How the Beastie Boys Made Their Masterpiece

Beastie Boys' 1986 debut, Licensed to Ill, made them famous. But their second album was their masterpiece. Paul's Boutique has often been called the Sgt. Pepper of hip-hop – a record that was mind-expanding in both text and texture. With help from L.A. production team the Dust Brothers, the Beasties sampled everyone from the Ramones to Mountain to the Funky 4+1 and stitched together song fragments in a way rarely seen before or since. In fact, the album may go down as the most sample-happy of all time. "Ninety-five percent of the record was sampled," said Beastie studio whiz Mario Caldato Jr. in 2003. "They spent over $250,000 for sample clearances. The list of samples on the album is so long – they're still getting sued over it."