In the early days of Def Jam, there were only a handful of groups managed by then founder and owner Rick Rubin and the Beastie Boys were one of those initial Def Jam groups. One of the first solo artists on the label, a teenager at the time who called himself LL Cool J, was actually scouted by the Beastie Boys’ Ad Rock, who tells the story in an exclusive interview of how he brought James Todd Smith to Rick Rubin in 1984.
Ad Rock, whose real name is Adam Horovitz, claims that he made the beat for LL’s 1985 seminal hit “I Need A Beat” on an 808 drum machine that he’d just purchased with his last $250. Rock said he was stuck between choosing a guitar or the drum machine, but the burgeoning Hip Hop legend chose the latter, which was instrumental in the spawning of the production of the Beastie Boys’ debut album License To Ill in 1986.
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Best guide to hip hop, soul, reggae concerts & events in San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles & New York City + music, videos, radio and more
KRS-One
Thursday, Oct 17 @ Yoshi's, Oakland
Musiq Soulchild
Friday-Friday, Oct 18-25 @ Yoshi's. Oakland
PJ Morton
Wedneday, Oct 23 @ Fox Theater, Oakland
Chante Moore
Sunday, Oct 26 @ Yoshi's, Oakland
Qveen Herby
Saturday, Nov 2 @ Fox Theater, Oakland
Erykah Badu
Saturday, Nov 16 @ Fox Theater, Oakland
Tower of Power
Saturday, Dec 21 @ Fox Theater, Oakland
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