10 Rappers That Have Never Made A Bad Album

During the beginning stages of rap, it was hard to see the Beastie Boys as anything more than a joke. Rather than the more hardened tracks from Run DMC and LL Cool J, these guys sounded like frat boys who were trying to do their best imitation of what they thought hip-hop was. However, once you peeled back the sophomoric humor, these guys actually had loads of talent just under the hood.

While the band's first outing Licensed to Ill seems a bit infantile now, songs like "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" and "Rhymin and Stealin" are still bangers no matter where you play them. As the band went on though, things got a lot more interesting, with Paul's Boutique having some of the most tasteful samples ever to turn up on a hip-hop album. Even going into the '90s, albums like Check Your Head and Ill Communication were all over the map, with harder tracks like "So Whatcha Want" being held together with more eclectic influences from the jazz world.

Though the band's more youthful rap flows stayed the same throughout their tenure, each Beasties album was up to a certain standard until the untimely passing of MCA in 2012. The Beasties may have been the more "pop" version of rap in their inception, but their journey from cheap imitators to sonic innovators is one of rap's most glorious journeys.