It’s been a while since the Beastie Boys have been heard from. After seven long years, the real question has become: how do the Beastie Boys fit in with the modern rap crowd? The scene is filled with the likes of Kanye West and Jay-Z; the stoner rap of Wiz Khalifa and Kid Cudi; the ultra angry Eminem; the political rap from Lupe Fiasco and random stuff like Lil’ Wayne and the “how the heck did he become popular at all,” Pitbull. So, where do the Beastie Boys fit with everyone? Well, they kind of don’t – and that’s probably why Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 is so good. They don’t try to remake the wheel here; it’s the same Beastie Boys who told us to fight for our right to party and informed us all of sabotage… they just happen to be the same age as our parents now.
Hot Sauce Committee takes bits of their instrumental album The Mix Up and the best parts of older albums like Licensed to Ill and Ill Communication. The album was scheduled for release a few years ago but was put on hold when Adam “MCA” Yauch was diagnosed with cancer. The first part of Hot Sauce Committee was supposed to be the released version with part two coming out being the companion album that was released via other means. Part two, for whatever reason, ended up being the one that was released, though it’s not known if part one will ever be released.
Ultimately, this is a great album. To the 5 Boroughs was fine and all but it seemed to be lacking, maybe it was the fact that they were their own producers and hadn’t quite figured out what they wanted to do. However, after their seven-year hiatus they seemed to have figured it out. One thing you can be sure of when the Beastie Boys take the mic: there will be a lot of funky, geeky lyrics and a lot of references to other musicians, movies and actors. The sound of the album overall is like a best of collection, sampling styles from across their career. For example, the song “Long Burn the Fire” is reminiscent of “Intergalactic”, and “Funky Donkey” could be the sequel to “Funky Monkey”. The song “Tadlock’s Glasses” has a really cool electro beat and kind of has a dubstep thing going on with it. Another track, “Lee Majors Come Again” has them revisiting their former punk band years.
There really isn’t a bad track on the album and the best part is that they don’t try to sound like anyone else; they’re the Beastie Boys and they know it. They’re a refreshing change of pace to the pop/rap stuff that’s been all over the airwaves the past few years, bringing back the golden years of rap when it was new and “just a fad” like rock and roll was in the 1950s. Rap is here to stay and I think a lot of that has to do with the Beastie Boys: they aren’t about to compromise themselves to be popular; they are already legends and they can certainly do whatever they want. Overall, the album is a great one. Now in their 40’s, the Boys take their authority and remind everyone that they’re still one of the best rap groups still in the game.