The Beastie Boys
March 1987 saw the debut album from the Beastie Boys. Licensed
To Ill was originally going to be called Don't Be A Faggot
but was toned down. It became the first rap album to top the US
charts. It stayed at Number 1 for seven weeks.
In May of the same year, Ad-Rock was arrested in Liverpool,
England, after being accused of hitting a female fan in the face
with a can of beer (faced with a barrage of beer cans from the
audience, Horovitz had batted some back).
The British tabloids
piled on a few more sins, accusing the trio of insulting crippled
and mentally handicapped children, not to mention causing an
outbreak of theft of VW car ornaments which Beastie Boys fans wore
as medallions.
Nonetheless, the hit single You've Gotta Fight For Your
Right (To Party) propelled the Beasties album into the UK Top
10, as the group became the first sneering white boy brat rappers
to get the tabloids bubbling with rage.
Their last UK controversy was at the 1998 Reading Festival when
they asked The Prodigy not to play Smack My Bitch Up as
they were offended by its casual misogyny . . .
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