Randy Shropshire/Getty ImagesBeastie Boys were obviously a very influential band, but if there’s an artist out there who you think sounds like the iconic New York City trio, don’t tell Mike D.
“Something that always makes me cringe is when somebody says, ‘You gotta hear this. They’re like you guys,'” the artist, born Michael Diamond, tells Vulture. “That usually doesn’t end well.”
As Diamond explains, the comparison is rarely complimentary.
“I remember seeing [rapper] Dee Barnes at a club and she said, ‘You’ve gotta hear this new group, Cypress Hill. There’s something about their voices that reminds me of you,'” Diamond says. “That’s kind of the best-case scenario.”
When interviewer David Marchese, who also conducted those viral Quincy Jones and Julian Casablancas interviews, asks what the “worst-case scenario” would be, Diamond replies, “Not that it’s ever happened, but my fear would be that someone would be like, ‘311. You love those guys, right?'”
“I’m sure they’re nice people,” Diamond says of the reggae-tinged rockers. “[Their music] isn’t my cup of tea.”
Also in the conversation, Diamond talks about the memoir he wrote with fellow Beastie Boy Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz, as well as the death of Adam “MCA” Yauch.
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