The Beastie Boys‘ album Ill Communication is 25 years old this year and, back in the ’90s, singlehandedly revived the group’s reputation. In honor of the album, Amazon Music has released a short documentary titled Still Ill, which focuses on the era between the trio’s Paul’s Boutique album and Ill Communication.
New Yorkers Michael "Mike D" Diamond and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz sit down to discuss the unsuccessful Paul’s Boutique album and how they bounced back with Ill Communication. Many fans count Paul’s Boutique as one of Beastie Boys’ most important works, but as Mike D. explains "We were making all this music and you think it’s great. Paul’s Boutique comes out. We’re really excited about it. Some critics maybe are excited about it… But it turns out people are actually not that excited about it. Bricks.”
Adam Horovitz said of the album’s performance, “Nobody bought it. We went to the record label and the president was like, ‘Next time. I don’t know what to tell you’." Returning with Ill Communication took a lot of confidence from the trio, as Horovitz adds, "It was just one of those weird moments that you have as a band where you’re just like, you literally don’t know if anybody cares about you anymore." Watch the entire 15-minute short film Still Ill on Amazon now.
In other news, BEYOND THE STREETS has landed in Brooklyn with an extensive collection of Beastie Boys artifacts and much more.
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