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When Def Jam/Columbia released the Beastie Boys' Licensed to Ill in 1986, it became one of the fastest selling debuts to date. The Boys, however, did not receive a fair shake on the deal driving a wedge between them and Def Jam exec Russell Simmons. The Beaties eventually took their talents to Capital Records where the recieved a million dollar advance and flew to L.A. to squander it for the better part of a year - eventually releasing Paul's Boutique (which is celebrated in retrospect but at the time was a huge commercial flop). Meanwhile, Def Jam needed another white boy crew so they signed 3rd Bass. On their debut, The Cactus Album, they came out the gate swinging - taking shots at the Beasties. I gotta be honest, in 1989 most of this went right over my head. I was unaware of the shady dealings with Def Jam - I was even unaware that the Beasties had moved over to Capital. But later I discovered the beef between the two camps and took a listen to this track. Now, the Beasties obviously went on to create several great records and landed firmly in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame - but this is one of greatest diss tracks ever recorded.

Last night I was happy to discover that the new Comedy Central show, Russell Simmons presents The Ruckus is On Demand. Host JB Smoove is one of my favorite characters in comedy. So excitable. Dig this bit about a running monster.

It was 1985 and Russell Simmons (along with his partner Rick Rubin) had just signed a 16 year old from Queens named L.L. Cool J. His debut album, Radio, would sell over a million copies. Rubin handled production on most cuts but recruited punk rocker Adam Horovitz (a.k.a. King Ad Rock) to lend a hand on "I Need a Beat".  Dig.