Episode 116: License to Ill: Beastie Boys and the History of Hip Hop with Jeff Melnick, Akrobatik, and Dart Adams

This week Jeff Melnick, Akrobatik, and Dart Adams join in to talk about Beastie Boys’ revolutionary debut album, License to Ill as well as explore the roots of hip hop, it’s tied to urban communities, the evolution of Beastie Boys as people, and the album’s legacy nearly 40 years later. 

Jeffrey Melnick's research interests include the global circulation of US culture, the culture industries, Black-Jewish relations, and immigration and migration culture studies.  

He teaches courses in American cultural history and comparative ethnicity. His interests further include the cultural history of Black-Jewish relations in the United States and the cultural impact of 9/11.

Dart Adams is a journalist, researcher, and a lecturer who lives in Boston. He is the host of the podcasts Dart Against Humanity and Boston Legends.

Akrobatik, is an American rapper from the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts.He is also a part of the hip hop collective named The Perceptionists with Mr. Lif and DJ Fakts One, which released Black Dialogue in 2005.