9. Hello Nasty - The Beastie Boys 1998
Pretty ironic that the most successful Hip Hop album of the 90's was recorded by 3 white guys. Of course, the world was no stranger to the Beastie Boys, they had enjoyed a huge amount of success, whilst still remaining credible, with their previous 4 albums. This was also the debut appearance of new recruit, turntable genius, Mix Master Mike, who became the band's resident DJ, adding to their already diverse spectrum of sounds. 'Hello Nasty' was preceded by the super funky and extremely quirky, 'Intergalactic', which went top 30 in the U.S. and to number 5 in the U.K.. The track was already filling dance floors, the world over before the album dropped a couple of months after. Second single, 'Body Movin', was also successful, but nit quite as high reaching as 'Intergalactic'. 'Hello Nasty', was regarded as a beacon of light in among the miserable, super serious music that was dominating alternative music at the time. A writer for The Guardian even noted that "fills a gap created by the current profusion of serious rock bands like Radiohead, elbowing its way up front, and letting rip with adolescent vigor". Pretty accurate, but implies somewhat, a lack of intelligence, and that is something that cannot be leveled at the music of the Beastie Boys. The way in which they construct their songs and the use of samples that seem to perfectly meld together with their rather clever rhymes and the manner in which they deliver them. The individual performances from Ad-Rock, MCA and Mike D, are stellar and they even give Mix Master Mike a chance to shine, from out under any samples, in 'Three MC's and One DJ', with the backing to the rapping being solely from the DJ's decks. There are many genres visited, like any Beastie Boys album, but it remains predominantly a Hip Hop record. There are a lot of samples from funk and soul artists, which help to really give shed loads of life and identity to the tracks. 'Hello Nasty', will remain a great example of the late MCA's distinctive raps and his creative vision. It will also go down as one of the best products of the Hip Hop genre, and one that brought millions of white kids to the Rap party.