The album kicks off with the slamming "Super Disco Breakin'" This is a dope song which is not only gives you enegry but big ups Manhattan in the chorus: "Money makin',money, money makin', (Manhattan!) Super disco, disco breakin'!" The beat is dope and the lyrics are pure ol' school hip-hop. "Fifty cups of coffee and you know it's on! I rule the crowd till the break-a-break of dawn!" The song is short enough and changes enough with scratches by Mix Master Mike to be a perfect jem to kick the album off.

"The Move" is another good song which changes dramatically.The chorus is totally ol' skool: "B-boys till the early morn! B-girls keep rocking on and on!" During the second part when Mike D raps: "Dogs love me cuz I'm crazy sniffable!", a harpsichord sample is used giving it a cool baroque style... but that's not it.. Hidden in the cd track (it gets cut off if you use it on "shuffle") is the dope ending of the song where spanish music is looped along with an incredibly dope beat.

"Remote Control" is a low point in the album. Using a guitar sample and various other sounds, they make a rock-like hip-hop song where they claim "Everybody wants the remote control!". The chorus is kind of lame as they just say the title a couple of times. The sentiments are cool and the lyrics are thought out but the chorus just ruins it...

"Song For The Man" is a psychedellic pop song which does not have an annoying chorus repeated. Ad Rock's vocals are more distorted like he's singing under water and not through a McDonalds drive thru window speaker. The song asks the man why does he look at women like they are inferior. As he asks why the world is so "sick and evil", he sings "I really don't know". This "I don't know" sentiment comes up quite a bit in the album but I'll get to that later. The organ in this song adds to the groovy melody. It's a very cool, wel thought out funked out groove with not a scent of hip-hop anywhere. "Just A Test" has excellent dj work by Mix Master Mike, he's an amazing dj! The beat slams and the scratches give it a dope ol school hip-hop feel even though the beat does sound somewhat jungle. The chorus brings it back to the ol school: "One-two, one-two! This is just a test!" The next song is an obvious dance single.

"Body Movin'" starts out with the voice of an exercise workout instructor. The beat is cool as always and there sounds like a steel drum far in the background. The Beastie Boys do an excellent job going back and forth from each other in this song but Mike D's chorus along with his voice does get kind of annoying: "Body movin', body movin', A-1 sound and it sounds so soothing, Body movin', body movin', we be gettin' down and you know we're krush groovin!" The bridge in the song makes the beat completely change. There's more rap and then, the song goes back to the chorus. It's a cool song but the chorus gets annoying. Another problem that I have with it is that it's a blatent attempt to make a dance/hip-hop commercial record that would get airplay on radios. I heard Redman and Erik Serman are on the remix That would be dope!!!! The only problem they are not going to officially release it! They should it would give the Beasties a modern street credibility. The next song is the first single which everyone probably heard by now.

"Intergalactic" is a cool song with not only a dope beat which is easy to dance to but computerized/electronic robot voice doing the chorus: "Intergalactic planetary, planetary- intergalactic!" Hidden within the track at the end, Biz Markie kicks a cool rhyme with echoed voice. It's recorded really low  but he's always cool.

"Sneakin' Out The Hospital" is another one of those groovy Beastie Boys instrumentals. Mix Master Mike saves the song with plenty of cool scratching along with the organ.

"Putting Shame In Your Game" is another one of the annoying songs with the annoying chorus. There are plenty of bleeps and computer noises as the ol school beat slowly pounds. Hard and slow, this beat stumbles along like a sleepwalking giant. The chorus actually has them spelling: "Beastie, beastie boys getting live on the spot. Putting all typs of shame in the game you got! We keep the party moving till the broad day light g-e-t l-i-v-e aiight!" The chorus is actually not as annoying as Mike D's voice in his very corny rhyme: "Whether we have or have not met, well it ain't no thing and it ain't no sweat!".. whateva man.. The next song is one of the dopest on the album. MCA does his sole rhyme on "Flowin' Prose" which has a cool saucy beat and wah-wah sounds in the background. MCA whispers his deep rhymes (with no chorus) as special effects add psychedellic trails to his voice. Not only is the music dope but if you can decipher the lyrics, your mind takes off. This is trip-hop!  What an amazing song! The psychedellic feel continues with the next song titled

"And ME". The reverberating sounds and the drone of Ad Rocks voice is like a sonic vibrating hammer: "Seems like I'm all messed up in me..." A techno/jungle beat kicks in along with a bunch of computerized bleeps and effects. It's pretty cool and shows that they are down with the rave / jungle culture. The hip-hop is braught back into the light with

"Three MC's And One DJ". Mix Master Mike's answering machine message to Adam starts the song off where he puts his turntable through a wah-wah peddle (a Tweek Scratch). This song is basically a dedication to Mix Master even though they never made a song to DJ Hurracaine. "3 MC's and one DJ, we be getting down with no delay! Mix Master Mike, what you got to say?" Then.. he scratches his samples and cuts all throughout the song bringing a wide variety along with him. He is an excellent DJ with potential to be powerful as DJ Premier. The beat to this song, made by Ad Rock, is a dope ol school beat.

"The Grasshopper Unit (Keep Movin')" features Bix Markie, though he doesn't rhyme. He just makes noises in the background and does a veyr dope beat box at the end. The chorus is very similar to "Sure Shot": "Cuz you can't - won't - stop!" It's cool but not perfect.

"Song For Junior" is another groovy instrumental that does not really stick out.

MCA does his acoustic ballad on "I Don't Know" where one of the singers from Cibo Matto does the background vocals singing "do-do do-do-do do-do do-do" MCA's voice is soothing and his lyrics are not corny. "What's pleasing to the eye. In the delusion of my sight. Is not what I find when I reach into the light. I have lost my mind." The chorus has Adam Yauch singing "I don't know where to go".. another confusion theme.. It's a cool song if you're in the mood but again, there's not a drop of hip-hop in this short jem.

"The Negotiation Limerick File" is a wonderul song with not only a dope beat but a very cool acoustic guitar in the background along with the scratches. There's not really a chorus but they do repeat the lines "Let's try to negotiate! Let's try to negotiate!" Obviously, there is a peace sentiment going on where they want people to unite and squash their beefs. Heroin is also a topic on this: "Don't let me begin about heroin, living six feet deep just ain't the move!" Everything about music is dope. The beats, the rhymes and the whole damn' feel of the song is cool. A jem!

"Electrify" is a harder song which uses orchestral samples in the background. They go back and forth, line for line and the beat stops as a sample of someone echoes "Electrify!..." Then, it all starts again.. It's alright. Not the best song but not the worst. It's just kind of unimportant.

"Picture This" is another acoustic ballad psychedellic song but there is a female singer doing it. It feels like rainy day stoned out trip music. Short enough not to be annoying but dull enough to skip.

"Unite" is cool song which is pure hip-hop filled with a dope beat, sampled horn melodies and plenty of sratches. There's even an Atari falling missle explosion in the song. The rhymes come, the beat pounds. It stops with only a cymbal-like beat and Ad Rock says something like,  "B-boys of the world... unite!" Then, it all falls together again with a very cool horn melody sample and Mike's dope scratching! At the end of the jam, Ad Rock repeats "Keep it on and on.." which makes for a dope and surprizing ending. Then, the album gets off course.

"Dedication" is a reggae-type song where Mike D does nothing but give shout outs. It's much too long and not too interesting.

"Dr. Lee, PhD" features Lee Scratch Perry doing all the vocals on this reggae dub fest. This is another long joint where he babbles in his deep accent. It's much cooler than the previous song though. The album ends on a weird not.

"Instant Death" is a very short song with whispered vocals by Ad Rock. The light computer pop beat is played along with other keyboards and guitar and a zylephone doing the very spooky melody. He sings "And what do you do when your man kills himself. How do I make friends now. And where is my mom, I need to show her that she taught me. And please God, let me die an instant death." Then, the thick egyption-oriental bouncing beat glides in for a psychedellic feel. It's a short and spooky way to end an album dripping with positivity and happiness. Very unexpected but brings you back in touch with reality.

The beats are sick. I heard Ad Rock made them. There are only two okay beats on the album.. the rest are dope. Another dope thing they do is change the beat in the middle of the song. Where Busta Rhymes just keeps the same beat throughout the song, every song, Beastie Boys uses two (sometimes three) different types of beats just for one song. I takes plenty of creativity to do that. Production wise, along with Mix Master Mike, the production is amazing. The computer effects and electronic technology notb only gives it a futuristic feel but gives birth to the Beastie's new sound. Every song is thick with sound and Mix Master Mike's sractching and turntable wizardry gives it a dope hip-hop core which many rap albums are lacking. Lyrically is where the boys come short. Though MCA has the deep lyrics and Ad Rock has the wild lyrics, Mike D has the dumb ones. His voice is the only one that gets annoying on the album. The topics range from hip-hop, Manhattan, peacefullness, squashing beef, mind elevation, dancing, partying, and music. There are no guns, no drugs, nothing hardcore! No hard street reality. The album is so happy at times, that's it sometimes annoying.  Blissed out, raved out for the peaceful revolution when there are so many things going on in this world, Ill Communication brought some of those things into the light. "Hello Nasty" is so happy and party-like that it's probably the most commercial Beastie Boys record ever! They are orginal and creative. It's rare that any hip-hop records have psychedellic acoustic ballads sung by women or jungle/techno songs. They give every album diversity for the open minded listeners. On this album, every song is either an ol school hip-hop song, a folk song, or an wierd psychedellic song using electronic music. Still, I'm glad there's no hardcore or rock music on it. The album flows well but sometimes people may not be in the mood to switch styles so often.. There are plenty of hidden things between the tracks to keep it interesting. Like Paul's Boutique, there are so many hidden things inside and outside the songs that people won't really hear it until years from now.This album has the Paul's Boutique music feel without the ill lyrics.The flow is weakened by the weaker songs. Also, songs like "Deadication" and "Dr. Lee PhD" come right next to each other. Both are a little too long and do not encourage repeat listens. Some songs you'll be listening to over and over again but others you will skip instantly. The Beastie Boys do put out quality product which they put their minds and money into. They never did put out anything bad. This has modern classic jams on it but the Beasties aren't dangerous anymore... they are reserved and good little boys now... I want "Car Theif!" and I got "Body Movin'"!!!! This is why the hardcore rating is so low on this album where on "Paul's Boutique", it would be a ten. Overall, the Beastie Boys made an entertaining album which will not only break cultural barriers but age barriers too. There is something for everybody! Beastie Boys are ol' school hip-hop pioneers and on their new album, they politely say Hello but there's nothing Nasty about it.
Beats: 9/10
Lyrics: 6/10
Album Flow: 7.5/10
Production: 9/10
Originality/Creativity: 9/10
Hardcore Rating: 5/10
[ Overall Rating: 7.6/10 ]