Following up from 1993's 'check your head' is the Beasties fourth studio album Ill: Communication. Another drastic change for the beasties, providing us with quality and funky instrumentals such as 'Sabrosa' and 'Futterman's Rule'. This record represents the main stage in the Beasties maturity, with the highly political hardcore sounds of the powerful single 'Sabotage' and other hardcore tracks 'tough guy' and 'Heart attack man'. The old-skool is still very much intact - with the Beasties paying tribute to their roots in the awesome 'Root down' and the incredibly catchy and well-written 'Sure shot', but the more modern tracks are just as up to scratch. 'Flute loop' provides us with a catchy melody and well rapped lyrics. 'Get it together' is probably the most mainstream track on the album, but is awesome nonetheless. The production on this album is fantastic and is a must own for any hop-hop fan. The only thing that let's this album down is the voice synths used on some tracks; otherwise, this would be worthy of a 5.
