Check Your Head

by Beastie Boys

Check Your Head cover art
  • Type: Album
  • Released: 21 April 1992
  • Label: Grand Royal, Capitol
  • Country: United States
  • Length: 1:53:02
  • Community rating: 4.09/5 from 19 ratings

Album Notes & Community Reviews

Check Your Head is the third studio album by the American hip-hop group Beastie Boys, released on April 21, 1992, by Grand Royal and Capitol Records. It was their first album in three years, following Paul's Boutique (1989), and was recorded at the G-Son Studios in Atwater Village in 1991 under the guidance of producer Mario Caldato Jr., the group's third producer in as many albums. Less sample-heavy than their previous records, the album features instrumental contributions from all three members: Adam Horovitz on guitar, Adam Yauch on bass guitar, and Mike Diamond on drums. The album was re-released in a number of formats in 2009, with 16 B-sides and rarities, as well as a commentary track, included as bonus material. It is one of the albums profiled in the 2007 book Check the Technique, which includes a track-by-track breakdown by Diamond, Yauch, Horovitz, Caldato, and frequent Beasties collaborator Money Mark.

Genres

Descriptors: funky, sample-heavy, rap, genre-blending, live, old-school, experimental, abrasive

Tracklist

  1. Jimmy James (3:14)
  2. Funky Boss (1:35)
  3. Pass The Mic (4:16)
  4. Gratitude (2:45)
  5. Lighten Up (2:41)
  6. Finger Lickin' Good (3:39)
  7. So What'cha Want (3:37)
  8. The Biz Vs The Nuge (0:33)
  9. Time For Livin' (1:48)
  10. Something's Got To Give (3:27)
  11. The Blue Nun (0:32)
  12. Stand Together (2:47)
  13. Pow (2:13)
  14. The Maestro (2:52)
  15. Groove Holmes (2:32)
  16. Live At P.J.'s (3:18)
  17. Mark On The Bus (1:05)
  18. Professor Booty (4:12)
  19. In 3's (3:30)
  20. Namasté (3:58)

Credits

  • Ad-Rock - vocals, guitar, producer
  • MCA - vocals, bass, producer
  • Mike D - vocals, drums, producer
  • Money Mark - synthesizer, clavinet, organ, wurlitzer
  • James Bradley, Jr. - percussion
  • Juanito Vazquez - percussion (cuica, conga), Cuica, Congas
  • Art Oliva - percussion (batá, shakeree)
  • Drew Lawrence - percussion (tamboura, mridungan), Mridangam, Tambura
  • Biz Markie - vocals, Featuring
  • Alexandra "Xan" Cassavetes - background vocals
  • Beastie Boys - producer, Primary Artist
  • Mario Caldato, Jr. - producer, engineer
  • Tom Baker - mastering
  • Glen E. Friedman - photography
  • Tom Cushman - Written-By
  • Arturo "Ture" Oliva - Bata, Shekere
  • Tadone Hill - Written-By
  • Wendell Fite - Written-By
  • Marcel Hall - Written-By
  • Ted Nugent - Written-By
  • Frontline - Written-By
  • Sylvester Stewart - Written-By
  • Nax Setevassac - Vocals

More from Beastie Boys: full discography