History YMMV / BeastieBoys

** By the time the Boys were touring in their 40s they had substituted some of the more misogynistic lyrics of the ''Licensed to Ill'' era to better reflect where they were in life, which led to the alteration of the line "MCA's in the back 'cause he's skeezing with a whore" (in "No Sleep Till Brooklyn") to "MCA's in the back with the mah-jong board."

-->''I might still be [[=MCing=]] even after you're gone''

-->''I might still be [[=MCing]] even after you're gone''

-->Yo, I been in the game since before you was born
-->I might still be MCing even after you're gone
-->Strange thought, I know, but my skills still grow
-->The 80s, the 90s, 2000s, and so
-->On and on until the crack of dawn
-->Until the year 3000 and beyond
-->Stay up all night, and I MC
-->[[Music/{{Nas}} And never die, 'cause death is the cousin of sleep]]

* The "Triple Trouble" video provides a unique explanation for the band's six-year hiatus after ''Hello Nasty''—[[spoiler:they were kidnapped by the Sasquatch and held hostage in his cave. After they insult him at an awards show, he proceeds to Mapquest directions to their location and re-kidnap them right out from under Mix Master Mike's nose.]] It only gets weirder from there.

* HarsherInHindsight: The remix of "Too Many Rappers" found on ''Hot Sauce Committee Part Two'' changes MCA's original verse from the single, released before his cancer diagnosis. [[TearJerker It's not hard to see why]]:

-->''When I woke up late in the afternoon''
-->''She had taken all the things from inside his room''
-->''I found myself naked in the middle of the floor''
-->''She had taken the bed and the chest of drawers''
-->''The mirror, the TV, the guitar cord''
-->''My remote control and my old skateboard''
* "Rhymin' & Stealin'."
--> ''My pistol is / loaded! / I shot / Betty Crocker!''
--> ''Deliver Colonel Sanders down to Davy Jones' Locker!''

** "She's Crafty," in which MCA brings home a girl known to be a thief despite the warnings of his friends. In a reversal of their accustomed BoastfulRap, the song ends with the boys rattling through [[StealTheSurroundings a detailed and improbable list of things she stole from their apartment.]]

* "Rhymin' & Stealin'":

** "She's Crafty," in which MCA brings home a girl known to be a thief despite the warnings of his friends. In a reversal of their usual BoastfulRap, the song ends with the boys rattling through [[StealTheSurroundings a detailed and improbable list of things she stole from their apartment.]]

** "She's Crafty," in which MCA brings home a girl known to be a thief despite the warnings of his friends. The song ends with the boys rattling through a detailed list of things she stole from their apartment.

** Back in the [=80s=], when the boys were picking up steam, a fairly popular novelty song called "Star Trekkin'" came out. The B-Side, which used the same beat and cadence as Star Trekkin', albeit modified to be a mockery of ''Licensed to Ill's'' beats, was a massive TakeThat towards the boys' style of rapping, calling them disgraces to rap and hacks. Through the years, though, the boys consistently put in references to StarTrek - and come the reboot, Kirk's a fan of the boys themselves.

* BaseBreaker: ''To The 5 Boroughs'' has a very split reaction. Some fans found it a good return to form, others found it forgettable.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: The "Fight For Your Right Revisited" video is sort of a very late subtle apology for their early days. In the video, [[spoiler:the past Beastie Boys, all played by actors, are confronted by what would be the future versions of themselves if they had stayed the same. The Future!Beasties are played by separate actors. Prior to this, the Past!Beasties had gone on a drunken rampage with loads of HeyItsThatGuy in between. When Future!Beasties challenge Past!Beasties to a dance-off, the Future!Beasties [[StealthPun end it quickly with a literal pissing contest]] before all the Beasties are hauled off by cops (played by the real Beasties).]]

* FaceOfTheBand: Highly averted, as MCA, Mike D, and Ad-Rock, are all equally prominent as band vocalists.
** They do not even appear in their new videos, "Fight For Your Right Revisited" and "Make Some Noise" (an edited version of the former).
*** They actually do appear at the end of "Fight For Your Right Revisited" as [[spoiler:the cops who arrested the past and future version of the group]].

* MagnumOpus: ''Music/PaulsBoutique''.

* FaceOfTheBand: Highly averted, as the three [=MCs=], Mike D, MCA and Ad-Rock, are all equally prominent as band vocalists.

** Back in the [=80s=], when the boys were picking up steam, a fairly popular novelty song called "Star Trekkin'" came out. The B-Side was a massive TakeThat towards the boys' style of rapping, calling them disgraces to rap and hacks. Through the years, though, the boys consistently put in references to StarTrek - and come the reboot, Kirk's a fan of the boys themselves.

** Possibly "5-Piece Chicken Dinner" on ''Paul's Boutique'': a CountryMusic interlude (sampled from ''Film/{{Deliverance}}'', no less) in the middle of the album, sandwiched between [[IntercourseWithYou "Hey Ladies"]] and [[RapMetal "Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun"]].

* EvenBetterSequel: ''Paul's Boutique''.

** In "No Sleep Till' Brooklyn", when the guitar solo begins, a ''guy in a gorilla suit'' is shown playing it, only for a more metal looking guitarist to rush in, shoulder push the gorilla away and resume the solo. That guitarist, ''Kerry King from'' ''Music/{{Slayer}}.''

* GrowingTheBeard: ''Paul's Boutique''. (And in MCA's case at the time, literally.)

* MagnumOpus: ''Paul's Boutique''.

* VindicatedByHistory: ''Paul's Boutique'' didn't sell as well as ''Licensed to Ill'', but it's still regarded as their masterpiece.

* SignatureSong: Originally "Fight For Your Right", now it's probably "Sabotage" and "Intergalactic".