To the 5 Boroughs [ENHANCED] [EXPLICIT LYRICS]

Beastie Boys have gone back to their roots with To The 5 Boroughs, back when hip-hop was all about fun and "Once upon a time on this mic/ M.Cs be really working on what they write" (Right Right Now Now) but at the same time taken it one step forward and raised the bench mark in hip-hop once again. And while it's filled with old-school beats and rhymes, it also has an almost futuristic sound to it, like the computerized voice in "Oh Word?" for one.

The album as a whole is fun and up-beat with witty, humorous 'doo-doo rhymes' that Beastie Boys are famous for such as "I'm a freaky streaker like Winnie the Pooh/ With T-shirt and no pants and I dance the Bugaloo" and "Yo what the falafel? You gotta get up awful early, to fool Mr. Furley/ And that's, word to Aunt Shirley, and you could stick your head in the toilet give yourself a swirlie", using a similiar rhyming style to Run DMC, but it is also filled with so much meaning as well. I mean, just listen to "An Open Letter to NYC" and you can really tell how much pride and love they have for their city.

If you look back to some of their older songs such as 'Alive' you'll see that Beastie Boys already had political views so this is not new. They are socially conscious and it is hard to ignore the changes that have happened around, and it would especially impact New York, the place they grew up in, so naturally they express their views on the issues that have occurred, because they (surprise, surprise) do have opinion and aren't just puppets in the music industry. But it is not to the point where the album is overtly preachy and has enough party tracks such as Ch-Check it Out, Triple Trouble, Oh Word and the aptly named Hey F@#? You, and as Mike D sings in "It Takes Time To Build", "If you don't like the news then press eject."

As for the music on this album, the beats are hot. They're funky, fresh, energetic and booming, most noticeably in Rhyme the Rhyme Well, It Takes Time To Build, Triple Trouble and An Open Letter To NYC, and if you don't find yourself at least bobbing along I think you need to check your pulse. Mix Master Mike's skills on this album are also amazing and his genius meshes well with these hip-hop veterans.

The rapping skills of King Adrock, M.C.A and Mike D are top-notch and King Adrock proves he really is the King. While he doesn't do any trademark screaming or show the same energy in this album, it has a different sort of energy and is bursting with attitude and diversity, singing his usual higher voice in some songs and lower in others. Mike D has never sounded better either, he really shines on this record, and M.C.A's voice is raspier, which makes him sound even better and he really bites you with it.

So if you want a refreshing, old-school, pure hip-hop album that is real, not fake like a Canal Street watch or the mindless, manufactured 'gangsta rap' out there that is dominating the mainstream, take a listen to this album and expand your mind. Beastie Boys' uniqueness, ability to create different music from the rest and simultaneously never selling out or trying to be 'hip' are some of the many reasons that sets Beastie Boys apart from other bands, why they have been in the biz for so long and why they created such an impact in hip-hop history.

This album is yet another example of their genuis and is hip-hop at its purest. If you don't like it at first, listen to it a few more times so you can take it all in and see it for what it really is. I guarantee you that this album, while it may not be a Paul's Boutique (but then again, what is?) it is certainly not a dud and is better than 95% of the music out there. This album proves that like fine wine, Beastie Boys only get better with age.
-Josie