Ouch, this is one that shows my age – or rather, the ages of some of hip-hop’s formative musicians, the Beastie Boys.
First, I present “Pass the Mic”, from the classic record Check Your Head, which I guess was re-released this year. This is an album that signaled the Beasties’ full shift from tongue-in-cheek punk rockers to crossover act to full time rappers, and was the prototype for all white-guy rap to come. It’s hard to understate the effect this album had on the musical tastes of my youth, and I imagine the youth of suburbs all over the country.
And now the present day Beasties, performing with The Roots on Jimmy Fallon’s Late Show, with What Cha Want, from the same album. Check out the gray hair, the bulging bellies, the not-quite-grasshopper-like moves.
