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After six long years, The Beastie Boys are back with a freakishly anticipated new CD, To The 5 Boroughs—a politically charged return to straight-up hip-hop. Yes, politically charged. Seems the onetime Three Stooges of Rap have grown up; and in addition to their status as conquering heroes of the Alternative Nation, they’re adjusting very well to their role as political and social activists. Fact is, right about now, the Boys are concerned about the state of our nation, and they’ve used the follow-up to 1998’s 4-million-selling Hello Nasty to both vent and inform . . . well, that and behave like a bunch of fools. On the eve of the album’s release, Beastie Boy Adam Horovitz (aka King Ad-Rock) sat down to talk politics, hip-hop, and, naturally, his favorite pastime, Scrabble.
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S&R-n-R:
Over all the years and all the albums, who do you think the Beastie Boys have influenced the most?
Ad-Rock:
I don’t know. It’s weird. I think we’ve influenced juvenile delinquents, skaters, vandals—that type of thing. Yeah, I think you can see our influence there most.
S&R-n-R:
What, if anything, does Eminem owe to the Beastie Boys?
Ad-Rock:
I think that he understood that you can be funny and say something serious at the same time. He has a sense of humor, and he uses that in his lyrics, and he can make fun of himself. I’m not saying we say the same things necessarily, but that’s something, I think, we’ve always done pretty well.
S&R-n-R:
What do you think of Eminem?
Ad-Rock:
It’s a hard call. I mean, he’s definitely very good at what he does. But, like, there’s a lot of controversy about him being sexist or homophobic and stuff like that. I don’t really listen to his records, so I don’t know. I know the singles and stuff like that, but I’m not really paying attention to what he’s actually saying. I definitely don’t condone sexism or homophobia or anything like that. But I can’t personally be like, “Eminem is fucked up,” because of this, that, and the other, because I don’t actually know, specifically, what he says.
S&R-n-R:
In a recent issue of Rolling Stone, Chris Rock said the following: “We are at fucking war, people are fucking broke, mothers are killing their kids, and the welfare thing is going on. And everyone is singing, ‘Everybody in the club getting tipsy.’ It’s fucking insane.” What do you make of the current state of hip-hop?
Ad-Rock:
The world is in a fucking spiral, and, of course, people are getting fucking tipsy. In a way, the shit is so fucked up that people don’t want to think about it. They need an escape from real life. People need to get tipsy. But should artists be more conscious about the lyrics they put out in the world? I feel, for me, that there’s gotta be some sort of balance. You see in the newspaper that Bush is spending up to $100 billion to go to war in Iraq. I mean, how could you not say something about that? It’s fucking crazy!
S&R-n-R:
What does hip-hop need right now that To The 5 Boroughs provides?
Ad-Rock:
I don’t think that we’re saying any amazing thing that people don’t think about all the time. It’s not like we’re coming up with these crazy, brand-new ideas. We’re just saying, “We need to vote Bush out of office.” Basically, we really need to make America what it could be—a true democracy where people accept one another. I mean, we’re not politicians. We’re musicians. We make music, and the music that we’re making comes at a crucial time. We just feel like it’s important to have fun, but at the same time to not pretend that we don’t have a liar in office that’s calling shots and the lies just get deeper and deeper and more dangerous.
S&R-n-R:
Why aren’t more artists taking a stand, especially with what’s going on in the world right now?
Ad-Rock:
I don’t know. Maybe they are with their friends and family, and they don’t feel like they should do it on records.
S&R-n-R:
Is there currently a notable absence of an artist-as-political voice?
Ad-Rock:
What’s weird is that it’s in the underground. Groups like Dead Prez—there will never not be a group like Dead Prez. Why won’t a group like that break through? The Clear Channel runs all the radio stations. The Clear Channel is happy that kids want to get tipsy. That’s what they want—they want people to spend as much money as they can and get as fucked up as they can, so they don’t question what’s really going on. Like, “Wait, we’re fighting Iraq in defense of September 11. What’s really going on?” They want you to keep getting tipsy.
S&R-n-R:
Why are the Beastie Boys so socially active?
Ad-Rock:
Why are the Beastie Boys so socially active?
It’s not like we’re on a soapbox every day. We’re not at Al Sharpton’s headquarters every day, locking ourselves to police cars. I think we’re just like everybody else where you see what’s going on around you—you see what’s happening in America and what our President is doing and what’s happening in the world and how people look at us—and you’re aware. It’s just like, Shit, how could we not say something? But at the same time, it’s like, How could we not have fun and go to parties with our friends, because we’re people. Of course, we’re going to have a lot of fun, because we’re friends, but of course we’re going to talk about what’s going on in the world, because we’re human.
S&R-n-R:
OK, enough with the politics. On a completely different note, who’s the most underrated rapper at the moment?
Ad-Rock:
My friend Bashton. He’s looking for a record deal. He’s a smart kid. He’s definitely the strangest MC out there. He has a frantic style. Nuts. You’ve been warned.
S&R-n-R:
What’s the best hip-hop group of all time?
Ad-Rock:
Um . . . What’s the best hip-hop group of all time? I can name a few: You’ve got Run-D.M.C., Public Enemy, Treacherous Three, Sugarhill Gang, Funky Four Plus One More . . . hmmm . . . I don’t know. It’s a hard call . . . It’s such a hard call . . . Um . . . yeah, wow . . . I can’t pick just one of them.
S&R-n-R:
We hear about the West Coast and Dirty South, etc. Is New York still the home of hip-hop?
Ad-Rock:
New York is not the home of hip-hop. Hip-hop is international. What makes New York special, though, is the water. I swear. We got the best bagels, we got the best pizza. It’s nutrition. Nutrition, nourishment—the fluids that run through our bodies out here in New York.
S&R-n-R:
With To The 5 Boroughs, why did you guys choose to go back to straight-up hip-hop?
Ad-Rock:
We just started to record, and it just sort of felt good, and that’s what we’d been working on separately . . . I don’t know. No actual reason. After September 11, we did a benefit show called New Yorkers Against Violence. It was just a short set, so we did just hip-hop, and it was really, really fun. It was a lot easier, so we just focused on that.
S&R-n-R:
Are you trying to show the kids how hip-hop’s really done?
Ad-Rock:
Perhaps. Perhaps. We’re the oldest men in the game, so there you go. These fools still doin’ it . . .
S&R-n-R:
What’s the most crucial element in building a great hip-hop track?
Ad-Rock:
Every song is different, but I’d say the beat, because it’s the thing that gets into your blood—it gets into your heart. It’s the first thing that hits you and maybe the last thing that stays with you. I don’t know if you can make a great hip-hop track without a great beat.
S&R-n-R:
What the Beasties’ favorite thing to do on tour?
Ad-Rock:
We play Scrabble on the tour bus. Mah-jongg, too. Lots. Yauch’s the best at mah-jongg; I’m the best at Scrabble. When we’re on tour, I find out where the local Scrabble club is. I’m not that good, so I kind of lay low. I mean, there are people who’re really into Scrabble—they take it very seriously. Not that I don’t take it seriously, but not that seriously.
S&R-n-R:
What are these Scrabble clubs like?
Ad-Rock:
When I walk into a Scrabble club, the average age is, I’d say, about 70. There’s a group of maybe four to eight people, and I sit down. They then look at me, like, “Who’s this strange kid?” I have won, but not most of the time.
S&R-n-R:
Got a favorite Scrabble club?
Ad-Rock:
It’s in Upstate New York, but I don’t want to give away the name, because I don’t want people to start showing up.
S&R-n-R:
Say you’re not on tour, and it’s a sunny Saturday afternoon in NYC. Where can we expect to find the Beasties?
Ad-Rock:
A Saturday in the city, we play basketball. One-on-one at a schoolyard—me and Yauch. Then we end up fistfighting, so Mike has to break that up. We fistfight a lot. Sometimes it ends in fistfights; a lot of times, it’s like . . . rolling around, and Mike usually has to break it up.
S&R-n-R:
Um, we take it you don’t spend much time in the studio . . .
Ad-Rock:
Oh, no—when we’re not touring, we go to the studio and work. It goes like this: We get there around noon, order some sandwiches, wait for the sandwiches, eat the sandwiches, digest, and then get ready to go home, and go home. That’s about it. And that’s not far from the truth. Why do you think it took us six years to put a record out?
S&R-n-R:
So, that’s why . . . Well, To The 5 Boroughs was worth the wait.
Ad-Rock:
I hope so.
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