I didn't really get into the Beastie Boys until 1994.
"Ill Communications" is a great, great album, but when it came out I still had too much Syracuse in me to allow myself to like it. I watched the videos 100 times on MTV and never turned the channel. I heard the album 50 times at the pool hall at Buff State. I liked it, but I didn't officially like it. I considered them obnoxious New York dicks -- and most of their fans at my school were also New York dicks.
"Paul's Boutique" passed me by unnoticed. Nothing jumped out at me, though a lot of my friends call it their best album. Then came "Check Your Head" and I started paying attention. By then I was getting into new music, mostly because the guys I hung out with had better taste. The Beasties converged into the whole wave of new music in the early 90s.
But it all came together for me with "Ill Communication." I loved that album. Still do. And one of my favorite parts is the moment in "B-Boys Makin' With The Freak Freak" when the music stops and they sample a snippet of a dude who says:
"Shit, if it's gonna be that kind of party, I'm gonna stick my dick in the mashed potatoes!" There's this explosion of laughter and then the song kicks back in.
For years, I wondered where that sample came from. A movie? Some random snippet captured during a recording session? Well, today I looked it up on what's becoming the best site ever: YouTube.
It's from a comedy routine by Mantan Moreland. Check out his Wikipedia bio. He's one of those actor/performers who had a really intersting career that spans almost every medium you can think of.
In the 1965 he made a comedy record called "That Ain't My Finger." Which might be the best album name EVER. This is around the time Redd Foxx was cranking out recordings of his Vegas act and selling them as "party albums." Mantan has that same kind of feel.
So watch this bit and enjoy the full setup for the punchline the B-Boys sampled. Give a listen to the whole thing. He is really funny and the reaction of the audience just adds to the feel of it. The language and references are dated, but he's got some really clever, self-effacing jokes that feel totally today. My favorite has to do with demanding hot water from his wife...
