Mike D’s debut solo album arrives in August and ahead of it, the ex-Beastie Boy has sat down for an extended interview with Louis Theroux on the famed documentarian’s podcast.
Theroux – a long-time fan of the band – digs deep into the Beasties’ history and asks D about the fallout between the group of Def Jam co-founder Russell Simmons. The two parties parted company after the success of the trio’s debut album Licensed To Ill, amid allegations of withheld royalties and financial mismanagement (which, it should be pointed out, Simmons still disputes).
The fallout with Simmons didn’t just revolve around money, according to D. “He wanted us to immediately make another record [after Licensed To Ill] and he would’ve wanted us to make Licensed to Ill part II, right?”
“He didn’t see any, sort of, long-term future either in us or us as a group. For him it was about immediate return on investment, and he was very honest about it. He didn’t think rap music was ever going to turn into catalogue music. Which it has. But at that time, when it was being made, for him, that wasn’t a possibility at all.”
It’s hard to remember now, but the ironic humour of the band circa Licensed To Ill went way over the heads of many at the time. “I would watch things about The Beatles, and they would talk about their relationship with Peter Sellers,” remembers D. “The Goon Show and that was very formative for them. And for us, we grew up on these very ‘fratty’ comedies, like these comedies that were being made in Hollywood sort of post Saturday Night Live. With Chevy Chase and Bill Murray.
“It starts to feel different once you put that out in the world and people think, ‘Oh, you actually are this.’ And then you realise, hold on, this was not the intention, it does not feel good in your own skin and thankfully we had each other and we could sort of all realise that together.”
At this point, Theroux brings up the hydraulic penis was that a part of the Licensed To Ill stage show (yes there was one – look it up on Google). “I remember the three of us thinking that it was an absolute stroke of genius that we’d just come up with the most idiotic idea ever,” says D. “It’s one of those things where something is so absurd, it just feels great. Then there’s the moment when that sort of thing becomes part of your reality. Then it’s like, ‘Oh my God, what did we create?’”
Anyway, it’s an interesting chat. And that solo album? Thank You is out on August 28.
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