Ill Communication – Beastie Boys – Released May 31st, 1994, Grand Royal / Capitol
Ill Communication is the fourth studio album by the Beastie Boys. Released 30 years ago back in May of 1994, it’s the perfect synergy of the band’s punk and hiphop roots, combined with their newfound funk sensibilities. The result is an all-time classic that’s still worthy of celebration three decades on.
Ill Communication was produced by long-time collaborator Mario C and also features live musicians such as drummer Amery Smith, percussionist Eric Bobo, keyboard player Money Mark and strings from Eugene Gore.
The Beastie’s debut, Licence To Ill, was raucous and fun, though lacking in intellectual content to say the least. Hence many view its follow-up, Paul’s Boutique, the band’s best, thanks to its effortless inventiveness and dope experimentation.
Others, no doubt, have fond memories of 1992’s Check Your Head while a good friend of mine insists Hello Nasty was the group’s finest hour.
For me though, I’m like Ma Bell.
Ill Communication was my first proper introduction to the Beasties. Sure, I was aware of them from 87 onward but Ill Comm was the first album of theirs I bought and I became an instant super-fan.
Everything about this album is perfection; the beats, the production, the rhymes, the songs, the musicianship.
Sure, Hello Nasty and Paul’s Boutique might score higher in terms of innovation and pure, unbridled creativity, but Ill Communication is a loud, hard-rockin, fast-rollin’ 18-wheel juggernaut hauling a wide trailer load of trunks of funk.
Not to mention the thrash punk, Q-Tip and Biz Markie cameos, obscure nerdy references, bone fide Buddhism and “fat bass lines like Russel Simmons steals money.”
Put it all together and you can see why I imprinted hard on this album, why I know it all off by heart and why I still cherish it today, as an integral component in my all-time top ten albums.
And while many of my others favourites from this period have aged like sweaty sock full of Stilton, Ill Communication seems to only get better with age.
And though middle aged I don’t rock the funky fly golf gear from head to toe, but as far as grey hairs are concerned, yes, I have my shares, but it no longer matters.
In fact I’m glad I do. Because if I wasn’t as old as I am now, I wouldn’t have been the perfect age I was then to be introduced to the genius of this album.
Only Under Hiphop Supervision
Before we get into the music, let’s start with the initial “I Ruvv Ruu” dog voice that opens this album.
If there’s ever any doubt as to how much I love this album, it’s the insane amount of time I spent researching it.
Which is why, when the time came to review this album, I spent an unhealthy amount of time trying to find the original dog sample just to settle an argument that’s now around 30 years old.
Success! I can categorically state that, contrary to what an old friend of mind has insisted for years, the opening sample from Ill Communication is from an American TV commercial and not from a shitty Canadian TV show about a husky called White Fang.
If you’ve never heard of that show I’m not surprised. It’s old, it’s Canadian and it’s terrible, just the kind of thing they loved to show on Irish TV back in the day.
All I could recall was that it featured a husky dog as its main protagonist, which, alas, can accurately describe a large swath of Canadian TV shows from the 80s and 90s.
Suffice to say, it took a while to become reacquainted with the name White Fang, to find the clip in question and the actual sample source provided here for comparison:
Here’s the White Fang I Ruvv Ruu…
And here’s the Beastie Boys I Ruvv Ruu source.
So, on the off chance you’re some weirdo who’s only on this site because you searched Google for this very niche information, let me welcome you here to my blog, seems we have a lot in common and we should totally hang out.
As for my mate from back in the day who argued about this fact with me, I was right and you were wrong. And it only took three decades for me to prove it.
I’m a small man in many ways…
Come And Rock The Sure Shot
What I can tell you for certain, though, is Sure Shot also contains a sample of the Blue Note classic Howling For Judy by Jeremy Steig. Some of the funkiest fluttery I’ve ever heard.
But once it’s got that big fat slamming Beastie Boys beat behind it, the sample takes on a whole new momentum as the Beasties give shout outs to everyone from Lee Perry to Lee Dorsey, and Doug E Fresh to John Woo.
Sure Shot’s the perfect way to kick things off. It was the album’s third single and remains a fan favourite to this day. #IRuvRuu
Tough Guy is a straight-up punk diss track aimed at macho assholes. It clocks in pretty paltry at just under a minute and is followed by B-Boys Makin’ With The Freak Freak.
I love this one too, the double-bass and drums, that signature retro microphone effect on the vocal and, of course, the immortal sample, “if this is gonna be that kind of a party I’m goin’ stick my dick in the mashed potatoes.”
Whatever the situation, party or otherwise, this was a line we’ve used with gusto for the past thirty years, the source of which is from this stand-up comedy sequence.
Bobo On The Corner is a short live instrumental jam, featuring Eric Bobo Correa on percussion. It’s the first such funk track on the album but far from the last. Only thing I don’t like about this track is that it ends WAY too abruptly. It feels like it was just an outtake they decided to throw in which is a pity, I could vibe to this one all fucking day.
Instread we get to the equally funky Root Down, which, though a standard hiphop track, still doesn’t hold back on the percussion.
Root Down is built from multiple samples of Jimmy Smith’s Root Down (And Get It), most notably the bassline and organ elements. The track itself was also sampled by The Prodigy on their 1997 track Funky shit.
And so, we get to Sabotage – another immortal track this one, perhaps their most beloved song of all. A loud, loutish slice of thrashy rap-punk perfection with brash guitars, abrasive scratching and shouty sing-along lyrics.
This was the album’s first single, made all the more popular by the hilarious music video directed by Spike Jonze satirising 1970s detective shows. I think it’s probably the first and only time I bought an album on the strength of the music video.
Obviously, I’m not alone because in the summer of 1994 this tune was everywhere, and you’ll still find it everywhere from rock bars to sports events to Star Trek, it completely bucks the trend of what’s meant to have “mass appeal.”
So if you don’t know this tune already all I can say is, welcome to Earth and on behalf of all humans let me be the first to say, sit down, shut up and listen to some Beastie Boys…
Get It Together is another timeless hiphop jam featuring a smorgasboard of exotic samples and shoutouts to everyone from Biz Markie to Happy Days.
It also got a guest appearance from A Tribe Called Quest’s Q-Tip. And what I love about this one is how he just slots in perfectly with the trio as that famous three-man flow becomes four.
I mean Q-Tip always delivers wherever he winds up, but getting to hear him be an honorary Beastie Boy for the day, well, it never fails to bring a smile to my face.
#nobodysgotitanybiggerthanthis
Sabrosa is an improvised instrumental jam kicking off with that wacka-chicka wah guitar funk, followed up by Eric Bobo on the bongos and Monkey Mark’s smooth Hammond organ chords.
These are not the Beastie Boys you were looking for – but gawdamn are they funky!
The Update brings it back to the hiphop with a percussion-heavy beat and more of that echo-mic sound, while the lyrics touch on topics of spirituality, equality and global conflict. “It’s About Time” is a cry for justice and a far, far cry from the record company-mandated juvenile delinquency of Fight For Your Right To Party.
Futterman’s Rule is yet another funky instrumental that’s way too short for my liking. Loving the fuzz guitar progression on here, the Monkey Mark organ adding to the intensity, the short break sections with percussion and drums then we’re back to the main melody with added intensity. Some DJ scratching on there for extra glacé topping – three minutes forty of pure funky perfection.
Alright Hear This continues the one-two of funk track followed by hiphop track. Again, we have an upright bass riding on dense layers of percussion all blended together with that perfect fusion of high production talent and low-fi aesthetics.
Eugene’s Lament is one of my favourite tracks on the album and was the most unexpected one by a wide margin. I mean c’mon, were you expecting a violin solo on a Beastie Boys track back in 1994? On the same album as Sabotage no less?
The Eugene in question is instrumentalist Eugene Gore, another of the group’s musical collaborators. Discogs also credits him for Shambala and as far I know both he and MCA played some double bass on the album (correct me if I’m wrong.)
This is the only credit he gets on the album sleeve, however, but its hands done one of the most atmospheric pieces on here and I think it’s one that really helps to elevate the album to classic status.
Flute Loop delivers on its premise y sampling heavily from The Blues Project’s Flute Thing, with both flute and piano elements used. This original is a gorgeous little tune in its own right but the way Beastie’s beat phattens the whole thing up you can’t help nod along until your neck gets sore.
Do It is another prime slice of funky hiphop featuring the legendary Biz Markie on guest vocals. It’s also jam-packed with wacky random shout-outs to everyone from Abe Lincoln to Darth Vader and Billy Joel.
As with all Beasties tracks there’s a lot of nonsense and until you’re suddenly slapped upside the head with some realness, as your consciousness hovers on the cusp of enlightenment.
“Caught up on the phone fiber optic distraction,
Information Superhighway got the brain contraction.”
Keep in mind this was 1994 and the “new” commercially available internet had only really existed for a year at this point.
The Beastie Boys weren’t just early adopters, they were also equally quick to warn us of its addictive and stupefying nature. Y’know, the aforementioned Ill Communication that’s fucking our minds up?
The Beasties saw it comin’.
Ricky’s Theme is another sweet instrumental piece and this time it’s keyboard player Money Mark’s time to shine.
I’m guessing that’s Eugene Gore back on the bass, plucking and bowing this time around. Once again this sounds like studio outtakes which were just added in between the tracks to add some more variety, but they’re all so good I can’t help but wish they were longer.
And just as we’re getting into the groove the album takes another 180 turn…
Much like the mashed potatoes gag, my friends and I have been quoting Heart Attack Man for decades.
“He weighs in pretty hefty” is such a delightfully understated phrase, and one which we’ve applied to countless hefty individuals over the years.
Some of them may indeed have had heart attacks in the ensuing decades, not that it matters.
I should also point out, in the interests of balance, that I’m not exactly petite myself and may have weighed in pretty hefty myself from time to time (though having done the requisite conversions into metric, I’m happy to say I’m well outside Heart Attack Man parameters.)
Man, this is such a fun track, pure trash-talkin’ thrash punk.
As teenagers lacking the full gamut of American pop culture references and still straining somewhat to understand squawking New York accents, we lacked the finer details, all we could really decern is that the song was definitely aimed at an actual person with a robust frame and a broad-reaching and ravenous appetite.
Even so we couldn’t help but feel we were all in on the joke, because they all start breaking their shit laughing before the song even begins.
Oh, as a final aside, that Run DMC scratching sample on the hook – another stroke of genius.
The Scoop is yet another example of a track on this album that’s bristling with an array of deep cut samples. I know I’m always giving shoutouts to DJs like Muggs, RZA and the great DJ Premier, but the Beastie Boys need some serious props too.
In fact, I can’t think of any other album which so seamlessly blends live music and sampling, to the point where you honestly can’t tell which is which without seriously nerding out over the decades to find out.
And, while some track like the Flute Loop example earlier just borrow bits wholesale, other tracks take obscure snippets from equally obscure recordings, often pitched way up or down and combined with other oddities in unexpected ways.
The result is always garnished with respect for the old skool hiphop masters and, if there’s time, served with a pinch of Kingston Jamaica for good measure.
In this case its built upon a sliver of a track from the Jazz Messenger pianist Cedar Walton, toughened up with some I-Roy and Kurtis Blow.
The result is further augmented by with some serious dub-wise effects on the microphone and Eric Bobo’s unyielding percussion.
This one’s another album highlight for me.
Shambala changes gears once again and served as the musical overture to the group’s growing association with Buddhism and their pro-Tibetan activism.
It begins with deep guttural Tibetan monk chanting before the Beasties bring the funk once more. These disparate sound sources shouldn’t work together, but somehow they do.
I especially love that snare roll right before the drummer comes in, not sure what it is about it exactly, but that simple little snare roll puts a smile on my face every time.
Seriously, East meets West never sounded so damn funky.
At around the three minute mark the chanting returns and the instruments gradually fade as the track merges into the next.
Bodhisattva Vow continues the same chanting as Shambala but tweaks the timing of it slightly. It’s a seamless transition which is quite impressive given limited the technology.
Equally impressive is their deliberate decision to include a rap track about Buddhism on the album.
It’s fair to say there’s really been nothing like it before or since in the world of hiphop, adding a whole new dimension of spirituality to the album while further showcasing the band’s continued growth and maturity.
This one is entirely MCA’s baby, delivering a track which, in the wrong hands could have wound up sounding pretentious, but instead he strikes that delicate balance between authenticity and reverence, using his own unique voice while taking pains not to trivialise the subject matter.
It’s now 12 years and counting since MCA’s passing and subsequent end of the group. And while Bodhisattva Vow may not be counted among the most beloved Beastie Boys tracks it’s certainly one their most meaningful.
Adam “MCA” Yauch RIP.
The album finishes with another short and funky instrumental jam called Transitions.
This deep, reflective and mildly melancholic piece is the perfect way end to the album, not with a high but on a somewhat subdued note, allowing us the chance to digest it all.
Weighs In Pretty Hefty
After twenty whole tracks of musical mayhem from punk to funk, zany hiphop lyrics, jazzy beats and Buddhism, there sure was a lot to process.
First time I heard it my mind was blasted into a million pieces.
But being young and impatient I just had to flip the tape over and listen to it over and over again from scratch. (Pun intended.)
30 years on, Ill Communication still stands as the Beastie’s finest hour and retains its spot on my top ten list of best albums of all time.
And I’m still discovering new things I love about it.