If you need a reminder of why the Beastie Boys rule, just?watch this?short interview with them from nearly 30 years ago. In the interview,?the Boys?blast critics who call them “rappers for the suburbs,” describe touring with Madonna, and reveal that sometimes they like a little “def?jam” on their toast.
In 1985, at the time of the interview,?Mike D, MCA, and Ad-Rock were very early in their careers. They hadn’t yet recorded their debut album, “Licensed to Ill,” and?all three were just about 20 years old … but their ridiculous chemistry was?glaringly obvious, and they were already?making waves as the three skinny white rappers opening for Madonna’s?Virgin Tour.
The best parts of the interview are when the three of them bounce off each other when answering questions. It’s?so quick and effortless that it’s tricky to tell who’s speaking and is very reminiscent of their lyrics. That happens at the very start of the interview, when Mike D says that they will probably record a song for their album that’s “a classic hit, like The Beatles ?Baby You Could Drive My Car,” and again when the interviewer asks them what??def? is. For the latter,?the three?spool together to come up with the following definition:
?In New York, [def is] something that's really good, like us. ? like def jam. You put on a James Brown record, you just know, that's def. … We like breakfast a lot. … We like hot butter on our breakfast toast, and we also like def jam on it.?
When the interviewer suggests that they’ve been called “rappers for the suburbs,” Ad-Rock insists that “whoever said that is an ignorant moron.”
“we're certainly not rap music for the suburbs ? We are soul, hardcore, b-boy music and we do not play sucka music. ? Chaka Khan ?I Feel For You? is suburb rap music.?
http://youtu.be/E4mx2P3kLv4
The interview is part of a series called Blank on Blank, produced by PBS Digital Studios, in which previously unheard vintage interviews are animated, including ones with Jim Morrison (about the virtues of being a huge fat ass) and Muhammed Ali (about visiting Mars). The animation is cool without being too distracting, and the interview itself is evidence of why the Beastie Boys are fucking awesome. It isn’t the most revelatory interview, but it’s?charming as shit and new footage, particularly of the deceased, is always cool.