Beastie Boys Ad-Rock Strips Down Ratking’s ‘Canal’ With Remix
Beastie Boys‘ Ad-Rock has remixed a song by another rap trio from New York, Ratking, stripping back the dense production on the song “Canal” from their recently released So It Goes to highlight MCs Wiki and Hak’s rhymes. Where the original version of “Canal” was lush with swirling strings, keyboard accents and a voice calling out “ooh,” Ad-Rock’s redux version highlights the rappers’ flow with a jazzy stand-up bass line, a few sputtered drums and some smartly situated synthesizer squeaks allowing the words to breathe a little easier.
New York City–based Beastie Boys fans recently celebrated that group’s legacy in the Big Apple by painting a mural of the trio on a wall outside of the building featured on the cover of their second record, Paul’s Boutique. Artist Danielle Mastrion began work on the tableau on the 25th anniversary of the record’s release, painting on the wall of what is now known as the sandwich shop Wolfnights.
Previously, one Beastie Boys fans, LeRoy McCarthy, who organized the mural, had been campaigning to have that intersection officially co-named Beastie Boys Square. The local community board denied his petition earlier this year, though, claiming that one of the criteria for co-naming was that the honored person must have served the community for at least 15 years and it would be impossible to prove that in the case of the Beastie Boys. Should he find proof of their community service, McCarthy is not allowed to file another petition for co-naming for another five years.