10 More Rock Music Albums That Were Way Ahead Of Their Time
1. Licensed To Ill - Beastie Boys
Though it's a little embarrassing these days, there was a time where rap rock was new and exciting.
Run-DMC usually get the credit for introducing hip-hop to rock 'n' roll when they paired up with Aerosmith for Walk This Way. One of the producers on that song was Rick Rubin, who was also working on another project that would bring those two worlds together.
The end result was Licensed to Ill, the debut album of the Beastie Boys.
Combining rap flows with hard rock, Beastie Boys ushered in a new era for both genres and made a boatload of money in the process.
Hip-hop was now a chart-topping genre and rock music had a new coat of paint. It's no surprise, then, that rap rock would continue to gain popularity over the next decade or so.
In the '90s, everyone was having a go at it. From Rage Against the Machine to Limp Bizkit to Kid Rock, they all owed a debt to those misbehaving New Yorkers for helping to innovate the genre.
If you're not a fan of those bands, please don't hold it against the Beastie Boys. They couldn't have known what Fred Durst was going to be like.