Rap’s decadent trio, the Beastie Boys, return with this 15-track LP two-and-a-half years after their four-million-selling debut, “Licensed to Ill,” topped the pop chart. The act’s signature hard rock-rap hybrid has been supplanted by a more rhythmic, heavily sampled sound.
But the lyrics, especially on the single “Hey Ladies,” “Shake Your Rump” and “Shadrach” are as daffy and surrealistic as ever. The Beasties have managed to lean on the creations of others to produce something entirely innovative in its own right.
GRADE: B+
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