Iconic hip hop group the Beastie Boys have celebrated the 25th anniversary of their 1994 hit album, Ill Communication, with a 14-minute mini-documentary taking fans down memory lane.
Still Ill: 25 Years of Ill Communication looks back on the highs and lows of the early years of the group's 31-year career, featuring brand-new interviews and archival footage of their 1994 Lollapalooza performance.
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Produced in collaboration with Amazon Music, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz and Michael "Mike D" Diamond, the two surviving members of the core trio, partnered with producer Mario Caldato and keyboardist Mark Nishita to showcase the group's musical legacy.
The short film also reflects on the 1989 critical and commercial flop Paul's Boutique, an album that is now retrospectively considered a classic. The film also covers the 1992 Check Your Head era, documenting the group's move from New York City to Los Angeles.
The group disbanded in 2012 after vocalist and bassist Adam "MCA" Yauch died of cancer, aged 47. According to CNN, the film remembers his legacy within the group and covers his spiritual journey.
The Beastie Boys were formed in 1979 initially as a four-piece hardcore punk band. They started out as a support act for punk heavyweights, including the Dead Kennedys and Bad Brains, at iconic New York venues like CBGB and Max's Kansas City.
A change in the original line-up and a successful hip hop single in 1983 saw the group transition into hip hop, releasing their debut album Licensed to Ill in 1986. The group released eight studio albums across their career.
Beastie Boys are noted as the biggest-selling rap group since Billboard began recording sales in 1991. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.
A 38-minute audio documentary is available on Amazon Music as an accompaniment to the short film.
The documentary is available on Amazon, or watch on YouTube here.
Newshub.
