Beastie Boys - Get it Together

May 13th, 2012 | By

I decided to post up a sample of a Beastie Boys cut as another RIP shot out to MCA. This one comes courtesy of the Moog Machine. When the Moog synthesizer gained popularity, alot of groups tried to capitalize by re-playing current hits of the time. Most of the results are pretty cool and the Moog Machine is no exception. What makes this album hit harder than most is that it contains a live drummer, rather than the tinny/thin drum-like sounds a Moog can create.

Even the most novice digger should be familiar with Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In made famous by The 5th Dimension from the Hair musical. Around 1:26 minutes into the song, the break used for the Beastie Boys “Get It Together” featuring Q-Tip kicks in. For the bonus trivia question, the vocal sample “Oh My God” from Blahzay Blahzay’s “Danger” is from the Beastie Boys song.

Beastie Boys sued for Copyright Infringement

May 9th, 2012 | By

The fear of any sample-based producer is the dreaded “copyright infringement” lawsuit. With the passing of Beastie Boys member Adam “MCA” Yauch, albums sales for the group have shot up this week. In comes in Tuff City claiming The Beastie Boys used portions of several Trouble Funk songs without seeking clearance or paying for rights.

The reality is, the claim is probably accurate. However, the issue comes in, in that the Beastie Boys songs that sampled Trouble Funk were created prior (1986-1989) to laws making the lawsuit a fairly easy win.

The Huffington Post has a great article outlining the specifics of the lawsuit. Not mentioned in the article is some background on Tuff City. By way of a tweet by Davy D, I saw Roy C’s website which states the following:

Any Person or Company that has been SUED by Aaron Fuchs / Tuff AMERICA/ Tuff Tunes/ Tuff City/ Tuff “N” Rumble please contact Roy C (803) 584-3704 or email carolinarecords@aol.com

BMI removed songs from my catalog based on fraudulent contracts presented by Aaron Fuchs. 100% of my publishing money is being collected by Swing Beats Music BMI / Aaron Fuchs. Not one dime of this money has been paid to me.

For those who don’t know, Roy C. is one of the people behind the classic break “Impeach the President” by the Honey Drippers. The rights to the song were allegedly purchased by Tuff City at one point.

Milk - Spam (featuring Ad Rock)

May 6th, 2012 | By

Hip-Hop lost an icon earlier this week – Adam “MCA” Yauch of the Beastie Boys. The Beastie Boys are responsible for giving Def Jam commercial success, merging Hip-Hop and Rock, and giving a lane to white rappers. The face of hip-hop would not appear as it does today without this legendary group.

To pay tribute, I decided to post up a slightly rare Beastie Boy-related cut by artist Milk. Milk is actually MC Milk D from Audio Two of “Top Billin’” fame. Milk tried to make a comeback in the early 90′s and dropped an EP titled “Never Dated“. Milk’s voice didn’t carry over well to the 90′s and most of the LP does sound ironically – dated.

The track “Spam” features Beastie Boys member Ad Rock. Unfortunately, the song does not feature the late/great MCA.

For the bonus trivia point, Milk is actually MC Lyte’s brother. If you listen to their voices and rhyme styles you can definitely tell they are related.