To the 5 Boroughs
2004 studio album by Beastie Boys
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To the 5 Boroughs is the sixth studio album by the American hip-hop group Beastie Boys, released on June 14, 2004, internationally, and a day later in the United States. It sold 360,000 copies in its first week of release, becoming the group's third consecutive album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200, and has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of over 1,000,000 copies in the U.S. The album is the first major Beastie Boys release since 1998's Hello Nasty, and it reflects on the aftermath of the September 11 attacks on New York City.[3]
| To the 5 Boroughs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 15, 2004 | |||
| Recorded | February 2003 – March 2004 | |||
| Studios | Oscilloscope Laboratories, Tribeca, New York City | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 44:37 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Producer | Beastie Boys | |||
| Beastie Boys chronology | ||||
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| Singles from To the 5 Boroughs | ||||
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The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album at the 47th Grammy Awards, losing to Kanye West's The College Dropout.
Release and promotion
The album's lead single "Ch-Check It Out" debuted on The O.C. in "The Strip" from Season 1, airing on April 28, 2004.[4] The album was the cause of some controversy with allegations that it installed spyware when inserted into the CD-ROM of a computer.[5] The band has denied this allegation saying there is no copy protection software on the albums sold in the U.S. and in the U.K. While there is Macrovision CDS-200 copy protection software installed on European copies of the album, this is standard practice for all European releases on EMI/Capitol Records released in Europe and it does not install spyware or any form of permanent software.[6]
Singles
The album's first single "Ch-Check It Out" was released on April 28, 2004. The album's second single "Triple Trouble" was released in July 2004.[7] The album's third single "Right Right Now Now" was released in 2004.[8] The album's fourth single "An Open Letter to NYC" was released in November 2004.
Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 71/100[9] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+[10] |
| The Guardian | [1] |
| Los Angeles Times |  [11] |
| NME | 8/10[12] |
| Pitchfork | 7.9/10[13] |
| Q | [14] |
| Rolling Stone | [15] |
| Uncut | [16] |
| The Village Voice | A−[17] |
The album was met with positive reviews, with an aggregated score of 71 on Metacritic.[9] Playlouder said "To the 5 Boroughs is a triumph."[18] Rolling Stone said "To the 5 Boroughs is an exciting, astonishing balancing act: fast, funny and sobering."[15] Jason Thompson of PopMatters called To the 5 Boroughs "their best album since Paul's Boutique".[19] Tom Sinclair of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "The beats are[...] simple and effective, with a welcome lack of bells and whistles that made Hello Nasty so distracting."[10] AllMusic said: "It's rather impressive that they're maturing gracefully turning into expert craftsmen who can deliver a satisfying listen like this".[2] The NME said: "Like Missy Elliott, the Beasties are re-examining hip hop—what it was, what it is, what it can be".[12] The Onion AV Club said: "With To the 5 Boroughs, Beastie Boys' members discover a musical entryway to an earlier, more innocent era, affording listeners the exuberance of youth along with the hard-won wisdom that can only come with experience."[20] E! Online rated the album as a B− saying it was "fun but hardly fresh.[21]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Ch-Check It Out" | 3:12 |
| 2. | "Right Right Now Now" | 2:46 |
| 3. | "3 the Hard Way" | 2:48 |
| 4. | "It Takes Time to Build" | 3:11 |
| 5. | "Rhyme the Rhyme Well" | 2:47 |
| 6. | "Triple Trouble" | 2:43 |
| 7. | "Hey Fuck You" | 2:21 |
| 8. | "Oh Word?" | 2:59 |
| 9. | "That's It That's All" | 2:28 |
| 10. | "All Lifestyles" | 2:33 |
| 11. | "Shazam!" | 2:26 |
| 12. | "An Open Letter to NYC" | 4:18 |
| 13. | "Crawlspace" | 2:53 |
| 14. | "The Brouhaha" | 2:13 |
| 15. | "We Got The" | 2:27 |
| 16. | "Now Get Busy" (Japan bonus track) | 2:25 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "An Open Letter to NYC" | |
| 2. | "Rizzle Rizzle Nizzle Nizzle" (Remix for "Right Right Now Now") | |
| 3. | "MTL Reppin for the 514" (Remix for "Right Right Now Now") | |
| 4. | "Sabotage" (Live) | |
| 5. | "Brr Stick Em" |
B-sides
- "...And Then I" ("Ch-Check It Out") UK/Japan/Australia/Canada CD single[22]
- "RRNN: Straight Outta Shibuya (featuring Takagi Kan)"[23]
- "Brr Stick Em" ("Right Right Now Now")Japan CD single)[24]
- "Now Get Busy" (2004 Internet single/To The 5 Boroughs Japan bonus)[25]
Personnel
Personnel taken from To the 5 Boroughs liner notes.[26]
- Beastie Boys – producers, engineers
- Supa Engineer DURO – mixing
- Jon Weiner – engineer
- Mix Master Mike – turntables
- Chris Athens – mastering at Sterling Sounds
- Matteo Pericoli – album cover
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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