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Licensed to Ill
by Beastie Boys
The 286th greatest album of all time
Licensed to Ill is the 1986 debut studio album by the Beastie Boys that fuses East Coast hip hop and rap rock. Produced by Rick Rubin, it pairs hard-hitting sampled beats and prominent rock guitar hooks with brash, party-oriented rhymes delivered by the trio. The record emphasizes dense sample collages, stripped-down drum patterns, and a punk-inflected, irreverent attitude, and is often noted for expanding the sonic possibilities of late 1980s hip hop by bringing rock textures into a rap framework.
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