In their early days, The Beastie Boys were a trio of snotty ex-punk rockers who translated their attitude to the world of hip-hop. One of the big singles from their debut album, Licensed to Ill, was “No Sleep ‘Til Brooklyn,” which was written as a shot at heavy metal.
The title is a poke at No Sleep Til Hammersmith, a 1981 live album from Motorhead. All the lyrics were compiled by throwing up lines that made everyone in the band laugh. And for maximum effect, producer Rick Rubin knew the song needed a metal guitar riff. At the time, Rubin was also working with Slayer in the same studio complex. He had guitarist Kerry King drop in to play a guitar part—which, by the way, is intentionally out of tune in some places. King is also seen in the video pushing a gorilla offstage.
King wasn’t thrilled with the song because the Beasties weren’t his thing. According to lore, the Beasties weren’t crazy about him, either. Still, it worked.
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