It has been a whole 30 years since the troublemaking Beastie Boys released their debut album Licensed to Ill, and yet they are still blowing everyone’s minds.
The NYC trio’s debut album reached its 30th anniversary on Tuesday last week. The LP, Licensed to Ill, became the first hip hop album to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Chart in 1986, soon after its release on November 15th. It ranks as one of the bestselling rap albums of all time, and is also regarded as one of the best rap albums ever made.
But what’s even better than hearing the Beastie Boy’s classic hits still raging and banging 30 years on? Hearing them remixed with Daft Punk samples, of course.
Two years ago, a dedicated Redditor created a mash-up album that fused together Daft Punk’s beats and the Beastie’s fire bars, layered each one over the other. The genius behind the melding is a Canadian producer named Coins, and his remix album titled Daft Science has resurfaced the internet just in time for all Beastie fans to celebrate the 30th anniversary.
Coins incorporates sampled elements such as the light and happy chord progression from “Harder Better Faster Stronger” underneath the Beastie Boy’s booming “Body Movin’” and the “Aerodynamic” guitar riff which perfectly fits under the bars in “Sure Shot”. We’re not sure what kind of magic happened here, but we are absolutely captivated by it.
The 8-track album is available online for free, and it is a complete masterpiece that’s almost incomparable to the original songs.
Pitchfork’s Liner Notes created a four-minute snippet into the budding careers of the Beastie Boys back in the 80’s, to celebrate the diamond anniversary of the realease of Licensed to Ill. It follows the humble beginnings of the trio to the production of “Fight For Your Right” and “No Sleep Till Brooklyn” with Def Jam founder Rick Rubin. Watch it here.