
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