I snagged my copy of "To the Five Boroughs" today, and I've been listening to it for hours.
First of all, this is easily the most stripped down Beasties album since Licensed to Ill. While Paul's Botique featured a ridiculous number of samples, and Hello Nasty was full of layered beats, TTFB is pretty straightforward: some nice beats with the occasional sample, and the Beasties spitting their customary, impeccable flow over all of it. The emphasis on this CD is squarely on the boys themselves; their flow takes center stage in nearly every song. Mixmaster Mike gets in his usual awesome cuts, but his is a supporting role compared to many of the sublime beats and hooks he crafted on Hello Nasty.
Another notable charactertistic of TTFB is how much more laid back it is than any previous Beasties albums, which were energetic, thoughtful, and always frenetic. The Beasties seem much more relaxed, perhaps having finally accepted their role in the hip hop pantheon. That isn't to say that they're resting on their laurels; far from it. Their lyrics and flow are tighter and more complex than any other Beasties CD, and are delivered with an almost effortless ease.
Thematically, TTFB lives up to its title and could almost be considered a concept album. The entire CD is almost a paen to New York City, from the Beasties' trademark obscure references, to the many multi-cultural and ethnic lines throughout the album. This is supported by the style of the CD as well, as it's given a feel that's deliberately retro and evocative of the 80s hiphop scene in NYC, while staying innovative and catchy.
While I fully expect this to be the last Beasties CD (they're 40, right now), the Beasties certainly still have the talent, skill, and obvious love of the artform to keep making CDs for as long as they want to. It's amusing that guys who have been in the game for as long as the Beasties have are still capable of topping almost any other artist with virtually no effort, and can show, at the drop of the hat, how oldschool beats and flow can outshine today's modern, harder edged artists.
In conclusion, I fucking love this CD. The Beasties have always been PERFECT at channeling (some would say predicting) the social zeitgeist, and creating a CD that meshes perfectly with it. TTFB is no exception to this rule. Given the turbulent happenings in NYC, and the ensuing conflict that has engulfed the world as a result, the Beasties profess their love for a city in a constant state of flux, whose future is increasingly uncertain as the days pass. The retro feel of this CD almost feels like a retrospective of their career, of getting back to basics. And the end result are some top notch songs, including (but not limited to) Right Right Now Now, Rhyme the Rhyme Well, Oh Word?, Hey Fuck You, All Lifestyles, and An Open Letter to NYC.
Rating: 10/10 for the still reigning kings of hip hop.
And while I don't want to touch on this, I feel I ought to. Jimmy, you're confusing the ability to write biting diss songs with the need to. The Beasties are more than capable of crafting a caustic, profanity-laced track which would shut down Eminem or any other rapper who was foolish enough to try to take on the Beasties in a showdown. Check out Paul's Boutique for evidence of that. The thing is that they don't need to. They're capable of being subtle and nuanced in their disses, something that Eminem has no clue how to be. Sure, Eminem can make jokes about someone's sexuality, calling them a pussy and saying that they can't sell records, but that's ultimately weak, because ANY other rapper can do that on a regular basis (and plenty do, also). To use an analogy, Eminem's disses are like malt liquor: harsh and brutal, to be certain, but still unrefined and pedestrian. The Beasties disses, on the other hand, are like fine wine: understated, but crafted with obvious skill, appreciable by a discriminating palatte as superior...and more than capable of knocking you on your ass given half a chance. Simply because the Beasties are sardonic in their rhymes doesn't mean that they're not capable of throwing down when they need to.
Further, though, the Beasties are above getting into a war with someone like Eminem. They've been in the game since 1986, for christ's sake. They were the first rapper to hit #1 on the Billboard music charts. No rapper, dead or alive, can claim that kind of longevity. And it's not like they've been on the periphery, either: they've gone platinum on every single CD they've released. They've influenced and structured the hip hop landscape like no artist before them, and singlehandedly set the tone of hip hop for years to come. They're essentially the Beatles of our generation, constantly reinventing themselves while remaining true to their roots, and currying favor with both the mainstream media and the discerning music critic alike all the while. Duplicating what they've done is virtually impossible, and to insult it is foolish and ignorant. Simply put, any diss track against the Beasties would reflect worse upon the rapper in question than it ever would on them.
