Reviews
Included in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the 90's.", 4 Stars (out of 5) - "...the collaboration that Black Flag and De La Soul might have made, mixing jaunty samples and esoteric beats with punk-guitar crunch....Hip-hop hasn't unleashed anything this fantastically dense since the heyday of De La and Public Enemy...", "...The chart-topping album finds the Beasties re-enhancing the three-way rhyme antics of their LICENSED TO ILL days using soulsonic electro-funk, cheeky bossa nova, Rachmaninoff loops and some death defying turntable moves...", "...a sonic smorgasbord in which the Beasties gorge themselves with reckless abandon...The melange makes for a looser, more free-spirited record than their earlier albums; the music invites you in, rather than threatening to shut you out..." - Rating: B+, Included in Mixmag's "Ten Best Albums of 98"-"...Electro-Tinged Beats and Whiney Rapping...", 7 (out of 10) - "...HELLO NASTY...is filled with so much money-makin' and disco-breakin' on and on till the breakadawn, you'd think we'd taken the way-back machine into the early Kangol era. Yet such recapping doesn't sound even faintly kitschy. More like a labor of love by three premillennial mensches laying their roots down: a B-boy Anthology of New York Folk Music...", 4 stars out of 5 -- "Recorded back in New York and acknowledging that the most powerful tracks on ILL COMMUNICATION were the ones where they stepped up to the mic, it marked a partial return to basics...", 4 (out of 5) - "...HELLO NASTY continues their musical reign...Lyrically, they deliver their made-for-concert verses in perfect unison...", 4 stars out of 5 -- "The Beasties stir-fry all kinds of beats in their wok, from old-school hip-hop and head-checking punk to bossa nova and reggae...", Ranked #10 on Spin's List of "Top 20 Albums of '98.", Included in Cmj's List of "Top 25 College Radio Albums of All Time", "...What underlies the Beastie sound, and ultimately their widespread appeal, is their obvious appreciation of other music....Mike's scratches add another layer to the album's mighty production..."
