Ill Communication

Release type:What's this?
studio album
First released:
May 18 1994

Overview Edit

Ill Communication is the fourth album by the Beastie Boys. It was released on May 23, 1994. It was remastered and made available on the Beastie Boys' Web site on July 7, 2009.

It was their second #1 album on the Billboard charts due to their hit "Sabotage" which was accompanied by a music video produced by Spike Jonze that parodied 1970s cop shows. The album would also be their second triple platinum album.

Ill Communication was co-produced by Beastie Boys and Mario C. Featuring musical contributions from Money Mark, Eric Bobo and Amery "AWOL" Smith, vocal contributions from Q-Tip and Biz Markie.

Mike D and Adam Yauch collaborated with Gibran Evans of T.A.Z. to create the album packaging, and to choose the unique cover photo. The hand-drawn typeface was created by designer Jim Evans specifically for Ill Communication, and was used throughout the promotion of the album.

The Overview appearing in this section is attributed to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ill_Communication. Portions of this Overview may be available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, version 3.0 or any later version, available at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/. Additional terms may apply. See Wikipedia Terms of Use for details.

This particular version Edit

Record label:
unknown
Catalog number:
28599
Release dates:
  • May 31 1994

Genres

Hip-Hop, Alternative Rap, Alternative Hip-Hop, Punk, Rap, Rap Rock, Traditional Pop, Jazz, Rapcore, Alternative, Fusion. Vote on Genres

What do Amazon.com customers think?

5 stars The most eclectic album I've heard in years, and the best.
I came to beastie boys on the back of vague recommendations from a mate, not knowing what to expect. Initially, i got licensed to ill, which i enjoyed for what it is, but it was not the stuff i had been recommended. I moved to check your head, and was pleasantly surprised at songs like pass the mic, so what'cha want, live at pjs. Since then, I have been ABSOLUTELY blown away by this album. There is no other album i know of that combines punk-rock, metal, acid jazz, funk, world beats, and hip-hop…
Written by dallas "dale"
3 stars Average to Good
To me, Ill Communication was something of a let down. Up until this album, each release was a career-achieving event. But Ill Communication breaks no new ground from the superb Check Your Head. Not that this album is without merit. "Sure Shot" is one helluva opener and "Sabotage" is wild fun, with or without the video accompaniment. But heavier (in content) tracks like "Bodhisattva Vow" weigh the album down. (Okay, the boys have turned Buddhist. Great, but put the message in liner notes, not in …
Written by an unknown author

Track listing Edit

Credits Edit

  1. composer

    1. AWOL [2,16]
    2. Beastie Boys [except 2,7,10,13,16,17,19,]
    3. Eric Bobo [4,8,12,15]
    4. Mario Caldato Jr. [1,9,13,14,17,19]
    5. Mark Ramos-Nishita [4,8,9,10,12,14,15,18,20]
    6. Q-Tip [7]
  2. design

    1. Alex Grey [painting]
    2. Ari Marcopoulos [photography]
    3. Bruce Davidson [cover art]
  3. engineer

    1. Tom Baker [mastering]
  1. performer

    1. Ad-Rock [guitar]
    2. Amery Smith [hardore beats (2,16)]
    3. Eric Bobo [percussion]
    4. Eugene Gore [violin (12)]
    5. MCA [fender jazz]
    6. MCA [zelinger]
    7. MCA [acoustic upright bass]
    8. Mike D [trap kits]
    9. Money Mark [keyboard]
  2. producer

  3. writer

Other versions Edit

Ill Communication 24 tracks format: 1 x CD
record label: Toshiba-EMI
catalog number: TOCP-8230
release dates: May 18 1994 in Japan
view details
Ill Communication 20 tracks format: 1 x CD
record label: Capitol Records
catalog number: 7243 8 28599 2 5
release dates: May 31 1994
view details
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