The Beastie Boys became what they had "always hated" following the success of ‘(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party)’.
The American rap group released the hit single in 1986 and Adam ‘Ad-Rock’ Horovitz has claimed that the public mistakenly saw the group as house-trashing, party-obsessed guys on the back of the video.
He writes in the ‘Beastie Boys Book’: "Unfortunately, when you’re a straight guy in your late teens/early twenties, you can easily fall into the stereotype’s own trappings. [We] became what we hated."
Ad-Rock also revealed the group nearly gave their debut album a homophobic name, before they ultimately opted to title it ‘Licensed to Ill’.
However, there was never any malice intended behind the idea, which was suggested by producer Rick Rubin.
He shared: "The original title to this record was ‘Don’t Be a F***ot.’ It was Rick Rubin’s idea.
"It was meant to be a joke about jock frat dudes but homophobia’s not funny and we are truly sorry."
The video for ‘(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party)’ featured Michael ‘Mike D’ Diamond sporting a Volkswagen medallion on a thick gold chain, which is said to have triggered fans stealing VW logos from cars.
But the carmaker ultimately found a way of turning the scenario to its advantage.
The company subsequently said, in reference to the rap group: "Many [owners] have been heard to out-swear a Beastie Boy (the results of finding their badges have gone missing)."
Beastie Boys ‘became what they had always hated’
