It contains “The stories behind 36 immortal rap albums, straight from the original artists” including:

• A Tribe Called Quest
• Beastie Boys
• De La Soul
• Eric B. & Rakim
• The Fugees
• KRS-One
• Pete Rock & CL Smooth
• Public Enemy
• The Roots
• Run-DMC
• Wu-Tang Clan

Title: Check the Technique – Liner Notes for Hip-Hop Junkies
Written by: Brian Coleman

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Related: The Ultimate Book on How to Rap for Hip-Hop MCs

1. The Ultimate Book on How to Rap for Hip-Hop MCs
2. Learn to Rap with The Complete MC
3. The Grime and Glory of the Hip-Hop Generation

I, of course, missed the Beastie Boys’ songwriting. What was essentially a parody of the party lifestyle became my party anthem.

And then there were other Beastie Boys favorites, namely “Sabotage”:

It was only much later, when I started seeing the Beastie Boys as more than a bunch of fun loving idiots and as a serious rap group that had a tremendous amount of influence on hip hop in general, did I realize their importance to gangsta rap.

Gangsta rap was initally made famous by Ice-T in the early 80s, and Public Enemy and N.W.A. in the late 80s.

But the Beastie Boys, who were originally a punk band (with a female drummer!) had plenty of gangsta roots – in the late 70s, punk was the most badass you could get outside the hood. Their eponymous album License to Ill, has more references to drugs, guns, and mindless sex to be a classified as a veritable gangsta rap album. This, of course, has to do with their punk rock origins.

The Boys have never acknowledged themselves as gangsta rap pioneers. But with songs like “Sabotage” (see above for video), “Car Thief”, (see below), they have all the ingredients of gangsta rappers.

The most crucial thing, of course, is the fact that the Beastie Boys were pretty much the first white rappers/gangsta rappers who got mainstream commercial success. Without the Boys, there might have been no Eminem, no Asher Roth, and I’m pretty sure, no mainstream hip hop.

Beastie Boys, we take a bow.

1. 5 Awesome 80's Rappers
2. 5 Awesome 80s Rap Songs
3. Cool Kids Rap
4. 5 New Rappers From the UK You Didn't Know About
5. Prepare For An Influx of White, College Educated Rappers Post Asher Roth

Nowadays, you can’t really help but notice how many white people there are in Rap these days (see our post on White People in Rap). Hey man, I’ve got nothing against white folks doing rap. Many of them are pretty darn good  – heck, Eminem is still my favorite rapper.

But if you’re interested in pursuing this matter further, do check out this article by NYMag on a history of white people in rap.

1. White All Over – Abundance of White People in Rap
2. The History of Rap, According to Cracked.com
3. Prepare For An Influx of White, College Educated Rappers Post Asher Roth
4. Can Rap Be Conservative?
5. Really Smart Insight: Hip-Hop Offers Creative Outlet to Young People