Hello Nasty Peeled Back The Madness Of 80s Hip-Hop A Decade Too Late

In the summer of 1998, long gone were the days of rappers addressing the audience with jester-like enthusiasm and an unwavering commitment to shutting down Sucker M.C.’s. 

Hip-Hop had moved on from the music mentality of the 80s and traded idiosyncrasy for aggressiveness and social consciousness. 

However, the culture didn’t account for the Beastie Boys. They released their nastiest project— Hello Nasty—their fifth studio album on July 14, 1998.

Now, to say Hello Nasty was an overlooked album would be factually incorrect. 

The album sold 681,000 copies in its first week, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and won two Grammy awards—Best Alternative Music Album and Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. 

But there lies the problem hiding in plain sight. Why did they win under the alternative genre? What arouses even more suspicion is the fact that Hello Nasty did not receive a nomination for Best Rap Album. 

The argument can be made that the Grammys have a flawed system when it comes to their hip-hop-oriented awards but one thing is clear, the Beastie Boys’ refusal to adapt to the sound of the late 90s was being rejected by the new guard. 

That’s not to say the veteran trio was making it any easier for the average listener. 

On the contrary, Hello Nasty can be best explained by the cover art for the album, which depicts the three MC’s basking in the sun while being packed into a sardine can. Describing the album as anything but a fever dream would be doing it a disservice.

Super Disco Breakin’ hits you with a flurry of abrasive 808’s and record scratches that were ripped straight out of a kangol hat, boombox-infused nightmare. 

The Move begins with a beatboxing sample and techno sound effects backed up with female vocal chops and a beat switch full of smooth guitar plucks that wrap up with a sample from the 1970s El Rey Y Yo song Los Ángeles Negros over an unsparing drum loop. 

Those moments on the first couple of instrumentals are only the tip of the iceberg as Remote Control introduces a smashing guitar riff soaked in psychosis which are only amplified by Mike D’s vocals being purposefully distorted. 

Psychedelic vibrations are continued in The Negotiation Limerick File that introduces high-pitched chirping reverberations that stay stuck to the back of your ear from start to finish. 

The production on this album will give you an uneasy yet rhythmic feeling, like if you were falling down a rabbit hole but can’t stop breakdancing on your way down.

A Beastie Boys album wouldn’t feel complete without the three originators refusing to lose their child-like wonder. 

Operating on the same lyrical hive mind since their inception, there is no shortage of finishing each other’s sentences or sung-together choruses on Hello Nasty. 

The boys return with their infectious energy that permeates throughout the entire tracklist. Their charisma is felt in every single line. They use each song as a stage where they chew on the scenery and munch on anything in their path. 

It is impossible to forget to mention standout lyrics such as Mike D’s “fresh like a box of Krispy Kreme” on Three MC’s and One DJ. 

As well as MCA’s philosophical comparison of a bird planting seeds to the thoughts in your cerebral cortex on Putting Shame in Your Game and Ad-Rock’s iconic declaration of his love for sugar with coffee and cream on the hit single Intergalactic. 

Regardless of whatever era they are in, the group never seems to lose a step.

The Beastie Boys pushed the limits and perfected the sound of 80s hip-hop when it wasn’t the main attraction anymore, a classic example of being at the right place at the wrong time. 

Still, this unfortunate scenario doesn’t hurt their legacy, it just makes you wonder what could have been.

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