I'm Zane Lowe and today I'm taking The Genius Test to see how deep my knowledge is of The
Beastie Boys.
I don't look at The Beastie's as one of the great rap groups.
I look at them as one of the great groups.
And I think they're in the Top 10 Greatest Groups in music history.
Why else would I be here if I wasn't coming here to ace this?
Straight up 100 percent.
I'm nervous about this right now because I just wasn't accepting chart questions.
It's "Fight For Your Right to Party."
You could just write 10 now, if you want.
That's a tough one.
It's Rick Rubin.
Rick's reputation, obviously now is arguably the greatest record producer of the
last ... I mean, him and Dre, of the last 30 years.
He's the one who brought the 808 through and said, "This is the future,” and he was absolutely right.
This is another one of those trick questions, because it's either one or four.
I'm gonna go with A, "Cooky Puss".
Oh, you fucker.
Ugh.
I need a minute.
Okay, I'm ready.
I'm not even gonna pretend that I don't know the answer to this, because I've gotta get
back on track.
It's answer number one, the Tibetan Freedom Concert, although the Grand Royal Summit is
definitely ... I wish that had been done.
The answer is number three.
Wow, you put me on the spot with an acronym question.
You know how hard it is to come up with a spontaneous acronym?
Z words are hard, too.
"Zapping All Naysayers Every Time".
On the spot.
In an hour, I'll be like, "Oh, I could've done one better than that.”
"And everything I do is funky like Lee Dorsey."
Answer number two.
Look, if Mike D is gonna go and say, "Everything I do is funky like Lee Dorsey," you should
go find some funky Lee Dorsey records.
That's why he said it.
The answer is number four, Luscious Jackson, who was signed to the Grand Royal label.
Interesting story, I know Kate Schellenbach.
I met her 18 months ago.
I was working another job and she came up.
She was like, "Hey, I'm Kate.
I know Mike."
I was like, "Kate ... ?" And she was like, "Schellenbach."
And I'm like, "Holy shit!"
The first album that the Beastie Boys made after the infamous tweak scratch answer phone
message with Mix Master Mike was C or three, Hello Nasty.
You got to remember that he entered into an era with Beastie Boys, and then he was the
one who sort of said, “Hey look one minute into ‘Root Down, ’ I'm just gonna play
this record."
And I'm gonna queue up another record and you would watch the Beastie Boys react to what Mike
was playing.
That spontaneity on stage is something that is so magic when you're a part of it.
Phil Collins would have been dope, but the answer is number two, Madonna.
When they finally came on the “Check Your Head” tour.
You're just thinking, "This is crazy.
I can't believe this is about to go down."
And then my friend nudges me and I look up at the balcony and these three guys walk through
the crowd and it's packed.
30 seconds later the lights go down.
"Let it flow, let yourself go.
Slow and low, that is the jam."
And they just come flying out the side and it's those three guys.
That's one of the most exciting starts of a show of all time because I watched them
just roll in like it was nothing and just fucking destroy the place.
The correct answer to this question is number two, G-Son Studios in Atwater in California.
We all wanted to either be at G-Son or make our own G-Son, but ours was not G-Son.
It was more G-Shit.
The answer is definitely A, Sabotage, 'cause that was directed by Spike Jonze and is one
of the most all-time iconic music videos ever, ever, ever, ever.
I think the score speaks for itself, doesn't it?
I think I am a Beastie Boys genius. I'm a Beastie Boys genius by proxy of the genius
of the Beastie Boys.
So, really, this ends with an ultimate thank you and respect to the Beastie Boys for being
present in my life.
What can I tell you?
I was nervous, I'm not gonna lie.
I was nervous about this.
You don't really want to be put on the spot when you care about something genuinely and
as deeply as me, my friends, and millions of other people do about the Beastie Boys.
And that's the thing about the Beastie's was no matter whether they were just throwing
punk at you, or old-school hip, or jazz breakbeat-era stuff, they always controlled their environment.
Those three individuals and their collaborators were always able to take whatever they wanted
to do and make it Beastie Boys.
That's why they are so fucking incredible.